AACTE, NCTR File Lawsuit to Protect Federal Funding for Educator Preparation Programs

Lawsuit Seeks to End the Unlawful Termination of More than 100 U.S. Department of Education Grants

(March 3, 2025, Washington, D.C.) — AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education), along with its Maryland affiliate, the Maryland Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (MACTE), and the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR), filed a lawsuit today to challenge the termination of more than 100 educator preparation grants that were illegally ended by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) last month. These grants, funded under three Congressionally appropriated programs—SEED (Supporting Effective Educator Development), TQP (Teacher Quality Partnership) and Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program (TSL)—were used to support programs that prepare and develop educators.

“The termination of these grants has caused immediate harm to our teacher preparation programs, as well as to the schools, teachers, and students who benefited from them.  These funds help reduce teacher shortages and enhance the development and effectiveness of educators in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the country,” said Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D., president and CEO of AACTE. “We are proud to advocate for our members to ensure that the federal funds they were awarded and rely on continue.”

Kathlene Campbell, Ph.D., CEO of NCTR, said, “Our SEED-funded programs and those of our members cannot continue to support teachers in 15 states without these critical funds. The unlawful immediate termination of our grants will be felt nationwide in fewer highly prepared teachers for our schools and for our students.”

The complaint argues that the reason provided directly to grantees for terminating the grants, as well as the publicly articulated reason for the cancellations, were both illegal. The Department’s official reason was that they were canceling the grants because of a change in Department Priorities. However, the lawsuit points out that the Department of Education is unique in that it is required by statute and Department regulation to undertake notice and comment rulemaking to set Priorities for competitive grant programs, and since that hasn’t happened in the Trump Administration, the current Department Priorities are still the ones that were in place when the grants were awarded. For the Department to establish new Priorities, it must do so only through the means set by law, not through whim or fiat.

Furthermore, the Department issued a press release after terminating the teacher grants, stating that they were canceled because they included DEI initiatives. Since the grants were canceled in reliance on the president’s Executive Order calling on the Department to terminate equity-related grants, the lawsuit argues that the terminations are prohibited by the district court’s order in NADOHE v. Trump.

The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

About AACTE
Established in 1948, AACTE is the leading voice in educator preparation. AACTE’s member institutions and programs prepare the greatest number of professional educators in the United States and its territories, including teachers, counselors, administrators, and college faculty. These professional educators are prepared for careers in PK-12 classrooms, colleges and universities, state and governmental agencies, policy institutes, and non-profit organizations. Learn more at  aacte.org.

About NCTR
The National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing, launching, supporting, and accelerating the impact of teacher residency programs. Headquartered in Chicago, NCTR’s mission is to transform educator preparation by advancing the teacher residency movement to prepare, support, and retain more effective educators who represent and value the communities they serve. For more information about NCTR, visit https://nctresidencies.org/.