Washington joins 20 states to protect students against Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education

OLYMPIA — Washington state joined a lawsuit with 20 other states to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said that Trump’s move is illegal and would destroy a critical federal agency that ensures tens of millions of students receive a quality education and critical resources.

On March 11, the Trump administration announced the department would fire approximately 50% of its workforce as part of its goal of a “total shutdown” of the department.

“Knowledge is power, and these cuts are intended to take invaluable learning opportunities away from millions of students,” Brown said. “As many of Trump’s illegal cuts do, these impacts will fall hardest on young people and families that can least afford it.”

The administration is firing so many employees at the department that it will be unable to perform essential functions.

The states’ lawsuit says that the massive firings are “not supported by any actual reasoning or specific determinations about how to eliminate purposed waste in the Department.” Rather, the complaint filed this morning in Massachusetts, says the executive order is “part and parcel of President Trump’s and Secretary McMahon’s opposition to the Department of Education’s entire existence.”

Students with disabilities and students from low-income families are some of the primary beneficiaries of these services and funding. Federal funds for special education include support for assistive technology for students with disabilities, teacher salaries and benefits, transportation to help children receive the services and programming they need, physical therapy and speech therapy services, and social workers to help manage students’ educational experience.

The department also supports students in rural communities by offering programs designed to help rural school districts that often lack the personnel and resources needed to compete for competitive grants.

The administration’s actions will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support and gut the department’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. The cuts would also hamstring the processing of financial aid, raising costs for millions of college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell grants, and work study programs.

The coalition seeks a court order to stop the administration’s efforts. The executive branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle the Department of Education without an act of Congress.

Joining Washington in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

The complaint can be found here.

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