ISTANBUL 

A US federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration directives that sought to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at schools and universities, ruling that the Education Department overstepped its authority, US media reported.

CBS News said that US District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in the state of Maryland found that the Education Department violated procedural law when it threatened to cut federal funding from institutions that continued DEI initiatives.

While saying she took no position on whether the policies were "good or bad, prudent or foolish, fair or unfair," Gallagher noted that the measures "initiated a sea change in how the Department of Education regulates educational practices and classroom conduct, causing millions of educators to reasonably fear" punishment for lawful speech.

The decision came in a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, who argued the rules imposed "unclear and highly subjective" limits nationwide.

The nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward's President and CEO Skye Perryman called the ruling "an important victory" against what she described as the administration's "war on education."

The Education Department has not commented yet.