A Chicago nonprofit, in conjunction with the American Federation of Teachers, is suing the U.S. Department of Education over funding cuts to a program that has long provided wraparound services to students in high-poverty and rural areas.
The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and AFT, in a complaint filed Monday, allege the department broke both federal law and direction from Congress when it abruptly terminated millions of dollars of grant funding through its Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program earlier this month. Defendants include the Education Department, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Ruth Ryder, its acting assistant secretary.
For decades, multi-year grants through the FSCS program have helped public elementary and secondary schools provide a range of supportive services — from social, health, nutrition and mental health support to family resources — to students and their families, especially those in vulnerable situations.
On Dec. 12, the department discontinued 19 community school grants mid-year, according to Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and AFT’s complaint. The department had budgeted more than $60 million in FSCS appropriations to fund the grantees, including funding that directly impacted both of the suing parties, their complaint says. The unused funds are set to expire on Dec. 31.
The Department of Education did not immediately return a request for comment Monday night.
Among the funding cuts are two grants, one serving schools in metropolitan Chicago and the other in rural Illinois, that were stopped short after two years of their five-year terms, the complaint states. Another five-year grant providing around $2.8 million per year to serve schools in northern Chicagoland was discontinued after three years.
Multi-year grants have long been the norm for the FSCS program and are annually continued based on grantee performance, the complaint states. However, the lawsuit argues that the department cut funding without lawful justification and without following legal procedures.
The complaint cites a discontinuation notice from the department, in which the agency notes it cut funding to programs “that reflect the prior Administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current Administration.”
Through FSCS funding, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council delivers wraparound services to eight schools on the city’s Southwest Side. The largest school it serves is Curie Metro High School in the Archer Heights neighborhood, the third-largest public school in Chicago.
The department’s decision to slash funding has already disrupted operations, causing the organization to cancel events and prepare for programming cuts down the line, the complaint states.
“The Department of Education is unlawfully refusing to spend tens of millions of dollars that Congress appropriated to help students and their families get the support they need to succeed,” Lynn Eisenberg with Jacobson Lawyers Group said in a news release. The Chicago-based firm is representing the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and AFT in the case, alongside the Washington D.C. nonprofit Democracy Forward.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has called for the dismantling of the Education Department.
The Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and AFT, among 10 claims for relief through their complaint, are asking for the department to stop changing funding priorities and obligate congressionally mandated FSCS funds. They are also seeking, if necessary, an extension to program appropriations for this year beyond Dec. 31.
“We hope and pray,” Brighton Park Neighborhood Council Executive Director Patrick Brosnan said in a statement, “that these necessary grant funds are restored, and we can continue to provide the needed services so that all students and families in our community can achieve their goals and thrive.”