On Monday, a coalition of education advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education.
The coalition includes the National Education Association (NEA) — the country’s largest union — the NAACP, several other advocacy organizations, and parents of public school students.
“Nothing is more important than the success of students. America’s educators and parents won’t be silent as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and [Education Secretary] Linda McMahon try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” NEA President Becky Pringle said in a statement. “Gutting the Department of Education will hurt all students by sending class sizes soaring, cutting job training programs, making higher education more out of reach, taking away special education services for students with disabilities, and gutting student civil rights protections.”
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, his administration has moved steadily toward dismantling the agency. These efforts have included cutting staff and canceling $1.5 billion in contracts and grants tied to congressionally approved programs.
On March 11, McMahon announced a department-wide reduction in force that — when combined with earlier cuts — halved the agency’s staff. Approximately 1,300 employees at the Education Department were notified that they would lose their jobs, including all staff from the Office for Civil Rights in seven of its 12 regional offices.
“Education is power. By firing half of the workforce at the Department of Education, Trump is not only seeking to dismantle an agency — he is deliberately destroying the pathway many Americans have to a better life,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement.
Then, on March 20, Trump signed an executive order directing McMahon to take all necessary steps to eliminate the Department of Education. Just one day later, he revealed plans to transfer the federal student loan program to the Small Business Administration and move disability-related education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“As a parent of a child with disabilities who has an Individual Education Program (IEP), I am deeply troubled by the severe cuts the Trump Administration has made to the Department of Education,” Maryland parent and lawsuit plaintiff Mara Greengrass said in a statement. “Funding for special education and the Department’s oversight have been crucial in ensuring my son receives the quality education he — and every child in this country — deserves.”
According to the NEA, dismantling the department would jeopardize critical support for millions of students — particularly those from low-income families, English language learners, rural students, and students experiencing homelessness. The move could also endanger more than 400,000 educator jobs, remove oversight of federal education funds, and disrupt services for 7.5 million students with disabilities.
“The Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the Department of Education is not only illegal; it inflicts great harm on students, schools, and communities across the country,” said Robert Kim, executive director of the Education Law Center.
The lawsuit argues that Trump exceeded his constitutional authority by attempting to unilaterally dismantle a federal agency established by Congress, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. “Taken together, Defendants’ steps since January 20, 2025, constitute a de facto dismantling of the Department by executive fiat…. ” the complaint argues. “But the Constitution gives power over ‘the establishment of offices [and] the determination of their functions and jurisdiction’ to Congress — not to the President or any officer working under him.”
In a separate lawsuit filed the same day, the American Federation of Teachers, along with several public school districts and advocacy organizations, also challenged the executive order. Their suit similarly seeks a court ruling to block the order and declare the administration’s actions unlawful.
“This country needs to be focused on how to improve education and opportunities for all and how to support those who both give and receive education with safe, effective, accessible, and quality schools and opportunities,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, the legal group representing the plaintiffs. “Yet, instead of doing that, Donald Trump is taking a wrecking ball to our nation’s best values and our chance at a better future.”
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