Co-Led by New Jersey

District Court Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order\

Temporary Restraining Order

TRENTON – New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today secured a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts temporarily blocking the Trump Administration’s unlawful termination of K-12 teacher preparation pipeline grants while the states seek a preliminary injunction. Attorney General Platkin co-led a coalition of eight attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the termination of this funding last week.

“I am glad the Court has stopped the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to deprive students in New Jersey of the best-in-the-nation education that they deserve,” said Attorney General Platkin. “President Trump is not a king, and he cannot unilaterally dismantle our education system. We will continue to fight this illegal action and protect our students, teachers, and schools.”

BACKGROUND

In 2024, more than 400,000 teaching positions in the U.S. — representing about one in eight of all teaching positions nationwide — were vacant or filled by uncertified teachers. When schools are unable to find qualified teachers, students suffer. Teacher shortages can result in larger class sizes, cancelled courses, or classes staffed with teachers less able to teach a subject.

To address the nationwide teacher shortage, especially for hard-to-fill subject areas, like math, science, and special education, and in hard-to-staff school districts in rural and urban areas, Congress established and allocated funding pursuant to the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development grant programs to train teachers, create a new teacher pipeline, and improve teacher quality. The U.S. Department of Education subsequently awarded and obligated funds to states’ public universities and associated nonprofits grants under these programs to do exactly what Congress mandated — provide teacher training, placement, and retention, and new teacher pipeline development in the states.

Beginning on February 7, 2025, the Department of Education terminated, with immediate effect, grants awarded to K-12 teacher preparation programs in New Jersey and nationwide. Hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding have been terminated. These terminations would be felt immediately across New Jersey schools that rely on these programs to bring teachers into their classrooms. The terminations would also cause layoffs or reductions in hours for University staff, and result in reduced or eliminated support and funding for new aspiring teachers.

In New Jersey, two colleges with exemplary teacher preparation programs — Montclair State University (MSU) and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) — both received word that their grants were cut without explanation or warning.

MSU has used its TQP funds to recruit and prepare high-quality teachers for two local schools districts — Newark Board of Education and Orange Public Schools — in subjects such as math, science, and special education.

TCNJ was in the process of training educators as part of its teacher residency program. These educators, who are in the classroom in their local partnership schools fulltime, were scheduled to graduate in Spring 2025 and enter their own classrooms this coming fall.

In New Jersey, this matter is being handled by Deputy Attorneys General Jessica Palmer, Amanda Morejón, Lauren Van Driesen, and Elizabeth Walsh.

In addition to New Jersey, California and Massachusetts, other states joining the lawsuit are Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Wisconsin.

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