She accused MI leaders of attempting "to discriminate against and strip emergency funding from kids in the midst of a global pandemic, based simply on the schools their parents have chosen".

The Trump administration ordered public schools across the U.S.to share their coronavirus funding with private schools.

A coalition of blue states sued the Department of Education on Tuesday, saying that coronavirus aid has been illegally diverted by department officials toward private schools, some of which have already received assistance during the pandemic.

"Under their new rule, private schools in affluent districts may receive services that Congress intended for disadvantaged students. There is no reasonable explanation for debating the use of federal funding to serve both public and private K-12 students when federal funding, including CARES Act funding, flows to both public and private higher education institutions", said press secretary Angela Morabito. Otherwise they can instead provide services just for low-income students, but public school advocates say that is unworkable for many districts.

Attorney generals from Michigan, Maine, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., joined the lawsuit. The president of the nation's largest education union said Trump is more interested in scoring points for the November election than in keeping students safe. Lamar Alexander, R-TN, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

When Cavuto asked about the president threatening to cut aid for schools that don't reopen, DeVos said schools would be breaking their "promise" to schools by not reopening. Under one, states would use private schools' total enrollment to determine its share of a district's funding.

Becerra contends that is an unlawful interpretation of the CARES act, which allows private schools to get a disproportionate amount of Title I funds - traditionally reserved for low-income students.

To Devos, this compromise creates parity for low-income schools. Keeping students at home can lead to social isolation, the organization said, and prevent schools from identifying learning deficits, abuse, depression and other issues.

"The Secretary of Education manufactured guidance and a rule that favored non-public schools at the expense of public schools", said Dana Nessel, Michigan Attorney General. But, yet again, Secretary DeVos has made a decision to tip the scales in favor of private schools, leaving the State's public-school students behind. "Our administration is committed to working with Attorney General Nessel to stand up for Michigan's students, educators, and families to make sure our tax dollars are supporting public schools".

To date, 77 private schools nationwide, including 62 Catholic schools, have closed since the start of the pandemic, according to the libertarian Cato Institute, which is tracking school closures.

This week, St. Cornelius Catholic School in Richmond, serving 140 students, became the latest to join list, due to declining enrollment.