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, who 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 impact 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….