Judge blocks Trump’s $600 million cuts to DEI grant funding for teachers

A federal judge in Massachusetts permanently blocked an Education Department directive that cut roughly $600 million in teacher-training grants over claims the programs promoted diversity, equity and inclusion. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley found the government could not define DEI or explain why targeted programs, some as broad as “social-emotional learning,” counted as discriminatory.

Eight Democratic-led states sued in 2025, arguing the cuts destabilized school budgets planned years in advance. The Supreme Court had let the cuts proceed temporarily while litigation continued, but Kelley's final ruling now bars the government from acting on the directive at all.

The Education Department's press office insisted the grants funded ‘divisive ideology,’ a claim the ruling notes the department never actually substantiated on the record.

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