A judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate some of the education grants it had nixed as part of its work to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin in Maryland said that the U.S. Department of Education’s termination of the grant awards is “likely to be proven arbitrary and capricious, because the Department’s action was unreasonable, not reasonably explained, based on factors Congress had not intended the Department to consider,” and were “otherwise not in accordance with law.”

The end of the grants could have a “grave effect on the public,” Rubin wrote, including “fewer teachers for students in high need neighborhoods.”

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The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, the National Center for Teacher Residencies and the Maryland Association of Colleges for Teacher Education filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the U.S. Department of Education and President Donald Trump for the administration’s termination of more than 100 educator preparation grants.

An analysis by the National Center for Education Statistics found that 80% of public school teachers in the 2020-2021 school year were white, 9% were Hispanic and 6% were Black.

The plaintiffs claimed that the grants were funded under Congressionally appropriated programs.

National Center for Teacher Residencies CEO Kathlene Campbell applauded the restoration of the grants.

“At a time when we as a nation are enduring local teacher shortages, especially in critical areas of need, we must not fall short in supporting the preparation of teachers,” Campbell said in a statement. “That’s why this ruling is paramount in supporting current and future teachers of the education field.”

A federal judge in Boston also recently ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore grants for teacher preparation in eight states.

The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request from CNBC for comment.

Harvard University is the latest institution to announce that tuition will be free for undergraduates with family incomes of $200,000 or less beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. 

It joins a growing list of select private colleges — many in the ‘Ivy Plus‘ category — that have also recently increased their financial aid awards to attract top students wary of high college costs.

In November, the University of Pennsylvania said it would guarantee a financial aid package that covered tuition with grants and work-study for students from families that make up to $200,000. That same month, Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it would also become tuition free for undergraduates with family incomes below $200,000.

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Additionally, last year other schools, such as Vanderbilt University and Dartmouth, expanded aid to include full-tuition scholarships to students of families below a certain income threshold. Even before then, Harvard, along with Duke University, Princeton University, Yale University and Northwestern University introduced “no-loan” policies, which meant they eliminated student loans altogether from their financial aid packages.

“Harvard’s announcement is long overdue given Princeton increased its threshold for 100% aid, including tuition, room and board, to families who earn less than $100,000 in 2023,” said Hafeez Lakhani, founder and president of Lakhani Coaching in New York.

Still, it is a “powerful” statement, he said — “it signals Harvard is not only matching Princeton but taking another step forward in the affordability arms race.”

Undergraduate tuition at Harvard College was more than $56,000 this year, but the total cost of attendance, including room and board, was nearly $83,000, according to the school. Harvard College is the undergraduate institution at the university.

In addition to its tuition-free offer, since 2023, the university has made schooling completely free for students from families with annual incomes under $85,000, covering tuition, food, housing, health insurance and travel costs. Now, that threshold will increase for families with incomes of $100,000 or less.

Currently, more than 50 colleges and universities are tuition-free for students with household incomes below certain thresholds, according to data from The Princeton Review.

Another nine, including College of the Ozarks and the U.S. Air Force Academy, charge no tuition at all, regardless of family income.

“Bravo to Harvard and other colleges offering free tuition to qualified applicants, as well as to all schools working to increase their financial aid awards,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief. “Colleges making tuition free to eligible applicants are addressing that fear of college debt head-on.”

The rising cost of college and ballooning student loan balances have been growing problems nationwide.

Taking on too much debt is now the top worry among college-bound students, according to a recent survey by The Princeton Review.

Another report in 2022 found that most Americans, overall, see the benefits of higher education but are concerned about high tuition and student debt — 83% said college costs are prohibitive to low-income students. 

“Given the current climate — including Columbia losing $400 million in federal funding and Harvard being on the ‘watch list’ for similar cuts — it’s an incredibly generous move by Harvard to increase the student population who is eligible for 100% aid,” Lakhani said. “No doubt they are willing to dip into their endowment for this commitment to socioeconomic diversity.”

However, even though more colleges are eliminating education debt from the outset, students may still be on the hook for other expenses, such as room and board, as well as books and fees. There may also be a work-study requirement, depending on the school. 

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It’s of course very difficult to lose your spouse — and some survivors may also have to deal with the shock of higher taxes after their wife or husband dies.

That’s because after a partner’s death, surviving spouses may face a “survivor’s penalty” due to the shift from married filing jointly to single filing status, potentially leading to higher taxes and increased Medicare premiums.

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The survivor’s penalty is more common among older women, who typically outlive their husbands, experts say.

“That’s what I call the widow’s penalty,” said certified public accountant Ed Slott. 

In 2023, there was roughly a 5.3-year difference in life expectancy between sexes, according to U.S. population data released in December from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Life expectancy was 81.1 years for females and 75.8 for males.

In some cases, these survivors are “hit hard with extra taxes,” Slott said.

Most spouses file taxes jointly, which provides a larger standard deduction and wider tax brackets compared to single filers.

The standard deduction for 2025 is $30,000 for married couples, and $15,000 for single filers. The brackets are based on “taxable income,” which you calculate by subtracting the greater of the standard or itemized deductions from your adjusted gross income.

The higher standard deduction and more generous brackets can mean lower taxes for some spouses, depending on their earnings and other factors, experts say.

In the year that a spouse dies, the surviving spouse can continue filing taxes jointly with their deceased partner, assuming they don’t remarry before year-end. With a dependent child, you can choose qualifying surviving spouse for up to two years. Otherwise, you’ll use the single-filer status the year after your spouse passes.

While Social Security income may adjust, other earnings could be the same, and the surviving spouse is back at the single tax bracket, Slott said. 

The surviving spouse typically inherits their deceased spouse’s pre-tax individual retirement account and the required minimum distributions, George Gagliardi, a certified financial planner and founder of Coromandel Wealth Management in Lexington, Massachusetts, previously told CNBC.

“The larger the IRAs, the bigger the tax problem,” he said.

However, married couples can plan for this in advance, experts say.

You could also weigh Roth IRA conversions in the year of the first spouse’s death, Slott said.

Roth conversions move pre-tax or nondeductible IRA funds to a Roth IRA, which can kick-start tax-free growth after an upfront tax bill. 

The Roth account provides a “double benefit” with tax-free withdrawals and no RMDs during life, Slott said.