A federal judge temporarily barred the Trump administration’s planned mass reduction‑in‑force at the Education Department, putting a pause on a move that would have cut hundreds of career staff and imperiled the management of dozens of grant programs. The injunction follows litigation brought by federal unions challenging the legality of the RIF during a government shutdown. The potential layoffs would have affected offices that manage Title I, IDEA, and other major formula grants, raising concerns among states and institutions about interrupted payments, compliance monitoring and data collection. The court order buys time but does not resolve the underlying policy debate about the agency’s role. Universities and state systems are monitoring the litigation closely; sustained staff reductions would shift program administration burdens to other federal offices or to states, with downstream impacts on K‑12 partnerships, higher‑education pipelines, and compliance workflows.