Senator Padilla Condemns Trump Administration Cuts to Behavioral Health Funding in La Mesa-Spring Valley School District

SACRAMENTO – Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) released the following statement today following the Trump Department of Education announcing it plans to terminate grant funding for critical behavioral health services in La Mesa-Spring Valley School District:

“This is the latest example of the Trump Administration needlessly cutting programs that serve the greatest good: helping our most vulnerable students. Make no mistake, these acts were not made for government efficiency, but rather are rooted in recklessness.

We should eliminate barriers between behavior health services and families, not the services themselves. These cuts only make it more difficult for our students to become healthy adults, and break government's promise with the public to help those that need it most.”

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Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/