New lawsuit alleges cuts to the Department of Education impact students’ civil rights

Today, the National Education Association, a coalition of civil rights advocates that include the NAACP and American Federation of States, filed a federal lawsuit in federal district court arguing that the cuts to the Department of Education will impact the civil rights of students and will cause the agency not able to carry out many of its mandatory functions.

“America’s educators and parents won’t be silent as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Linda McMahon try to steal opportunities from our students, our families, and our communities to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” says NEA President Becky Pringle. 

“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,” says Pringle. “Parents, educators, and community leaders know this will widen the gaps in education, which is why we will do everything in our power to protect our students and their futures.” 

The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration’s actions to dismantle the Department of Justice since January 20, 2025, exceed the executive branch’s constitutional authority and violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. It asks the court to immediately halt the government’s attempt to dismantle the Department of Justice.

“Taken together, defendants’ steps since January 20, 2025, constitute a de facto dismantling of the Department by executive fiat …” the complaint states. “But the Constitution gives power over ‘the establishment of offices [and] the determination of functions and jurisdiction’ to Congress — not the President or any officer working under him.’ Because it is a Congressionally created federal agency, legally eliminating the Department of Education, or its constituent offices, or transferring them to other federal agencies requires Congressional approval.”

The Department of Education also houses an Office of Civil Rights that investigates and helps resolve school civil rights violations. The suit states that the administration’s actions have “brought to a grinding halt the Department’s enforcement of federal civil rights laws to protect historically marginalized students.” 

The mass layoffs at ED closed seven of the Office of Civil Rights regional branches. 

The filing of this lawsuit comes after Trump’s executive order on Friday that instructed the Secretary of Education to dismantle the Department of Education. A move that will  Secretary of Education Linda McMahon released a statement following the announcement, calling the executive order a “history-making action” that will “free future generations of American students and forge opportunities for their success.” Earlier this month, a reduction in force cut the USDOE workforce from 4,133 workers to roughly 2,183 workers.

“Education is fundamentally a state responsibility,” McMahon stated. “Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities.”

This is the next in a series of lawsuits filed by the community about decisions by President Trump and education. On March 5, the NEA, one of the first lawsuits after the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the Trump administration on February 14, imposed unfounded, vague legal restrictions that violated due process and the First Amendment in an attempt to dictate what educators can teach and what students can learn. This lawsuit, filed on March 5, had the following plaintiffs: NEA, NEA-New Hampshire, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), including NEA affiliates in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Since the federal Department of Education was established by Congress in 1979, less than 15 percent of total education spending comes from federal sources. Those dollars are highly targeted to increase equity in opportunity for potentially marginalized students, including those from low-income families, students with special needs, English language learners, and those in rural areas with fewer local resources to devote to the public school system.