MARTIN COUNTY, Ky. (WCHS) — Twenty-four states are now suing the Trump administration for freezing $6 billion in approved education funding, asking a federal judge to step in.

One of those states is Kentucky, which is waiting for $96 million in federal education funds.

A student population formula dictates how much of the money Kentucky school districts will receive. For places like Martin County, they will get $215,000, and while that may not seem like a lot, school leaders say it's funding they count on every year.

"It helps. Every little bit helps," Martin County School Superintendent Larry James said. "We are going to ride it out this year, then next year we will have to probably not have RTI teachers which will affect kids."

James said the school district is still trying to catch up from COVID, and the RTI teachers help low performing students with individual attention or small groups attention. He said grades could potentially suffer if the county did not have this program.

Kentucky, North Carolina and 22 other states have filed a lawsuit in federal court to get the money they say was already allocated by congress. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said notice of the frozen money came in an email.

"It was a three-sentence email that contained basically no details and simply said this money was going to be frozen until further notice. Since then, they have been unwilling to answer our questions," Jackson said.

James said the delay has already had an impact on the upcoming school year.

"It is too late for this year. Our budget was really tight," James said.

The first day of school in Martin County is Aug. 6.