AGs Sue to Stop Trump Education Department Dismantling

PROVIDENCE, RI – RI Attorney General Neronha today joined 20 other attorneys general suing the Trump Administration to stop the Trump Administration from continuing its Education Department dismantling plan, defying Congressional law establishing it in 1979, outside his Constitutional power.

On March 11, the Trump Administration announced the Education Department would be firing about 50 percent of its workforce as part of its goal of a “total shutdown” of the Department. “Attorney General Neronha and the coalition today filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the targeted destruction of this critical federal agency that ensures tens of millions of students receive a quality education and critical resources,” Neronha’s office said in a statement announcing the suit.

With this lawsuit, Neronha and the coalition are seeking a court order to stop the Administration’s policies aimed at Education Department dismantling  by drastically cutting its workforce and programs. The coalition argues that the Administration’s actions are illegal and unconstitutional. The Department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous different laws creating its various programs and funding streams. The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the Executive Branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress.

The move grasps at  control of the the existence of the Department of Education from Congress, which established it in 1979 with the Department of Education Organization Act.

The Trump Administration’s designs on Education Department dismantling are the latest in several extra-Constitutional actions to gut federal agencies described by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Rep. Seth Magaziner Feb. 17 as an “illegal” power grab — otherwise known as a coup.

“This Administration is attempting to exert power beyond what the Constitution allows, and by doing so he is signaling that he believes himself to be above the law,” Attorney General Neronha said of Trump Administration efforts to freeze Congressionally mandated grants to research, education and government organizations, also outside his Constitutional power.

Education Department dismantling causes children harm that ‘cannot be undone’

“The Trump Administration’s unlawful attack on the Department of Education is an attack on children from all walks of life across this country,” said Neronha. “Let’s drill down to what this means for our kids. As with almost any organization, the Department of Education will be incapacitated by the sudden layoffs of half of its workforce, not to mention the Administration’s ultimate goal of eliminating the Department altogether.

These massive layoffs will severely undermine the Department’s ability to perform basic functions, functions upon which American families rely. Kids with special needs who require speech therapy and IEPs and transportation; kids in rural communities whose districts rely on federal help to keep up; kids from underserved communities; those who require vocational rehabilitation services; the list goes on. With this action, the Administration will cause children harm that cannot be undone, the potential effects of which may continue for the rest of their lives. This is thoughtless, it is reckless, and it must be stopped.”

The Education Department programs serve nearly 18,200 school districts and over 50 million K-12 students attending roughly 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools throughout the country. Its higher education programs provide services and support to more than 12 million postsecondary students annually. Students with disabilities and students from low-income families are some of the primary beneficiaries of ED services and funding. Federal ED 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 ED 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.

As Neronha and the coalition assert in the lawsuit, dismantling the Education Department will have devastating effects. The Administration’s layoff is so massive that ED will be incapacitated and unable to perform essential functions. As the lawsuit asserts, the Administration’s actions will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support. They will gut ED’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. They would additionally hamstring the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work study programs.

Joining Attorney General Neronha in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at editor@warwickpost.com with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.