Attorney General co‑led a multistate coalition that filed a comment letter urging the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw a proposed rule announced Aug. 24, 2026, the attorney general’s office said.
The office said the proposal would give the department broad discretion to attach new policy conditions to both discretionary and formula education grants that are guaranteed to states; the coalition argues that would exceed the department’s statutory authority.
In the comment, the coalition contends the proposal violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it exceeds statutory authority and would be arbitrary and capricious by codifying practices courts have found unlawful, the attorney general’s office said.
The office also said the proposal raises constitutional concerns under the Separation of Powers Clause because the President lacks authority to attach conditions to federal funds that Congress has not authorized.
If adopted, the office said the rule could let the executive branch impose policy conditions on funding for schools, teachers and students without congressional approval; that is the change the comment letter opposes.
“The Trump Administration continues to disregard Congress’s authority in its relentless attempts to seize the power of the purse and leverage federal funding to advance its hateful policy priorities,” Attorney General Bonta said. “Its latest target is vital funding for our children, teachers, and schools. In California, protecting our students’ educational future is a top priority. We will not allow the U.S. Department of Education to overstep its authority and impose unlawful, discriminatory conditions on education funding. I urge the federal government to abandon this proposal.”
The filing follows prior multistate comments the attorney general’s office helped lead opposing an Office of Management and Budget rewrite of federal grant rules, the office said; that earlier letter was co‑led with the attorneys general of Illinois, New York and Washington and joined by numerous other state attorneys general and the governor of Kentucky.
State
Rob Bonta
Attorney General · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
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