Massachusetts and 19 other states filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday morning to stop the Trump administration from dismantling the US Department of Education, two days after half of the agency’s staff were laid off as part of sweeping cuts to the agency.
The lawsuit, which was filed in US District Court in Boston, argued President Trump does not have the authority to shutter the agency, which serves millions of students spread across tens of thousands of public and private school districts across the country.
The agency administers critical funding to support millions of students, including low-income students and children with disabilities, operates civil rights offices, including one based in Boston, to investigate claims students have faced discrimination, and administers federal loans to make higher education more affordable to students.
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But the job cuts rolled out Tuesday night — laying off about 2,000 of the agency’s roughly 4,100 employees — has “devastated important segments of the Department of Education, rendering the agency unable to perform its core functions,” the lawsuit said.
The cuts have significantly affected several divisions of the Education Department, including the majority of the department’s Office for Civil Rights, the complaint said, and will imperil the agency’s ability to investigate cases of discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, handicap, or age.
The suit seeks a court order vacating Trump’s “directive” to dismantle the Education Department, and an injunction to block orders to cut the agency’s workforce, according to the complaint. It also seeks to allow the fired workers to return to work.
“Regardless of what alternative resources are put in the place of the Department of Education, the process of the Department’s dismantling will create and has created chaos, disruption, uncertainty, delays and confusion for Plaintiff States and their residents,” the lawsuit said.
Trump has not issued an order to shut down the department, but campaigned on dismantling the agency. His education secretary, Linda McMahon, was confirmed by the Senate March 3, and told department employees that its “final mission” was to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over its authority to the states.
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Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the Education Department, said in a statement Thursday that Trump “was elected with a mandate from the American public to return education authority to the states.”
“The Department of Education’s reduction in force (RIF) was implemented carefully and in compliance with all applicable regulations and laws. They are strategic, internal-facing cuts that will not directly impact students and families,” Biedermann said.
She said one of the department’s most crucial functions — investigating allegations of students facing discrimination in schools — will not be affected by the cuts.
The Globe reported Wednesday at least 25 Education Department employees based in Massachusetts were laid off, including several attorneys assigned to the Office for Civil Rights.
The agency administers critical financial aid to school districts, including Title I for districts with many low-income students, and IDEA money to help provide services for students with disabilities.
“The president is not a king,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell during a virtual press conference Thursday. Only Congress has the power to dismantle an agency it created, she said.
“The president has shown nothing but blatant disregard for the rule of law and sadly cruelty towards our people. And in this case, our young people,” Campbell said.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, in a statement, said: “The Trump administration’s unlawful attack on the Department of Education is an attack on children from all walks of life across this country.”
The Education Department case is being presided over by US District Court Judge Myong J. Joun, who was nominated by President Biden and confirmed in 2023.
The layoffs have “also effectively eliminated” the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s State and Grantee Relations Team, which partners with stakeholders and connects them to the resources and relationships they need to support and educate students nationally, the lawsuit said.
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Biedermann, the Education Department spokesperson, said no employees working on the FAFSA, student loan servicing, and Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title funds were affected by layoffs.
There are signs courts are slowing down the administration’s moves to downsize government in other agencies.
Thursday’s lawsuit in Massachusetts was filed a few hours before a federal judge in California ordered the government to hire thousands of probationary workers who had been recently fired in several other departments, according to the Associated Press.
But the attorneys general may face an uphill battle, according to Nick Bednar, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School.
They’ll have to demonstrate they have the standing to challenge the layoffs, which has been challenging for plaintiffs in other cases, including labor unions, Bednar said.
And they’ll have to “establish the unlawfulness” of the layoffs, he said. Generally agencies have discretion in deciding the size of their workforces and how to allocate resources.
US Senator Ed Markey, member of the Senate committee tasked with education issues, said Thursday he met with McMahon before her confirmation. He asked her about her intentions with the department and its key programs, including whether she would work to shut down the department.
“In each instance, she said she would have to study it,” said Markey, who voted against McMahon. “She lied.”
Vatsady Sivongxay, a public school parent and executive director of the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance - Education Fund, hailed the lawsuit and praised Campbell “for fighting to protect Massachusetts students and families.” The organization is a network of thousands of students, parents, educators, education advocates, and school and college staff, according to a spokesperson.
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Grace Young-Jae, the parent of a fifth-grader and a sixth-grader in Quincy’s public schools, including a child on a 504 special education plan, said Thursday she was appalled at the scale of the cuts, and supported the states' lawsuit.
She asked how educators and schools that relied on grants overseen by the agency would continue if the department’s workforce is whittled away.
“It’s still going to impact families,” Young-Jae said. “Cutting the funding and the staff, it affects the children.”
Globe staff writers Mandy McLaren and Omar Mohammed contributed to this report. Past Globe coverage was also used.
John Hilliard can be reached at john.hilliard@globe.com.