In a Shocking Move, US Supreme Court Backs Trump’s Cuts to Teacher Training Grants

In a decision that has sent shockwaves through the global education community, the US Supreme Court has permitted the Trump administration to go ahead with slashing $600 million in teacher training grants—funds that supported Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)-related programs. The 5-4 ruling is being seen as a major blow to the foundational ideals of inclusive education.

The affected grants, including the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator programs, were created to recruit and train educators, particularly for rural and underserved communities. These programs were designed not just to address America’s growing teacher shortage but also to help educators understand and embrace student diversity—a critical aspect of modern pedagogy.

Trump’s Department of Education has argued that the programs funded “divisive ideologies.” A standardised letter sent to grant recipients stated that the department no longer supports programs promoting DEI or “any other initiatives that unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, or other protected characteristics.”

But to education experts, the decision is not just bureaucratic—it’s deeply symbolic.

When the world needs more aggressive teacher training, not less, this ruling feels like a backward leap. At a time when classrooms are more diverse than ever—culturally, neurodivergently, socio-economically—cutting back on training that helps teachers manage inclusive classrooms could spell disaster for the next generation of learners.

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Teachers make every other profession possible. You cannot take away their training and expect education to survive.

DEI is not a trending buzzword—it is a matter of human dignity and rights. When teachers are better equipped to understand different learning needs and cultural contexts, every child benefits. These funds were not “divisive”; they were the very backbone of equitable education.

This Supreme Court ruling comes in the wake of Trump’s broader effort to dismantle the Department of Education itself, part of his controversial plan to downsize federal governance. An executive order to “eliminate” the department was signed in March 2025, though its full dissolution still requires congressional approval.

Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting in the ruling, called the decision “a mistake,” adding that nowhere in the government’s defence was there a legal justification for cancelling the grants. Fellow Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the terminations were contrary to Congress’s original intent of ensuring quality education for all.

While the US wrestles with these policy reversals, the international education community must remain vigilant. This is not just a national matter. The US has long set the tone for education policy worldwide. If other countries begin to emulate this regression, we risk reversing years of progress toward inclusion, understanding, and equality in education.

Let us be clear: Training teachers is not a gimmick. It is a necessity. A minimum standard. 
We hope that while the world watches, it does not follow suit.