Two coalitions of K12 and higher ed advocates filed separate lawsuits this week, hoping to derail President Donald Trump’s executive order to close the Department of Education.
One lawsuit was filed by two Massachusetts school districts—the Easthampton School District and Somerville Public Schools—along with the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors, AFSCME Council 93 and the Service Employees International Union.
The other legal challenge comes from public school parents, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Education Association. Both suits claim Trump’s executive order and his other efforts to dismantle the Department of Education are illegal because only Congress can shut down the agency and many of its functions are authorized by Congress.
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“From protecting students’ rights to expanding college access and ensuring support for students with disabilities, the Department of Education is a cornerstone of equitable public education,” said Ilana Krepchin, chair of the Somerville School Committee. “Dismantling it would cause real harm—not only to our students and schools but to communities across the country.”
The lawsuits express particular concern about the impact on students with special needs.
“As a parent of a child with disabilities who has an Individualized Education Program, I am deeply troubled by the severe cuts the Trump Administration has made to the Department of Education,” said Mara Greengrass, a Maryland mother who is a plaintiff in the NEA’s litigation. “Funding for special education and the department’s oversight have been crucial in ensuring my son receives the quality education he—and every child in this country—deserves.”
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to “begin eliminating” the U.S. Department of Education. At a White House ceremony attended by a group of students, he said Linda McMahon would “hopefully” be the last secretary of education.
Both Trump and McMahon have insisted over the last few days that the department’s core functions, such as IDEA funding and student loans, won’t stall because other agencies will administer the programs. Plaintiff Robert Kim, executive director of the Education Law Center, isn’t convinced.
“The administration’s assertion that critical federal funding and support for schools and students will somehow continue as normal even after shuttering the department reveals a dangerous lack of understanding of the department’s role to provide funding for and implement programs for our most underserved student populations, ensure equal access and opportunity, and enforce civil rights in our nation’s schools,” Kim noted in a statement.
A group of 21 states already sued the Trump administration for laying off half the agency’s staff earlier this month.
