Federal Court Restores School Mental Health Funding for New Mexico

A federal court ruling this month requires the U.S. Education Department to restart consideration of renewals for multi year grants that placed mental health counselors in high need schools, a decision that restores access to services for more than 5,000 students in New Mexico. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced the outcome on Monday, noting he was one of 18 state attorneys general who sued the department after its late April decision to stop the grant program.

U.S. District Judge Kymberly Evanson of the Western District of Washington granted plaintiffs motion for summary judgment on December 19. The judge ruled that the Education Department acted unlawfully by discontinuing the multi year grants on the basis that the program reflected "the prior Administration's priority preference." The order directs the parties to agree on a timeline for the department to legally consider each grant recipient's renewal application.

The grant program was created after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting and funded by Congress with the goal of placing thousands of counselors in schools nationwide. Early evaluations showed promising signs, with a National Association of School Psychologists study finding initial improvements in schools that received staff through the program. New Mexico leaders including U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich and Attorney General Torrez welcomed the court decision.

For McKinley County families and schools the ruling matters immediately. The restoration of funding could mean that counselors who had been supported by the federal grants will return to classrooms, or that programs paused while renewals were unresolved can be revived. Rural and tribal schools that partner with cooperatives and districts in New Mexico were among those most at risk when the department halted the multi year grants, and the court order offers a path to restore services that many students depend on for crisis response, behavioral supports, and ongoing mental health care.

The decision also highlights broader policy issues. Reliance on competitive federal grants can leave essential student services vulnerable to political shifts, and rural and tribal communities often lack the local tax base to sustain those services without outside funding. Local officials and school leaders will now need to monitor the department's timeline for renewal reviews, plan for staff recruitment and retention, and press for stable funding streams so that mental health services remain available to students across McKinley County.