Teachers association takes on Trump in RI court over money for English learners

Reuters//June 9, 2026//

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Summary:

National Education Association files suit in Rhode Island federal court
ExcEL Educators Leadership Academy lost $6 million in grant funding
U.S. Department of Education cited for alleged First Amendment violations

The national teachers’ union is suing the U.S. Department of Education, challenging what it describes as the illegal termination of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants aimed at improving instruction for thousands of English language learners.

The Lawyers’ Committee of Rhode Island, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the National Education Association, on behalf of its 3 million members, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island seeking a court order blocking the termination of the grants.

According to the complaint, the U.S. Department of Education in 2025 halted funding for national professional development grants for programs to support the training and certification of bilingual teachers for English language learners, one of the fastest growing segments of students in the country. The discontinuation notices, including those to a Pawtucket nonprofit, came with little or no warning and were driven by concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“The Trump administration terminated these grants to punish Americans for saying things it doesn’t want to hear. The [Education Department] combed through grant applications hunting for words it deemed ‘divisive ideology,’ like diversity and equity, and then defunded the programs that used them. That is a textbook First Amendment violation, and it has dismantled teacher-certification pipelines in a dozen states and stripped English learner students of the qualified educators the law guarantees them,” Amy Romero, chief legal counsel of Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, said in a news release.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and viewpoint discrimination, as well as violations of the Administrative Procedures Act, which governs decision making for federal agencies.

Pawtucket nonprofit program `dismantled’

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the NEA and its members; and Laureen Avery, administrator for ExcEL Educators Leadership Academy, a nonprofit organization based in Pawtucket. ExcEL received about $6 million in multi-year grants that were discontinued.

The National Professional Development program was created by Congress as part of the No Child Left Behind Act to award competitive grants to address the shortage of bilingual and English as a Second Language teachers.

“For the educators participating in ExcEL, this grant represents far more than a funding stream — it is a pathway to earning the qualifications needed to effectively serve multilingual learners,” Avery, a founder of ExcEL, said in a statement. “The department’s decision disrupts ongoing professional learning and networks, undermines educator preparation efforts, and jeopardizes services that directly benefit students and families.”

As a result of the cuts, Avery lost her job, and the coaching network for ESL teachers was dismantled, the lawsuit says.

Tina Cheuk, a professor in California whose research for Project BRILLANTE focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math literacy for English language learners, is also a plaintiff. That program received $3.3 million in grants that have been cut off.

The Department of Education and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon are named defendants. The government has not yet responded in court.

Was `coded language’ targeted?

The lawsuit alleges that the federal government ignored its own performance-based regulations and previously established legal criteria for evaluating grant recipients.

They argue that federal education officials instead of relying on data justified terminating the funding by selectively searching for “coded language” associated with DEI in grant applications that had previously been approved.

The Education Department announced it would terminate more than $600 million in grants for what it characterized as “divisive ideologies.”

The loss of grants has led to districts losing their pipeline to ESL teachers, students lost equal education opportunities to work with credentialed educators and teachers lost access to professional training, the lawsuit says.

Reporting by Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal / The Providence Journal

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Tags: U.S. Department of Education, Education and Title IX Law, Rhode Island, federal grants, Administrative Procedures Act, bilingual teachers, English language learners, First Amendment, National Education Association

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