WASHINGTON (TNND) — A federal judge on Thursday issued an order preventing the Trump administration from shutting down the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who have been fired.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun granted a preliminary injunction stopping an executive order President Donald Trump signed in March.

The injunction was requested in a lawsuit filed by the Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts and the American Federation of Teachers, along with other education groups.

The groups said in the lawsuit that the layoffs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities, including supporting special education, distributing financial aid and enforcing civil rights laws.

From distributing funds to help schools work with students with disabilities, to providing support and assistance to parents and families, protecting students’ civil rights, and making sure higher education is affordable for deserving students, civil servants at the Department of Education are essential to the success of students," the American Federation of Teachers said in a release. "Mass firings of these hardworking people planned by the Trump administration will harm students and schools.

In his order, Joun said the plaintiffs painted a “stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations.”

Layoffs of that scale, he added, “will likely cripple the Department.”

Joun ordered the Education Department to reinstate federal workers who were terminated as part of the March 11 layoff announcement.

Trump told Education Secretary Linda McMahon when he signed the executive order that he hopes she will be the "last" Secretary of Education.

"You’re going to do a fantastic job,” he said. “Hopefully, you won’t be there for too long. But we’re going to find something else for you, Linda.”

A White House fact sheet said the order would direct Secretary McMahon “to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Before being confirmed, McMahon said during her Senate hearing that she hopes to make sure the department starts to "operate more efficiently," with Trump and billionaire Elon Musk aiming to reduce wasteful government spending and fraud through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

However, the move would require congressional approval and McMahon previously acknowledged she would need help from Congress to abolish the agency.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.