ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Attorneys for plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Labor’s order to pause operations at Job Corps centers nationwide say a settlement filed this week means the program will continue, bringing relief to supporters of the Pinellas County Job Corps Center in St. Petersburg.

The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Public Citizen Litigation group, which represented seven Job Corps students in the case, announced the settlement this week. Public Citizen Litigation Group posted the settlement, filed Monday in U.S. District Court, on its website.

The filing says the Department of Labor must unconditionally rescind its pause and “take no further action to terminate Job Corps operations contracts.”

The Department of Labor announced in May that it was pausing operations at all 99 Job Corps locations nationwide.

At the time, the agency cited concerns including the average yearly amount spent on each student, which it said was more than $80,000, and the national average graduation rate, reportedly 38% for students with a high school diploma.

The Pinellas County Job Corps Center performed above that national average, according to a Job Corps transparency report. The report showed the Pinellas center had a graduation rate of nearly 55% in 2023.

Victoria Atwood, a Pinellas County Job Corps student, said the program helped open doors for her to pursue opportunities in the medical field and the Navy.

“It has given me the opportunity to expand my educational horizons,” Atwood said.

Atwood said that the residential part of the program also made a difference in her life.

“You get a free bed, free hot showers,” Atwood said. “I used to take those things for granted.”

Atwood did not want to detail the circumstances that brought her to the center, but said Job Corps helped her move forward.

“I was homeless,” Atwood said. “I had friends who supported me, but I wanted to find my own way, to make my own way in life. Job Corps allowed me to do that.”

Job Corps is the largest nationwide residential training program in the country. St. Petersburg City Council member Corey Givens Jr., who previously worked at the center, said the program serves young people who are looking for a second chance.

“We have between about 250-275 students over here on campus who are at-risk or low-income youth between the ages of 16-24 who are looking for second chances,” Givens said.

“It’s more than just Job Corps being saved,” Givens said. “Lives are being saved.”

Askia Aquil, president of the Pinellas County Job Corps Community Relations Council, said the program has challenges but also fills a need in the community.

“There’s always some issues with any program, especially federal program operating in a local environment, but the success stories are there,” Aquil said.

Cranstan Cumberbatch, an instructor at the center, said that as a community member, the uncertainty around the program’s future had been difficult.

“With that uncertainty being there, it was kind of frightful for a little bit, but at the same time positive hope because we know what the program does,” Cumberbatch said.

Cumberbatch said he was “super ecstatic and elated” about the settlement. Aquil said the Department of Labor’s order initially affected enrollment because the pipeline of new students closed when it looked like centers would shut down.

He said that the center is now continuously enrolling students, and people can reach out to the center to sign up.

The Department of Labor referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which is representing the agency in the matter.