Washington v. Devos

• Decision Date: 12 June 2020
• Docket Number: NO. 2:20-CV-0182-TOR,2:20-CV-0182-TOR
• Citation: 466 F.Supp.3d 1151
• Parties: State of WASHINGTON, Plaintiff, v. Betsy DEVOS, in her official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of Education, and United States Department of Education, a federal agency, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Washington

466 F.Supp.3d 1151

State of WASHINGTON, Plaintiff,

v.Betsy DEVOS, in her official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of Education, and United States Department of Education, a federal agency, Defendants.

NO. 2:20-CV-0182-TOR

United States District Court, E.D. Washington.

Signed June 12, 2020

Jeffrey T. Sprung, Paul Michael Crisalli, Spencer W. Coates, Attorney Generals Office, Seattle, WA, R. July Simpson, Washington State Office of the Attorney General, Olympia, WA, for Plaintiff.

Alexander V. Sverdlov, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

THOMAS O. RICE, Chief United States District Judge

BEFORE THE COURT is Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 5). This matter was heard with oral argument on June 11, 2020. R. July Simpson and Spencer W. Coates appeared on behalf of Plaintiff. Alexander V. Sverdlov appeared on behalf of Defendants. The Court has reviewed the record and files herein and considered the parties' oral arguments, and is fully informed. For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff's Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 5) is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are drawn from Plaintiff's Complaint and are essentially undisputed as relevant and material to resolution of the instant motion.

1. COVID-19 Outbreak

In late December 2019, the Wuhan City government in Hubei Province, China, started to trace cases of a novel coronavirus. ECF No. 1 at 7, ¶ 17. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. ECF No. 1 at 8, ¶ 18. On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease causing the 2019 outbreak, abbreviated as COVID-19. Id.

On January 21, 2020, the Washington State Department of Health confirmed what was believed to be the first case of COVID-19 in the United States in Snohomish County, Washington. ECF No. 1 at 10, ¶ 23. Until mid-March, Washington had the highest absolute number of confirmed cases and the highest per capita of any state in the country. ECF No. 1 at 11, ¶ 25. On February 29, 2020, Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in all counties in Washington. ECF No. 1 at 11, ¶ 26. On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that the COVID-19 outbreak constituted a national emergency. ECF No. 1 at 12, ¶ 29.

2. CARES Act

In late March 2020, Congress acted to address the COVID-19 outbreak. ECF No. 1 at 13, ¶ 32. On March 27, 2020, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") into law. ECF No. 1 at 13, ¶ 33; Pub. L. No. 116-136, 134 Stat. 281. The CARES Act appropriates federal funding for a wide array of purposes related to COVID-19, including a series of provisions directing funding through the Department of Education ("the Department"). ECF No. 1 at 13, ¶ 34. Specifically, the CARES Act appropriates $30,750,000,000 to the Department for an "Education Stabilization Fund." Id.

Section 18001 directs the Secretary of Education ("the Secretary") to allocate the Education Stabilization Fund for specified purposes in specified percentages. ECF No. 1 at 13, ¶ 35. Section 18001 directs the Secretary to allocate to three funds created by the Act: the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund ("HEERF"). ECF No. 1 at 13-14, ¶ 35.

Subsection (a)(1) of Section 18004 directs the Secretary how to allocate the vast majority of the HEERF: "90 percent to each institution of higher education to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus by apportioning it" according prescribed percentages based on full-time equivalent of students receiving and not receiving Federal Pell Grants. ECF No. 1 at 14, ¶ 37; CARES Act § 18004(a)(1). Subsection (a)(2) directs the Secretary to allocate 7.5% of the HEERF to minority-serving institutions based on a non-discretionary formula. ECF No. 1 at 14, ¶ 38; CARES Act § 18004(a)(2). Lastly, subsection (a)(3) grants the Secretary discretion over the remaining 2.5% of the HEERF to institutions "that the Secretary determines have the greatest unmet needs related to coronavirus." ECF No. 1 at 15, ¶ 39; CARES Act § 18004(a)(3). The Act further provides that the 90% allocation of HEERF funds "shall be distributed by the Secretary using the same systems as the Secretary otherwise distributes funding to each institution under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965." ECF No. 1 at 15, ¶ 41; CARES Act § 18004(b).

Subsection (c) instructs how institutions of higher education are to use CARES Act funds: "[A]n institution of higher education receiving funds under this section may use the funds received to cover any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus," subject to certain discrete subject limitations. ECF No. 1 at 16, ¶ 42; CARES Act § 18004(c). The Act further provides: "Institutions of higher education shall use no less than 50 percent of such funds to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student's cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care)." ECF No. 1 at 16, ¶ 43; CARES Act § 18004(c). The Act clarifies that the terms "institution of higher education" and "cost of attendance" are given their meanings as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965 ("HEA"). CARES Act §§ 18007(2) and (5).

3. Eligibility Guidelines

On April 9, 2020, the Department released a portion of the CARES Act funding Congress appropriated for student emergency grants. ECF No. 1 at 17, ¶ 45. That same day, the Department issued a letter from the Secretary to college and university presidents, a certification form for higher education institutions, a list of individual allocations to colleges and universities, and a methodology for how it calculated the allocations schools were scheduled to receive. ECF No. 1 at 17, ¶ 46; ECF No. 6-1, Ex. B-D. The Secretary's April 9 letter states, in relevant part:

The CARES Act provides institutions with significant discretion on how to award this emergency assistance to students. This means that each institution may develop its own system and process for determining how to allocate these funds, which may include distributing the funds to all students or only to students who demonstrate significant need. The only statutory requirement is that the funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student's cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care).

ECF No. 1 at 17-18, ¶ 48; ECF No. 6-1 at 8.

The Department's certification form states in relevant part:

Recipient retains discretion to determine the amount of each individual emergency financial aid grant consistent with all applicable laws including non-discrimination laws. ... The Secretary does not consider these individual emergency financial aid grants to constitute Federal financial aid under Title IV of the HEA.

ECF No. 1 at 19, ¶ 50; ECF No. 6-1 at 11. Specific recommendations to recipients as to how to allocate the funds follow language such as "the Secretary recommends" and "the Secretary strongly encourages." Id.

On April 21, 2020, the Department announced it would release the additional funds the CARES Act appropriated for institutions' own use. ECF No. 1 at 21, ¶ 53. On that same day, the Department posted a document entitled "Frequently Asked Questions about the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under Section 18004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act" ("the FAQs"). ECF No. 1 at 21-22, ¶ 55. In the FAQs, the Department purported to answer the question, "What students are eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants from the HEERF?" Id. The Department's response (the "eligibility restriction") states:

Only students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), may receive emergency financial aid grants. If a student has filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), then the student has demonstrated eligibility to participate in programs under Section 484 [of] the HEA. Students who have not filed a FAFSA but who are eligible to file a FAFSA also may receive emergency financial aid grants. The criteria to participate in programs under Section 484 of the HEA include but are not limited to the following: U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen; a valid Social Security number; registration with Selective Service (if the student is male); and a high school diploma, GED, or completion of high school in an approved homeschool setting.

Id. ; ECF No. 6-1 at 128, ¶ 9. On April 21, 2020, the Department published a second set of FAQs regarding the institutional portion of the HEERF, which similarly state that "students must be eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants, and only students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), may receive emergency financial grants" (hereinafter, the "eligibility restriction"). ECF No. 1 at 22-23, ¶ 57; ECF No. 6-1 at 133, ¶ 5.

Section 484 of Title IV of the HEA ("Title IV") contains numerous requirements for student eligibility for financial aid, including: U.S. citizenship or eligible noncitizen; a valid Social Security number; registration with Selective Service (if the student is male); a high school diploma, GED, or completion of high school in an approved homeschool setting; the student is not in default on any...