Judge Says Education Department Remains Barred From Canceling COVID-19 School Aid

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

A federal judge issued an order on June 3 preserving a previous preliminary injunction that had blocked the Department of Education from rescinding extensions given to states for accessing COVID-19-related funds for school districts.

District Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York said the injunction he issued on May 6 will remain in effect amid the ongoing litigation involving 16 states and the District of Columbia, which brought the case on April 10 alleging that the Education Department’s reversal in granting the extensions for accessing the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) was arbitrary, in violation of the law.

ESF allocated more than $276 billion to support school districts in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

States were initially given until Sept. 30, 2024, to obligate the use of funds, and until Jan. 28, 2025, to access the funds to liquidate the obligations.

The department later granted extensions to the plaintiffs, allowing them to access the funds through March 2026.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon subsequently informed the states in March this year that the previously granted extensions were being rescinded because the pandemic was over and extending the deadline was no longer aligned with the department’s current priorities, although the states could reapply for extensions.

In the June 3 ruling, Ramos ordered the department to process the plaintiffs’ outstanding and future requests for the funding “without delay” and provide a status report detailing the payment.

The department was also barred from enforcing a May 11 directive requiring the plaintiffs to liquidate their obligations under the ESF by May 24, according to the ruling.

The Department of Education did not return a request for comment by publication time.

Government lawyers argued in an April 24 brief that the department’s actions were not arbitrary and capricious “because rescission of the prior extension was within the Department’s discretion” and that they “did not conflict with the relevant appropriations statutes.”

The lawyers also stated that the plaintiffs would not suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction because they still had the option to reapply for a fresh extension but had chosen not to do so.

Ramos issued the preliminary injunction on May 6, blocking the department from rescinding the previously approved extensions for accessing the funds. The judge also required department officials to give the plaintiffs at least 14 days’ notice before making any changes to the extensions.

The lawsuit was brought by the attorneys general of New York, Arizona, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and the District of Columbia, as well as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.