The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday intervened in a dispute over federal teacher training grants, temporarily blocking a lower court’s order that required the Trump administration to reinstate $250 million in funding.
The case, Department of Education, et al. v. California, et al., centered on a decision by the Department of Education to terminate grants awarded under the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) and Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) programs.
Eight states sued, arguing that the termination was unlawful.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) requiring the government to continue funding the programs. However, the Supreme Court, in a brief per curiam opinion, granted the government’s application to stay that order.
The Supreme Court’s decision hinged on jurisdictional and procedural questions. The court suggested that the district court’s order might be viewed as a preliminary injunction, which could be appealable, and raised questions about the district court’s authority to order the payment of funds under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
The court also expressed concern that the grant funds might not be recoverable if disbursed.
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Justices Kagan, Jackson, and Sotomayor dissented.
Justice Kagan argued that the Court was acting hastily without fully considering the merits of the case, and that the states had demonstrated that the loss of funding would cause significant harm to teacher training programs.
Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor, strongly criticized the Court’s intervention, arguing that the TRO was temporary and that the government had not adequately defended the legality of its decision to cancel the grants. She also highlighted the harm to the states and educational institutions.
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The Supreme Court’s stay will remain in effect pending the outcome of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and any subsequent proceedings, including a potential petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court.
This decision puts the reinstatement of the teacher training grants on hold while the legal battle continues.
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