Week of March 31, 2025
Federal Research/ NIH Grants Lawsuit
ACTION:
On Friday, April 4, sixteen state attorneys general
filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for “failing to disperse grant funds and for unlawfully terminating existing grants for medical and public health research institutions across the country.” California Attorney General Bonta co-led the suit with the attorneys general of Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington; along with the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.
The Trump Administration has frozen the highly competitive process for approving new NIH grants and has terminated multiple existing NIH grants. The attorneys general say that the grants were terminated “without any reasonable explanations after those grants were funded based on their scientific merit and potential innovative impact.” Similarly, training grants have been pulled from review with a statement from NIH that those grants “no longer effectuate agency priorities.”
The attorneys general argue that the Trump Administration does not have the authority to unilaterally decline to spend congressionally appropriated funds. As such, the attorneys general seek a temporary restraining order to immediately restore grant funding to the states and bar the administration from unlawfully terminating grants.
BACKGROUND:
NIH is the federal agency responsible for biomedical and public health research. Over 80% of Congressional funding supports NIH research and training at external labs, schools, and hospitals. It is estimated that every $1 invested in NIH research generates $2.56 of economic activity.
Over the years, NIH-supported research has allowed NIH scientists to pioneer the rubella vaccine, eradicating a disease that, in the 1960s, killed thousands of babies and left thousands more with lifelong disabilities. NIH studies also led to the discovery of the BRCA mutation, helping countless Americans reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer. NIH research fueled the development of treatments for HIV and AIDS, transforming what used to be a fatal disease into one with a nearly normal life expectancy.
POTENTIAL IMPACT:
The termination of NIH funding for research interventions to prevent or treat the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS, Covid and other virus families of pandemic concern — including emerging diseases such as Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika — is believed to increase the risk of and incidence of these diseases in California. The terminations may have the most significant impact on some of the most vulnerable Californians, including women experiencing domestic violence, children at risk of suicide, and underserved communities at a higher risk of chronic or infectious diseases.
NIH funding is vital to the CSU’s ability to offer immersive student learning and discovery through distinctive research programs that directly benefit the health of all Americans, according to Ganesh Raman, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at the CSU. “These grants not only support research, but they also provide stipend and other funding that impact hundreds of CSU students, staff and faculty who engage in meaningful, and career-defining work. Terminating these federal grants will cause irreparable harm, undermine scientific progress and our collective capacity to innovate and lead California’s economy,” said Raman.
Specifically, from the filing:
Since February 20, 2025, the CSU has received at least 17 termination notices, including 5 where it serves as the primary awardee. These notices collectively amount to a loss of nearly $7 million in budgeted funding to the CSU, but CSU estimates the number may be much higher as grants continue to be cancelled. San Diego State University (SDSU) alone currently has 23 non-competing renewals pending action by the grants office to authorize the next segment of funding, 34 new proposals and competing renewals totaling approximate $16 million awaiting NIH study section review, and 10 new proposals and competing renewals totaling approximately $3.2 million that received fundable scores awaiting NIH advisory council and Notice of Award.
Over the last fifteen years, CSU campuses have made concerted investments in student training, faculty hiring, and institutional support of medical and public health research. Delays in NIH funding decisions and evaluation of applications and terminations now endanger all of those efforts. SDSU, for example, has instituted a hiring freeze on new faculty and staff, and will now defer long-term research projects. Terminations over grants studying health disparities have directly impacted the salaries of SDSU staff, faculty, and students. Without NIH funding, some students may need to discontinue their studies and in the case of international students, leave the country.
The damage from grant terminations to CSU campuses’ relationship with the surrounding community and patients is similarly irreparable. For example, federally funded studies establish that certain youth are at a higher risk of suicide and suicide ideation. Yet one of the grants terminated funded suicide prevention services to at-risk youth and was terminated in the middle of their multi-year period without any opportunity to bridge individuals at high risk of suicide to new services providers.
CSU campuses to date have received no funding or direction from NIH concerning the participants enrolled in terminated trials even where the potential for increased suicide attempts and subsequent death is high because every single participant in a study is at high risk for suicide. This is particularly damaging to CSU’s relationship with the community health providers that often support enrollment in intervention studies. The termination of the grants often means that researchers cannot fully evaluate whether an intervention is statistically effective—essentially wasting the valuable resources already expended and delaying scientific progress, stifling innovation, and impeding the development of new medical treatments, technologies, and public health initiatives.
Grant terminations, especially without warning, are also directly affecting students at the CSU. Graduate students, who are at the core of research laboratories, rely on NIH grants not only for resources to support research, but also for their own stipends, tuition support, and training programs. Sudden cuts have immediate and consequential impacts to these students, who often live paycheck to paycheck, putting their housing and basic needs at risk.
NIH grants also support undergraduate students at CSU. For example, the CSU URISE program is funded through a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and is meant to broaden perspectives in future scientific and biomedical research by identifying students’ interest in pursuing research as a career and by providing training opportunities to be competitive for entering graduate programs. Students accepted into the U-RISE program receive trainee stipends to defray living expenses during research training experiences, and also support student trainee travel expenses to attend scientific meetings with their mentors and help defray university personnel expenses and supplies. At least 9 CSU universities received a notice from NIH stating that the university must “cease project activities as of the current budget period end date of 3/31/2025,” and as a result these nine CSU universities must immediately terminate stipends for students in the middle of the semester, causing participating students direct and significant harm, as their financial aid packages account for U-RISE stipends. The impact from the termination of grants funding training programs like U-RISE is also profound. It inflicts emotional and academic distress upon students, damaging the pipeline of future researchers. The CSU, with limited resources, bears a disproportionate burden, exacerbating financial strain and competitive disadvantages
NEXT STEPS:
The CSU is continuing to work closely with its partners and to track the next steps as this lawsuit continues.
Teacher Education Grants
ACTION:
On Friday, April 4, the U.S. Supreme Court
granted the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court order temporarily blocking the administration from proceeding with its termination of teacher preparation and education programs that serve California schools and training aspiring teachers.
BACKGROUND:
Beginning on February 7, 2025, the Department of Education terminated grants awarded to K-12 teacher preparation programs in California and nationwide.
These programs had been designed to create a pipeline for teachers serving rural and urban communities and teaching harder-to-fill positions like math and science and have been shown to increase teacher retention rates and ensure that educators remain in the profession beyond the crucial first five years. Congress established and allocated funding pursuant to the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development grant programs to train teachers, create a new teacher pipeline, and improve teacher quality. The U.S. Department of Education subsequently awarded and obligated funds to states’ public universities and associated nonprofits with grants under these programs to provide teacher training, placement, and retention, and new teacher pipeline development in the states.
POTENTIAL IMPACT:
These grant terminations would be felt immediately across California schools who rely on these programs to bring teachers into their classrooms. The terminations would also cause layoffs or reductions in hours for university staff, and result in reduced or eliminated support and funding for new aspiring teachers.
Impacted programs named in the lawsuit include those at Cal State LA, Chico State, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
NEXT STEPS:
The CSU is deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Trump administration to proceed with its termination of critical programs needed to support teacher-training programs throughout the country.
These programs are essential pipelines for preparing qualified educators who serve in some of California’s highest-need school districts.
The CSU simply does not have the resources to sustain these programs without funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The CSU remains committed to its mission of high-quality educational opportunities for all Californians and will continue to support the work of California’s Attorney General to restore these much-needed funds.
On Friday, March 28, the CSU Chancellor’s Office issued a document providing international travel advice to faculty, students, and staff for Spring and Summer 2025. The document advises all members of its community to proceed with extreme caution with international travel given that immigration policies, practices, travel bans, and health and safety risks are shifting daily and often cannot be fully assessed or projected in advance.
Although there have been no changes to federal immigration law, enforcement activity has intensified. This trend could potentially impact individuals with a wide range of immigration statuses, including international students, visiting scholars, and other non-citizens affiliated with CSU campuses. Additionally, there could be increased scrutiny by federal enforcement officials based on a traveler’s country of origin or destination, visa classification, and prior travel or immigration history. In recent weeks, the Chancellor’s Office provided preliminary guidance to campus international offices urging caution among students considering international travel. Due to a marked increase in federal enforcement actions involving individuals entering or returning to the United States—particularly those traveling on visas—the CSU is strongly encouraging all faculty, staff, and students to carefully assess the necessity of international travel at this time. The decision to travel outside the United States is personal, but the CSU is advising all members of its community to proceed with extreme caution.
If you have additional questions or concerns, contact your campus counsel, or Dr. Sarah Fried-Gintis, Senior Systemwide Director of Academic and Staff Human Resources (sfried-gintis@calstate.edu) or Dr. Jaishankar Raman (jraman@calstate.edu).
On Thursday, March 27, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it had revoked waivers to California and Oregon colleges and universities that provide services under the Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3).
The P3 Program allows states and localities to integrate program funding across federal agencies to improve the systems serving disconnected youth. Under the Biden Administration, the Department approved a so-called P3 waiver allowing undocumented students to receive TRIO Program services. The TRIO Programs are federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act designed to identify and provide additional academic and career services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs. The pilot waiver only included Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search and TRIO SSS programs. California’s waiver began in November 2022 and was set to expire in September 2026.
The largest anticipated adverse impact will be with Upward Bound and Talent Search programs that provide academic developmental support to local area high school students.
The CSU received notice of the revocation from the Department of Education and will be analyzing what implications this will have on TRIO programs and the students and communities across the state that the CSU and these grants serve.
On Thursday, March 20, President Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”
The Department of Education currently manages programs that are critical to CSU students, including the federal student loan program, Pell Grants, and teacher preparation; and it enforces anti-discrimination laws in education.
Much of what will happen with these programs remains to be seen. At the signing, President Trump said that Pell Grants and certain funding for low-income or disadvantaged children and children with disabilities would be “preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments.” He also has said that the Treasury Department could handle student loans, and that the Department of Health and Human Services could administer funds for students with disabilities; but it is unclear if, when, or how a transition of those services to other departments would happen. President Trump has already cut half the staff from the department, including dramatic cuts to federal education research and to its civil rights division.
CSU teams in California and in Washington D.C. are continuing to watch these developments closely and work with legislators and other supporters to ensure that higher education opportunities remain accessible to all students.