A federal judge ruled the Education Department directive and its cancellation of hundreds of millions in funds for teacher training programs was unlawful.
As reported by K-12 Dive, on September 17, 2026 a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) anti-diversity, equity and inclusion directive and its cancellation of hundreds of millions in funds for teacher training programs was unlawful. The final court order was issued as part of a lawsuit from eight states challenging the grant cuts and comes over a year after the USDE abruptly cut over 100 grants from the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant program because those programs trained teachers using “divisive ideologies.”
Issued in February 2025, the Trump administration “Eliminating Discrimination and Fraud in Department Grant Awards” directive, which was used to justify the cancellation of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal teacher training grants, was found to be arbitrary, capricious and in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.
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