A federal judge ordered the reinstatement of dozens of Department of Education mental-health grants after concluding the department unlawfully terminated multi‑year awards earlier this year. Judge Kymberly Evanson found the Education Department failed to provide individualized explanations and had improperly applied new priorities retroactively. The litigation affects nearly 140 school districts, universities and state education agencies that had been cut off from multi‑year School‑Based Mental Health Services and Mental Health Professional Demonstration grants. The programs were designed to expand school-based mental‑health professionals and partnerships with higher‑education training programs. Evanson’s ruling criticized the department’s uniform termination notices and said the cancellations caused “significant disruption.” Grant recipients should prepare to resume operations and fiscal reporting while federal officials consider appeals or revised procedures; legal precedent now constrains the department’s ability to reallocate congressionally authorized multi‑year funds without proper notice and individualized review.