Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order as part of his ongoing attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.
"President Trump’s executive order is no more legal than his other actions intended to dismantle the Department of Education. Decimating the department’s workforce, then signing today’s executive order while simultaneously directing the continuation of critical programs and services is ludicrous.
“States, including Illinois, are already feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s actions. On March 11, all staff in a Chicago branch of the department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) were laid off, completely closing the office. For decades, the OCR has protected American students’ civil rights – from ensuring that students with disabilities have equal access to classrooms, to protecting students from discrimination and harassment. Students who could previously rely on the OCR to address potential violations of their civil rights must now go to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), which is already experiencing a higher call volume for such disputes. Yet ISBE has neither the funding nor the equipment to resolve them.
“Furthermore, millions of students count on the Department of Education to promptly process requests for student aid as they finalize their postsecondary plans. 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 who depend upon the prompt processing of FAFSAs to finalize their plans.
“The Trump administration’s actions are unlawful, unconstitutional and most negatively impact students who have the most need for the Department of Education’s programs and services. I am firmly committed to continuing to fight for all students, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or ability, to have access to quality educations and the opportunity it affords.”
“High-quality education is in our nation’s interest. A strong military is our best defense, and a great education system is our best offense. Education should be the ultimate bipartisan, or nonpartisan, issue. Trump’s assault on education is unprecedented in the history of our nation,” said Arne Duncan, Former Secretary of Education and current Managing Partner, Chicago CRED. “The Department of Education serves our nation’s vulnerable children: poor children, rural students, students with special needs, students going to college on Pell Grants, etc. Any attempt to reduce educational opportunity for our students who most need, and deserve, a high-quality education is educationally and morally bankrupt, and must be challenged in every way possible. I am so grateful, and thankful, for Attorney General Raoul’s leadership in fighting for our nation’s children.”
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.
Last week, Attorney General Raoul and a coalition of 20 attorneys general filed a lawsuit over the administration’s action to dismantle the Department of Education by drastically cutting its workforce and programs. The lawsuit is pending in the District of Massachusetts.
