Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in their lawsuit to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education. On March 13, Raoul and the coalition filed their lawsuit after the Trump administration announced plans to eliminate half of the department’s workforce. Following a March 20 executive order directing the closure of the Department of Education and President Trump’s March 21 announcement that, in addition to implementing layoffs, the department must “immediately” transfer student loan management and special education services outside of the department, the coalition is seeking a court order to stop the mass layoffs and transfer of services.
“States, including Illinois, are already feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education,” Raoul said. “Enrollment deadlines for Illinois’ public community colleges and universities approach in a few short weeks, and the turmoil caused by the administration’s actions jeopardizes the futures of tens of thousands of Illinois students. The department also plays a crucial role in protecting K-12 education for all Americans — from ensuring that students with disabilities have equal access to classrooms, to protecting students from discrimination and harassment. The Trump administration’s actions are unlawful, unconstitutional and severely harm students who have the most need for the Department of Education’s programs and services.”
As Raoul and the coalition assert, the Trump administration’s attacks on the Department of Education have already had serious consequences for families and students throughout the country. Mass layoffs of staff have led to the closure of the department’s Office of Civil Rights locations throughout the country. Critical funding for state school systems has also been delayed. As the attorneys general argue, states rely on billions of dollars every year in funding for elementary and secondary education, services for children with disabilities, vocational education, adult education and other crucial services. All of these programs will be severely disrupted if the administration’s incapacitation of the department is not stopped.
Raoul and the coalition argue in their lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction that the Trump administration’s attacks on the Department of Education are illegal and unconstitutional. The department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous 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 dismantle it without an act of Congress. In addition, the attorneys general argue that the mass layoffs violate the Administrative Procedures Act.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing the lawsuit and today’s motion are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
