By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge in Manhattan has extended an injunction banning the Trump administration from canceling unspent funding to help elementary and high schools in 16 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., address the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos’ preliminary injunction blocks Education Secretary Linda McMahon from rescinding unspent aid, originally totaling more than $1.1 billion, from the American Rescue Plan Act while the states’ lawsuit is pending.
Tuesday’s extension directs the Department of Education to process current and future funding requests “without delay,” and to provide a status report on its progress within one month.
It also prevents the department from enforcing a May 11 “Dear Colleague” letter giving states until May 24 to claim remaining funds.
Ramos originally issued his injunction on May 6.
New York Attorney General Letitia James led the lawsuit, joined by 15 other attorneys general and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. All are Democrats.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington had authorized about $190 billion of aid to help K-12 schools recover from the pandemic, including for tutoring, feeding homeless students and upgrading school buildings.
Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration had extended the aid’s availability through March 2026.
But in a March 28 letter, McMahon, a member of Republican President Donald Trump’s cabinet, said states had had enough time to spend the money and there were better uses for it.
The Education Department also said it would be irreparably harmed if forced to distribute money it could not recover if it won the lawsuit.
Before the case began, Maryland had $245.9 million of unspent money, more than any other state that sued, while New York had $134.2 million.
The case is New York et al v U.S. Department of Education et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 25-02990.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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