Federal Judge Blocks DeVos Rule In Washington State

A federal judge in Washington state has blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from restricting CARES Act emergency grants from undocumented students, including students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

In April, DeVos and the Department of Education (Department) issued guidance blocking undocumented students and others from receiving emergency grants from the CARES Act. Late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice granted a motion for an injunction after oral arguments yesterday on the matter.

“The harm to students that stems from the eligibility restriction is not only the inability to access (the CARES Act) funds; the harm is in the inability to access these emergency funds in a timely manner,” the judge wrote.

This ruling comes just one day after Education Secretay Betsy DeVos issued a rule to finalized her ban on undocumented students from receiving the emergency grants under the CARES Act. The judge described the Department’s rulemaking as “likely unjustified and inadequate.”

The CARES Act appropriated about $14 billion in coronavirus relief for institutions of higher education. Colleges and universities were required to use at least half of the money they received to provide emergency grant aid to students. The emergency grants were for basic needs expenses, such as housing, food, or health care.

Bob Ferguson, the attorney general of Washington, filed suit against the Department of Education arguing that the Department was going against the intent of Congress by excluding these students from receiving the relief during the pandemic.

Ferguson was pleased with the judge’s decision. “The Trump Administration’s unlawful decision severed a financial lifeline to thousands of college students struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ferguson said in a press release. “I look forward to those students getting the help they need.”

The preliminary injunction issued today only applies in the state of Washington. But Washington wasn’t the only one to sue the Department over this rule. The California Community Colleges sued the Department in May and also had a hearing in court earlier this week. The federal judge in that case could rule any day.