Fifteen states have sued the Trump administration in an effort to block cuts to a federal school mental health program, according to a report by the Montrose Daily Press. Colorado is among the states that joined the legal challenge.
The program at the center of the lawsuit was created in the aftermath of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. That shooting killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and prompted federal action on school-based mental health resources.
The states argue that the Trump administration's cuts to the program violate federal policy. The lawsuit represents one of the more direct legal confrontations between state governments and the federal administration over mental health spending directed at students.
The Parkland shooting became a turning point for school mental health policy at the federal level. The program it generated was designed to expand access to counseling and other services for students across the country. Cuts to that funding would affect schools in all 15 states that filed suit.
Colorado's inclusion in the lawsuit reflects a broader pattern of states pushing back against federal reductions in social spending. The legal challenge is ongoing, and no ruling had been issued as of the date of the report.
