Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and Washington, D.C., filed briefs urging a court to overturn the Education Department’s recent rejection of TRIO grant applications, saying the terminations effectively closed long‑running programs that serve low‑income, first‑generation and disabled students. The cancellations affected about 100 grants and deprived more than 43,600 students of tutoring, counseling and college‑access services, the Council for Opportunity in Education says. The briefs argue the department wrongly penalized applications for following statutory equity directives — including targeted outreach to students of color — and that immediate injunctions are needed to restore services this academic year. State attorneys general cite economic and educational harms that will ripple through their K–16 pipelines if TRIO programs remain shuttered. For college access and student‑success offices at community colleges and public universities, restored TRIO funding would mean preserving staffing, outreach and retention programs that demonstrably increase enrollment and completion among underrepresented groups. The litigation raises wider questions about federal grant review standards and political direction of discretionary higher‑education funding.