The daily wave of outrages coming from the Trump administration is so unrelenting that when a new policy directive — more masked ICE raids, anti-vaccine moves, tax breaks for billionaires — comes washing ashore, it can feel like … just let the tide carry it out and we’ll somehow be undisturbed.

But we are disturbed.

The decision by the MAGA administration this month to withhold $6.8 billion in previously approved federal grants to schools has caused widespread concern among educators who rely on these funds for crucial programs like migrant education, before- and after-school programs, and development programs for teachers. California, where 1 in 3 pupils are classified as English learners, has joined 23 other states suing to unfreeze the money, citing the disruption to school budgets and planning after the Trump administration notified states that seven federal education programs are currently under “ongoing programmatic review” despite a July 1 disbursement date enshrined in federal law.

Cutting these funds off, school leaders say, will disproportionately harm students from low-income families, students with disabilities and English learners.

“I write to you today with a deep sense of urgency and concern regarding an unprecedented and — by all appearances — unlawful action taken by the federal administration, which threatens the well-being and academic success of students across our community and nation,” county Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah wrote in a letter addressed to local families after the announcement.

Sabbah estimated that Santa Cruz County was supposed to receive more than $10 million of the federal funding, money which goes to essential services that include support for migrant students, professional development for educators, programs for English learners, as well as after-school, enrichment and student support services.

The federal Office of Management and Budget has said the hold is part of “an ongoing programmatic review of education funding.”

“Initial findings have shown that many of these grant programs have been grossly misused to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda.” No date has been given for when this “review” will be completed or that funds will flow once it is.

Even if they do, with the next school year looming, many districts will likely have already used state and local funds to keep priorities on track, if they haven’t already canceled some programs. Some schools are already considering laying off employees.

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond had this to say about the move from the Trump administration: “In the notification we received, the Trump Administration provides no legal justification for withholding these dollars from our students. The administration is punishing children for the sole reason that states refuse to cater to Trump’s political ideology.”

The best hope for local schools is with the lawsuit filed July 14 in a federal court by 22 state attorneys general and two Democratic governors. The lawsuit states that withholding the funding is a brazen attack on the constitutional separation of powers and also violates federal laws governing education programming, administrative procedures and executive branch spending of funds allocated by Congress.

The lawsuit seeks to restore all the federal funding cut from schools in California (which stands to lose $811 million) and the 23 other states listed as plaintiffs. While the $811 million is only a small portion of the $8 billion in federal funding California receives for education, the sudden loss of the federal grants is “a major disruption for school districts that have already budgeted funds for the upcoming school year,” said EdSource.

Our elected representatives need to continue to speak out against this latest ideological bullying. To cut the grant funding just when districts were expecting it to be disbursed, is not just cruel but illegal, as the money was already appropriated by Congress. Courts have struck down other unconscionable acts by this administration, and we expect they’ll do so again.