A federal appeals court ruling requires the release millions of dollars in grants for mental health workers in schools.

Reminder:

The program, funded by Congress after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, included grants to help schools hire more counselors, psychologists, and social workers, with a focus on rural and underserved areas.
The Trump administration opposed aspects of the grants that prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of counselors from diverse backgrounds or from communities served by the district. It told grant recipients they would not receive funding past Dec. 2025.
But a judge ruled in October that the move to cancel the grants was arbitrary and capricious. The Department of Education then requested an emergency stay.

What’s new: Last week, an appeals court panel said the government had not shown it is likely to succeed based on its claims that the district court does not have jurisdiction or that it will be “irreparably injured absent a stay.”

Yes, but: The ruling only applies to some grantees in the 16 Democratic-led states that challenged the Education Department’s decision to end the funding.