A coalition of roughly 20 states, including New York and New Jersey, sued the Trump administration Thursday to prevent the federal education department from cutting its staff in half, two days after the department announced the cuts.
The attorneys general wrote in a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court that the cuts, which the Department of Education said would start taking effect on March 21, would “incapacitate” the congressionally created agency and cause “immense damage” to students, teachers and others across the country. The states are seeking a court injunction to stop the staffing reductions.
“This administration may claim to be stopping waste and fraud, but it is clear that their only mission is to take away the necessary services, resources, and funding that students and their families need,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Firing half of the Department of Education’s workforce will hurt students throughout New York and the nation, especially low-income students and those with disabilities who rely on federal funding.”
In his own statement, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said, “President Trump is not a king, and he cannot unilaterally decide to close a Cabinet agency.”
Harrison Fields, a spokesperson for the White House, said the administration will fight the lawsuit. Education department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said the reductions are legal and will not “directly” affect students and families.
“No employees working on the FAFSA, student loan servicing, and Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title funds — including formula and discretionary grants programs — were impacted,” she said in a statement. “No employees in the Office of Special Education Programs or the Rehabilitation Services Administration who serve children with disabilities were impacted. The Office for Civil Rights will continue to investigate complaints and vigorously enforce federal civil rights laws.”
The administration announced the cuts on Tuesday, and said it was making them to promote “efficiency” and “accountability” and that affected staff would be put on leave on March 21. All divisions within the education department would be involved, “with some divisions requiring significant reorganization,” according to the agency.
Some similar attempts by President Donald Trump and Tesla founder Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to cut wide swaths of government spending have been stopped for now by federal courts.
“The Department of Education will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking,” the agency said in a release.
In their lawsuit, the states said federal education programs serve more than 18,000 school districts, 50 million students in public and private schools, and 12 million postsecondary students annually. That includes K-12 schools in New York, which received more than $6 billion in federal funding last fiscal year, according to James’ office.
The suit alleges the Trump administration is seeking to “dismantle” the education department, and argues this is unconstitutional because the executive branch cannot do so without congressional authorization. The agency’s planned cuts would make it unable to perform essential functions for programs like special education, financial aid, and enforcement against discrimination and sexual assault, according to the filing.
The education department said the reductions would leave it with fewer than 2,200 workers. It said nearly 600 workers voluntarily resigned or retired over the past two months, adding that employees placed on leave will receive full pay and benefits until June 9, as well as severance pay or retirement benefits.
This story has been updated with additional information.
