Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Challenging Termination of K-12 Teacher Preparation Pipeline Grants

Grant funding with a total value of at least $148 million at stake for California programs that address state’s ongoing teacher shortage

LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, leading a multistate coalition, filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful termination of grant funding for K-12 teacher preparation programs. Beginning on February 7, California institutions received letters purporting to terminate grants with a total value of at least $148 million in critical funding to address the state’s ongoing teacher shortage through teacher preparation programs. These programs are designed to create a pipeline for teachers serving rural and urban communities and teaching harder-to-fill positions like math and science and have been shown to increase teacher retention rates and ensure that educators remain in the profession beyond the crucial first five years. The attorneys general argue that the terminations, impacting institutions across the nation and which were issued without warning and with immediate effect, violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The attorneys general are seeking an order to prevent disruptions to these programs, which would immediately reduce the number of teachers and teacher trainees serving in schools.

“The Trump Administration is pursuing an anti-education agenda that would yank teachers out of schools and prevent new teachers-in-training who are close to being ready to serve our students from filling empty classrooms,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “States across the nation are facing a critical teacher shortage. But instead of trying to help us solve it, instead of doing the bare minimum and honoring grants that have already been awarded and obligated, the U.S. Department of Education is attempting to terminate funding for vital teacher preparation programs that train teachers to go into hard-to-fill positions and high-poverty or high need schools across the country. As a father myself, I can’t sit back while the Trump Administration attempts to pull the rug out from under aspiring teachers – especially when it’s our kids’ education on the line. I’ll see the Trump Administration in court.”

“The elimination of funding to the Teacher Quality Partnership grants awarded to universities in the California State University system will cause widespread and irreparable harm to the students and school districts we are so honored to serve through these grants,” said California State University Chancellor Mildred García. “The programs currently in place across the CSU have proven to be extraordinarily successful at placing well-qualified and dedicated diverse educators in some of California’s highest-need districts, including our state’s rural areas. As teacher shortages continue to plague the state and nation, programs designed to attract, train and retain talented individuals to careers in K-12 education should be expanded, not defunded – and viewed as vital investments in our collective future.”

In 2024, more than 400,000 teaching positions in the U.S. — representing about one in eight of all teaching positions nationwide — were vacant or filled by uncertified teachers. When schools are unable to find qualified teachers, students suffer. Teacher shortages can result in larger class sizes, cancelled courses, or classes staffed with teachers less able to teach a subject.

To address the nationwide teacher shortage, especially for hard-to-fill subject areas, like math, science, and special education, and in hard-to-staff school districts in rural and urban areas, Congress established and allocated funding pursuant to the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development grant programs to train teachers, create a new teacher pipeline, and improve teacher quality. The U.S. Department of Education subsequently awarded and obligated funds to states’ public universities and associated nonprofits grants under these programs to do exactly what Congress mandated — provide teacher training, placement, and retention, and new teacher pipeline development in the states.

Beginning on February 7, 2025, the Department of Education terminated, with immediate effect, grants awarded to K-12 teacher preparation programs in California and nationwide. Hundreds of millions in grants have been terminated. In California alone, the Department provided notice of termination of grants with a total value of at least $148 million in funding across a number of grants. These terminations would be felt immediately across California schools who rely on these programs to bring teachers into their classrooms. The terminations would also cause layoffs or reductions in hours for University staff, and result in reduced or eliminated support and funding for new aspiring teachers. Impacted programs in California include:

CALIFORNIA STATE, LOS ANGELES:

Program Purpose: The Education Department terminated a new five-year $7.5 million grant to train and develop highly qualified community-centered teachers who could staff and support high-need or high-poverty urban K-12 schools and students.
Subjects Taught: The residency focuses special education, secondary STEM education, and bilingual education.
Teachers Impacted: The program’s goal is to train and certify approximately 276 teachers and educators for placement into high-needs/high-poverty K-12 urban schools. Without these funds, these teachers and educators will no longer be trained and certified to serve in schools.
School Impacted: Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Pasadena Unified School District.  

CHICO STATE:

Program Purpose: The Education Department terminated a new $2.4 million five-year grant to address a chronic and acute shortage of qualified or experienced teachers within a 38,000-mile rural region of northeastern California. The program is designed to assist and enable local students in high-need rural community school districts to become teachers, and to remain in those local districts as teachers and educators.  
Schools Impacted: Schools in the Chico Unified School District, Oroville Union High School, the Glenn County Office of Education, and the Red Bluff School District.
Teachers Impacted: Approximately 225 undergraduate students, Masters students and credential candidates enrolled in teacher and educator study programs will lose financial, academic, and other support provided through the program. Without these funds, these teachers and educators will no longer be trained.
Other Impacts: Access to college courses, campus visits, and higher education preparation resources will be eliminated or greatly reduced for more than 60 local high school students.

Program Purpose: The Education Department terminated a five-year $8.5 million grant that supports a yearlong teacher residency during which students would be able to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching and a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. During the program, teacher candidates teach full time in a high-needs or high-poverty school while, working closely with a mentor teacher and meeting residency requirements. Those schools have a chronic and critical shortage of teachers and anticipate hiring those teacher candidates to fill existing and future teacher vacancies once they have completed the program. The termination of the grant will immediately eliminate current candidates teaching in their schools.  
Teachers Impacted: The program will recruit, prepare, and support a minimum of 60 teacher residents to serve in underserved, high-need rural districts. Without these funds, these teachers will no longer be trained.
School Impacted: High-needs or high-poverty public schools located in Butte and Tehama Counties including Palermo Union Elementary, Golden Hills Elementary, Helen M. Wilcox Elementary, Thermalito Union Elementary, Plumas Avenue Elementary, Poplar Avenue Elementary, Sierra Avenue Elementary, Corning Union Elementary, Woodson Elementary, West Street Elementary, Olive View Elementary, and Los Molinos Elementary School. 

CAL POLY, SAN LUIS OBISPO:

Program Purpose: The Education Department terminated an ongoing $2.2 million five-year grant that provides living wage stipends for residents, who in turn agree to complete three years of service after graduation in one of 32 high-need schools.
Subjects Taught: Residents who go through this program aspire to become teachers in bilingual education and special education.
School Impacted: 32 schools in the Santa Maria Bonita School District, Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, and Lucia Mar Unified School District. 
Students Impacted: Collectively, these schools serve nearly 40,000 Pre-K to 12th grade students.

Program Purpose: The Education Department terminated an ongoing $4.7 million grant to address a critical teacher shortage in important fields, including special education, by developing a high-quality teacher workforce, supporting worker retention, expanding professional development, and issuing micro credentials. 
Teachers Impacted: The program would have developed a high-quality teacher workforce by training 775 prospective educators through reformed clinical experiences and coursework. Without these funds, these educators will no longer be trained.
School Impacted: San Miguel Joint Unified School District, Shandon Joint Unified School District, Guadalupe Union School District, Lompoc Unified School District, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District, and Atascadero Unified School District. 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES:

Program Purpose: The Education Department terminated an ongoing $8 million grant that educates middle school principals and recruits residency candidates with specialized expertise in their areas to meet the Los Angeles Unified School District's demand for single-subject middle school teachers.
Subjects Taught: Math, Science, English, and Social Science.
Teachers Impacted: The termination of the grant will impact approximately 314 educators.
Schools Impacted: Schools in the Norwalk La Mirada District, LAUSD Partnership Schools, LAUSD East Region District, Glendale Unified School District, and the Lancaster Unified School District.
Students Impacted: Over 15,000 students in classrooms within Los Angeles County school districts.

Other Impacts: The UCLA Program's structured residency model significantly enhances teacher retention rates, ensuring that early-career educators remain in the profession beyond the crucial first five years. Without this structured support, school districts will experience higher turnover rates, which lead to increased recruitment costs, staffing instability, and disruptions in student learning.

Attorney General Bonta is leading this lawsuit with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. They are joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin in filing the lawsuit.

A copy of the lawsuit is available here.