Supreme Court Sides With Trump Admin Against Teacher Grants Over DEI Concerns

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered some good news for the Trump administration on Friday afternoon. In a 5-4 move, the Court ruled that the administration can block teacher development grants over concerns about prioritizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). As he's done before, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberals.

With such a ruling, the Court has granted an emergency request to stay a Massachusetts court order that would have required the administration to reinstate the grants.

BREAKING: A 5-4 Supreme Court *grants* the Trump administration's emergency request to stay a Massachusetts court order requiring it to reinstate $250 million in Department of Education teacher training grants to eight states.
Roberts & liberals dissenthttps://t.co/TXun2QPChc pic.twitter.com/9BUP5Lou59
— Katie Buehler (@bykatiebuehler) April 4, 2025

Last month, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama and serves in the district of Massachusetts, issued a temporary restraining order requiring the administration to resume the grant programs in eight liberal states: California, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin.

However, this is a temporary victory, and the matter could still come back before the Supreme Court. As The Hill reported:

A divided Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration by allowing officials to block $65 million in teacher development grants frozen over concerns they were promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices.
The 5-4 emergency ruling, for now, lifts a lower order that allowed the Education Department to resume the grants in eight Democratic-led states that are suing.
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The decision is not a final ruling in the case, and the dispute could ultimately return to the Supreme Court.

In February, the administration began canceling disbursements under two federal education grants aimed at developing educators and combatting teacher shortages: the Teacher Quality Partnership Program and the Supporting Effective Educator Development Program.

Officials have cast the freezes as part of the administration’s broader crackdown on DEI, and it also comes as Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon look to effectively gut the department.
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The Trump administration’s Supreme Court emergency appeal comes after a three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift Joun’s ruling. The administration has filed a series of such applications urging the justices to rein in lower courts that have blocked Trump’s policies.
“Beyond the systemic, irreparable constitutional harm to the Executive Branch from judicial arrogation of executive functions as to how and when agencies will disburse or cancel grants, even the court of appeals acknowledged that the government ‘may incur some irreparable harm if it cannot recoup this money,’” the Justice Department wrote in court filings.

The Trump administration has asked the Court to get involved in before, including with a request from last month to do with President Donald Trump's executive order at the start of his second term on birthright citizenship. The Court was also asked to step in when it comes to USAID grants, but last month refused to do so in a 5-4 ruling, with Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the liberals.

Trump and congressional Republicans have been trying to rein in district judges who have been abusing their power in constantly ruling against the executive branch, as Democrats meanwhile cheer on these judges.