President Trump was dealt a setback in his plans for American public education, as three federal judges issued separate rulings on Thursday pausing his ability to withhold funds from schools with diversity and equity initiatives.
The rulings block the administration, at least for now, from carrying out efforts to cut off billions of dollars that pay for teachers, counselors and academic programs in schools that serve low-income children. Two of the judges who issued the decisions were appointed by Mr. Trump. A third was appointed by President Barack Obama.
The cases were brought by teachers’ unions and the N.A.A.C.P., among others.
In one of the cases, Judge Landya B. McCafferty of the Federal District Court in New Hampshire said that the administration had not provided an adequately detailed definition of “diversity, equity and inclusion.” She also said the policy threatened to restrict free speech in the classroom, while overstepping the executive branch’s legal authority over local schools.
The loss of federal funding “would cripple the operations of many educational institutions,” wrote Judge McCafferty, who was appointed by Mr. Obama.
The three rulings followed a demand earlier this month by the Trump administration that all 50 state education agencies attest in writing that their schools do not use certain D.E.I. practices. Otherwise, they would risk losing billions in Title I money, which supports low-income students.
The deadline for returning that document was Thursday, and about a dozen states, most of which lean Democratic, refused to sign.