The Trump administration’s request for the Supreme Court to intervene in a fight over federal teacher development grants has elevated an expanding series of legal battles implicating the administration’s sweeping shifts in education policy.
More than 20 lawsuits have been filed, from one against President Trump’s executive order aimed at gutting the Education Department to others from pro-Palestinian student activists challenging efforts to deport them.
Most of the legal challenges have just begun, meaning final decisions could be months or years away as schools and students wait to see the sweeping effects the Trump administration’s efforts could have in the classroom.
Here are the education policy battles that are going through the legal system:
Pro-Palestinian foreign students fighting to stay in the country
Multiple foreign students and faculty who engaged in pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year are taking the Trump administration to court over efforts to take away their immigration status and kick them out of the country.
It started with Mahmoud Khalil, the lead negotiator for Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian encampments last spring who received his graduate degree in December.
The Trump administration took Khalil into custody on March 8 using a rarely cited provision that says the secretary of State can deport a noncitizen if they pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
Later, the government argued Khalil did not disclose previous organizations he worked for, such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, on his permanent resident application.
The first battle in the case — where it will be litigated — is still underway as Khalil, a green card holder, remains in custody while his wife, an American citizen, is due to give birth soon.
On Friday, a federal judge held a hearing on whether to keep Khalil’s challenge in New Jersey or transfer it to Louisiana where he is held, as the government desires. That trajectory would route any appeal through the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, regarded as the most conservative federal appeals court in the country. A ruling could come at any time.
The use of the legal provision on Khalil was only the beginning, especially for those associated with Columbia.
A third-year student at the university with a green card, Yunseo Chung, who has been in the U.S. since she was 7, sued Monday over efforts to revoke her status and deport her. She was also involved in the pro-Palestinian protests but not in a high-profile position like Khalil.
A federal judge granted Chung’s request to temporarily block immigration authorities from detaining her as the challenge proceeds. The judge will hold May 20 ...
