Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement after joining a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education.
“Illinois students have long relied on the Department of Education to oversee the timely processing of financial aid applications and the release of aid, so they can make informed decisions about pursuing postsecondary education,” said Raoul. “The Trump administration’s unlawful, unconstitutional action will severely hamstring the processing of essential financial aid. The elimination of large numbers of employees in the department’s Office of Civil Rights Harms Illinois students seeking redress from the federal government when violations of their rights affect their ability to obtain an education. Using mass layoffs to effectively dismantle a department that has its responsibilities set in federal law is yet another example of this administration’s unconstitutional and unlawful overreach.”
“What’s happening now in D.C. is devastating, disheartening and destructive to our nation’s education system,” said Arne Duncan, Former Secretary of Education and current Managing Partner at Chicago CRED. “Trump trying to dismantle the Department of Education does not help a single child learn how to read, which we should be focused on as a nation. Education should be the ultimate bipartisan issue. Trump’s attacks on education are unprecedented in the history of our nation. I appreciate Attorney General Raoul’s leadership and commitment in trying to right this wrong, not just for Illinois, but for children across the country. I will do whatever I can to help in this effort.”
The Department of Education’s programs serve nearly 18,200 school districts and over 50 million K-12 students who attend roughly 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools throughout the country. The department’s higher education programs also provide services and support to more than 12 million postsecondary students annually. As Attorney General Raoul and the coalition assert in the lawsuit, dismantling the Department of Education will have devastating effects for states like Illinois, which was expected to receive around $3.56 billion in federal funding in fiscal year 2025. According to data from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the state is home to 866 K-12 school districts comprised of 3,835 schools that serve over 1.85 million students.
Students with disabilities and students from low-income families are some of the primary recipients of the department’s 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 experiences. 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 vie for competitive grants. In Illinois, more than 375,000 students benefit from the funding provided through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that ensures students with disabilities have access to education.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition are seeking a court order to stop the administration’s policies to dismantle the Department of Education by drastically cutting its workforce and programs.
Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing the lawsuit 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, Washington, Wisconsin and Vermont.
