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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore teacher training grants in eight states, Education Week reported.
The Education Department said last month that it had canceled $600 million in grants for training teachers that touched on several topics such as diversity, equity and inclusion and antiracism. Trump administration officials described the grant-funded training programs as “inappropriate and unnecessary.”
Eight states—California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin—sued to reinstate the grants. The Los Angeles Times reported that the judge’s ruling will restore about $250 million in grants.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun ruled that the states were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the cancellations were “arbitrary and capricious.” Joun added that canceling the grants would have “upended months, if not years of work required to implement programs that rely on these grants.”
He gave the department 24 hours to restore funding, but Education Week reported that it wasn’t clear whether funds had started to flow again.
Still, the states that sued praised the judge’s decision to issue a temporary restraining order, which is in place for 14 days.
“The Trump administration recklessly and unlawfully terminated grants that had been awarded and obligated to K-12 teacher preparation programs in California and across the country—without any regard for the teachers and students who would pay the price,” California attorney general Rob Bonta said in a news release. “This includes $8 million which California universities and colleges planned to use between now and September to make sure our schools have the teachers they need come fall. Today’s decision is a crucial early victory to ensure these grant dollars continue to flow and our kids get the passionate, qualified, good teachers they deserve.”
