The Trump administration’s assault on diversity, equity and inclusion programs has cost the Marin County Office of Education a $14.5 million grant supporting mental health services for children in five school districts, including Shoreline Unified.
The cuts come at a particularly stressful time in West Marin. An estimated 30 of the school district’s 470 students are facing the specter of losing their homes in the coming months due to the legal settlement that will end most ranching in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
The federal funds would have paid the salaries of 11.5 credentialed staff in the county’s larger districts as well as stipends for up to 100 mental health interns countywide over the next five years. Nearly a dozen of those interns had already been hired, including one for Shoreline, according to Lisa Miller, an assistant superintendent in the county office.
“It’s pretty devastating for the county, particularly the bigger districts,” Shoreline’s superintendent, Adam Jennings, said. “We were working with the county to start taking graduate student interns into our counseling programs, and we were really excited about that. We already have one in place for next year.”
Some of the money would also have been used to pay for professional development for the three counselors and one full-time psychologist employed at the sprawling rural district.
The money was allocated under two five-year grants of $9.95 million and $4.5 million as part of a bipartisan program approved by Congress in 2022 in the aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
According to the termination notice sent to the M.C.O.E., the cuts are the result of a shift in priorities under the Trump administration, which is emphasizing “merit, fairness and excellence” as the basis of its funding decisions. The administration has systematically eliminated funding for programs that mention diversity, equity and inclusion in their grant applications.
“We did include D.E.I. language in our application because the grant specifically said it was to help diversify staff and diversify services for historically marginalized students,” Ms. Miller said. “The application explicitly asked how we would use the funds to broaden and diversify staff.”
Dozens of districts across California have received the grants, which were initiated under the Biden administration. Districts are considering legal action to challenge the cuts, which will take effect in December.
Shoreline Unified and others learned of the cancellation on April 29, just over a month after the March 15 deadline for California public schools to issue layoff notices. That means any people hired under the grants must remain on board through the next school year.
With the grant funding cut off at the end of December, districts will have to find money elsewhere to pay salaries for the second half of the year.
“The reckless and chaotic nature of this surprise decision shows clearly that the U.S. Department of Education either does not understand how school funding cycles work or is intentionally acting to harm the efficient operation of our schools,” said John Carroll, Marin County’s superintendent of schools. “Either way, this is very bad news. The federal government is trying to kill a program that supports learning and social emotional growth for kids who need it most at a time when communities are asking for more help.”
Las Familias Afectadas de Rancho, a group representing ranch employees and other people living in the seashore, has stressed the importance of mental-health support for children and families who face the prospect of losing their housing, schools and friends.
“Trauma-informed behavioral health services should be provided to children in schools so they can address the fear and distress of not having secure housing,” the group wrote in a recent op-ed in the Light. “Children who stand to lose their friends also need to be cared for and receive trauma-informed support.”