Federal court orders gave nearly 140 school districts, universities and state education agencies a chance to retain grants for school mental‑health services after the Education Department abruptly cut multi‑year awards earlier this year. Judge Kymberly Evanson found the department violated law by failing to provide individualized reasons and effectively rerunning a grant competition behind the scenes. Grantees now await project‑by‑project agency decisions due by Dec. 30; the rulings expose legal limits on mid‑project terminations and create a temporary funding pathway for programs that train school mental‑health professionals and serve K‑12 students — work that often involves university partners and training pipelines.