A US federal judge has directed the Trump administration to reinstate access to over $1 billion in education funding intended to support students to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The preliminary injunction, which was issued by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York, followed the lawsuit by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 17 other state leaders to enjoin the reductions. It bars the U.S. Department of Education from implementing an abrupt revocation of access to grant funds already allocated under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) by the March 28 directive.
The administration’s action, Attorney General Raoul stated, would have hurt the country’s most vulnerable students the most.
“The Trump administration’s shortsighted and illegal decision to attempt to rescind already-appropriated education funding would hurt vulnerable students the most and could wreak havoc on the budgets of school districts throughout Illinois and the nation,” Raoul said. “I am committed to joining with my fellow attorneys general to stand up against the president’s continued illegal and reckless actions.”
The lawsuit, which was brought on April 10, opposes the Department of Education’s attempt to recapture funding allocated up to March 2026. Grants fund three large programs: Homeless Children and Youth (HCY), Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), and Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools (EANS).
The initiatives were intended to support K-12 schools managing the long-term consequences of the pandemic, particularly among low-income and unhoused students.
The coalition and Raoul contended that freezing the funds without notice would cause budget gaps, require program reductions, and jeopardize essential services to teachers and students. In addition to Illinois, attorneys general from Arizona, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Oregon joined the suit. Pennsylvania’s governor also signed up.
