A judge has issued an injunction blocking layoffs at three Los Angeles Unified middle schools where civil rights groups said job cuts would deprive inner-city children of their right to an education.

The order Wednesday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Highberger affects teachers and staff at Samuel Gompers, John Liechty and Edwin Markham middle schools.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California the Public Counsel Law Center filed a lawsuit in February, claiming that layoffs at the schools in low-income and minority areas would violate the state constitutional right of students.