A federal judge in Boston invalidated an Education Department directive that led to the cancellation of more than $600 million in DEI-related teacher-training grants. Judge Angel Kelley found the directive lacked clear criteria for identifying "DEI" programs and failed to assess harms to educators and institutions. The ruling calls the directive arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act and sends recovery claims to the Court of Federal Claims.
Federal Judge Overturns Education Department Directive That Ended DEI Teacher-Training Grants
An American flag and a U.S. Department of Education flag fly outside the US Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
BOSTON — A federal judge on Thursday struck down an Education Department directive, first issued early in President Donald Trump’s administration, that required the department to terminate millions of dollars in grants supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in teacher training.
U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley of Boston ruled in favor of eight Democratic-led states that continued to challenge the directive even after the U.S. Supreme Court in April 2025 allowed the administration to proceed with terminating the teacher-training grants. Kelley found the directive unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, calling it arbitrary and capricious.
Rationale Behind the Ruling
Kelley said the directive provided no clear standards for determining what programs qualified as "DEI" and therefore were to be disfavored for funding. The Education Department also failed to evaluate or explain how canceling the grants would affect educators, teacher candidates and the institutions that relied on that support.
The Directive does not acknowledge the fact that thousands of teachers, as well as teachers in teacher-training pipelines, would be affected, upending the careers of much-needed educators,
Kelley wrote.
Scope and Impact
The dispute grew out of the Education Department’s February 2025 announcement that it would terminate more than $600 million in K–12 teacher-preparation grants on the grounds that those funds had been used to train teachers and education agencies in what the department described as “divisive ideologies,” including DEI and social justice content.
The affected awards had been distributed through the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development grant programs. According to Thursday’s ruling, the directive led to the cancellation of more than 90% of grants awarded under those programs: 109 grants were terminated in total, including 40 awards to universities and other institutions in the eight plaintiff states.
Procedural Next Steps
Kelley noted that any lawsuits seeking to recover funds lost because of the terminations must proceed in the specialist Court of Federal Claims. She also retained authority to review whether the original February 2025 directive complied with the Administrative Procedure Act and concluded it did not.
The plaintiff states were led by California, Massachusetts and New Jersey. They had earlier persuaded a different judge initially assigned to the case to order reinstatement of the grants, but the Supreme Court’s conservative 6–3 majority put that reinstatement on hold.
The Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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