Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said she and more than a dozen of her Democratic colleagues are calling on the Department of Education to release $7 billion in federal school funding.
The Department of Education said it will hold that money until it completes a review.
Gillibrand said last year, New York state received $464 million.
"It's just an assault on our kids,” she said. “It's going to really affect their ability to get the resources they need for after-school programming, for all types of curriculum investments."
Gillibrand said restricting the money also puts programs like school-based mental health services and English language learning in jeopardy and makes it difficult for districts to plan ahead, which could result in layoffs.
Gillibrand said Congress allocated the money last year, and she believes it’s illegal for the Trump administration to withhold that funding.
"I'm going to be urging our attorney general to file lawsuits,” she said. “That is our best course of action. Through lawsuits, you can get stays, you can get injunctions, you can demand that the money be released by the Department of Education under an enforceable order."
Gillibrand said if legal action doesn’t work, she and her staff will work to promote advocacy, educating voters about what the cuts will affect and sharing stories of those affected.
“It’s going to affect the economy overall,” she said. “Education is the gateway to the middle class, so when you’re cutting all these different types of programs, the people whose education is being cut will therefore not achieve their full earning potential.”
