A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Education to temporarily reinstate canceled federal grants for school-based student mental health services, finding that the abrupt discontinuations risked “numerous irreparable harms.” The order applies to roughly 50 colleges, school districts and nonprofits in the 16 plaintiff states and stems from litigation after the department halted multi‑year, congressionally approved grants in April. Judge Kymberly Evanson’s ruling characterized the blanket cancellations as likely “arbitrary and capricious.” The Education Department said it will appeal; it also announced a new $270 million competition with narrower eligible uses and staffing priorities. Plaintiffs — 16 states and the affected grantees — argued the canceled grants targeted pipelines of school-based mental health providers in rural and underserved areas and that the abrupt cut threatened direct services to students. The decision keeps funds flowing to named plaintiffs while the court weighs longer-term remedies. For higher education and K–12 systems that partner on clinical training and placement of mental health professionals, the ruling revives revenue and program continuity at a moment when districts and colleges were already scrambling to replace lost supports. The case also signals how courts may review administrative reallocations of congressionally authorized education funds going forward.