Press Release: 10/29/2025

AG Campbell Leads Multistate Coalition Supporting Education Programs Threatened By Federal Grant Cuts

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

10/29/2025

MEDIA CONTACT

Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary

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Call Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

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Email Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at Allie.Zuliani@mass.gov

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has co-led a coalition of 22 states in supporting the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) in two lawsuits challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s (DOE) recent decisions to cut off funding for long-standing federal TRIO programs. Federal TRIO programs support students who might otherwise struggle to obtain a college education by providing mentoring, tutoring, counseling, test preparation, and other services to increase college readiness and enrollment. 

“Massachusetts is home to some of the best colleges and universities in the world, and every student deserves to be set up for success when applying to them,” said AG Campbell. “The federal government’s unlawful attacks on critical educational supports undermine the success of our students and future workforce. I will continue to hold this Administration accountable when it violates our laws and harms our residents.” 

The Federal TRIO Programs are a vital national resource, serving nearly 900,000 students in 2024 with $1.2 billion in federal funding. In Massachusetts, $22 million in federal funding has supported 60 programs across 25 educational institutions. Over 20,000 students were benefited from TRIO programs last year.  

The amicus briefs, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, support COE’s efforts to protect access to higher education for low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students. The lawsuits seek to stop the DOE’s discontinuation of many active TRIO grants and denial of new Student Support Services (SSS) grants, both of which the DOE justified under newly adopted federal policies that restrict diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives.

The TRIO complaint challenges the DOE’s failure to continue dozens of ongoing TRIO grants that were funded through 2026. The SSS complaint contests the denial of new SSS grant applications, which the DOE rejected after retroactively applying new anti-DEIA policies despite the fact that applications were submitted under 2024 guidance from the prior administration, which required applicants to describe how their programs would address equity and accessibility. The challenged actions have already forced longstanding programs at college and universities nationwide to close, denying support to students who rely on them.  

These lawsuits assert that the DOE’s actions violate multiple provisions of the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as Congressional intent in maintaining TRIO programs for nearly six decades.  

The amicus briefs filed by the coalition underscore that the sudden loss of federal funding for these programs, some of which have been operating uninterrupted for decades, would have severe and long-term consequences for students, colleges and state economies.  

Joining AG Campbell in filing this amicus brief are the e attorneys general of Nevada, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.