U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts struck down a February 2025 Education Department directive that led to the termination of more than $600 million in grants awarded through the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development programs. Eight Democratic-led states, including California, Massachusetts and New Jersey, challenged the cancellations.

Kelley ruled that the department failed to establish clear criteria for determining which programs qualified as DEI and did not adequately consider the effect of the cancellations on teachers, teacher-training programs and institutions that relied on the funding. She concluded that the directive was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act.

According to the ruling, more than 90% of grants awarded through the two programs were terminated, affecting 109 grants, including 40 awarded to universities and other institutions in the eight states involved in the lawsuit. The grants were intended to support teacher preparation, professional development, and efforts to address teacher shortages.

The ruling comes after the Supreme Court in April 2025 allowed the Trump administration to proceed with terminating the grants while the litigation continued. Kelley said the Supreme Court's decision did not prevent her from reviewing whether the original agency directive complied with the Administrative Procedure Act.

Kelley did not order the government to restore the terminated funding. She said claims seeking monetary recovery from the canceled grants must proceed separately in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.