A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's termination of grant funding for K-12 teacher preparation programs, finding the action violated federal law, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a summary judgment ruling that the Department of Education's termination of the grants was arbitrary and capricious and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. California institutions received letters in February 2025 purporting to terminate grants totaling at least $148 million.
The teacher preparation programs were designed to create pathways for educators in rural and urban communities and in hard-to-fill subjects like math and science. According to the court record, the programs have been shown to increase teacher retention rates and help educators remain in the profession beyond the critical first five years.
In 2024, more than 400,000 teaching positions nationwide were vacant or filled by uncertified teachers, representing about one in eight of all teaching positions.
Attorney General Bonta led the lawsuit with attorneys general from Massachusetts and New Jersey. They were joined by attorneys general from Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin.