Attorney General Bonta: Despite Supreme Court’s Stay Order, California Remains Committed to Fighting to Protect Grants That Support Our K-12 Teacher Preparation Pipeline

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a temporary restraining order (TRO) granted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful termination of multi-year grants for K-12 teacher preparation programs. California and a coalition of seven other states obtained the TRO on March 10, 2025, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s order today allows the Trump Administration to go forward with terminating the multi-year grant programs that address the ongoing teacher shortage faced by states across the nation through teacher preparation programs while litigation is ongoing. The Supreme Court’s Order does not conclusively resolve any of the issues in this case, and the preliminary injunction motion is still pending. The evidence presented in the district court is concrete and establishes that without immediate relief many of the programs will shutter – harming the States' students and aspiring teachers.

“The Trump Administration is pursuing an anti-education agenda that would yank teachers out of schools and prevent new teachers-in-training who are close to being ready to serve our students from filling empty classrooms,” said Attorney General Bonta. “While we would have preferred to maintain the TRO, we respect the court process, and we look forward to continuing to make our case in the lower court. California and our multistate coalition remain committed to fighting, so that our kids — especially those in high-poverty or high need schools — have access to qualified, talented teachers and a quality education.”

More information on the K-12 teacher grant lawsuit is available here.