Day care workers suing over a D.C. requirement mandating college degrees for childcare workers scored a victory in federal court last week.

A federal appeals court in the District sent the case back to a lower court Friday, ruling that the lawsuit can move forward. Two child care workers and a parent are suing the District, arguing that the rules requiring bachelor’s degrees for day care directors and associate degrees for teachers and caregivers are too onerous for many workers.

Renée Flaherty, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, the libertarian public interest law firm that is representing the day care workers, said employees who are “already qualified for their jobs” should not have to return to school.

“This requirement places an immense burden on my clients and many day care providers in the District,” Flaherty said. “Going to college takes a lot of time and money.”

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which oversees child care facilities in the District, said it does not comment on pending litigation.

D.C. became one of the only places in the country to mandate higher education for childcare workers in 2016.

District officials argued the requirements would elevate a profession important for a child’s development. Critics, including many child care providers, said pursuing college degrees would be too costly and time-consuming and force many workers to leave the profession.

The requirements are part of a broader effort to position the District at the forefront of early childhood education reform. The District’s universal preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds, established more than a decade ago, now enrolls more than 13,000 children.

Ilumi Sanchez, one of the workers suing, has operated a licensed day care program from her home since 2006, according to court documents. She said earning an associate degree would take at least five years as a part-time student.

Initially, officials gave day care workers until December 2020 to obtain an associate degree. In 2017, the District extended the deadline by three years and allowed some day care providers to apply for waivers from the education requirements if they had 10 years of experience. Day care centers may also seek waivers for financial hardship.

But attorneys for the day care workers said the changes by the District would only postpone the inevitable, and many workers would still not be able to meet the requirements.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras dismissed the case because Sanchez and Dale Sorcher, a childcare provider who is also suing, were given more time by the District to pursue a college degree or seek waivers, court documents say.

The federal appeals court said Friday — when it reversed the lower court’s decision — that those measures did not go far enough. Judge Merrick Garland wrote the District could revoke the waivers or choose not to renew them, so the women must “take steps to obtain the required credentials” or risk losing their careers.