US District Judge Angel Kelley struck down a policy adopted early in US President Donald Trump’s administration that directed the US Department of Education to terminate teacher-training grants associated with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The ruling favored eight Democratic-led states that continued challenging the policy after the US Supreme Court in April 2025 allowed the administration to proceed with the cuts while the case moved forward. The department had moved in February 2025 to slash around $600 million from grants issued through the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development programs, citing programs focused on critical race theory, DEI, social justice, anti-racism, white privilege and white supremacy. Kelley said the directive was arbitrary and capricious because it failed to explain why grants previously encouraging DEI-related work were suddenly disfavored and did not adequately address the consequences for teacher preparation. More than 90% of grants under the two programs were terminated, including 109 awards, 40 of them to universities and other institutions in the eight states. Claims for recovering lost funds must proceed in the Court of Federal Claims, while Kelley retained authority to assess the directive under the Administrative Procedure Act.