Dear MoveOn member,
I've spent years fighting for public education—as the chair of my local school board, an advocate, a mom, and a MoveOn staff member.
But I've never seen an attack as brazen and destructive as Donald Trump's plan to "immediately close" the U.S. Department of Education.1
This isn't bureaucratic reshuffling. It's a direct attack on the most vulnerable students in this country: children with disabilities, students of color, multilingual learners, and kids living in poverty.
Millions of students rely on federal protections and funding to get a fair shot at a quality education. If Trump's plan to defund the Department of Education goes through, it will cause massive teacher layoffs and create overcrowded classrooms. School meal programs will be gutted. Millions of students will lose their civil rights protections.
We cannot let this happen.
That's why MoveOn's launching an emergency campaign to mobilize people across the country to stop Trump's attack on our public schools. We're ...
But we need resources to do it.
Can you chip in $9 now to fund MoveOn's emergency effort to stop Trump from destroying public education? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.
I served for six years on the school board in Portland, Maine, where students of color make up the majority of our district. I saw firsthand how badly schools are underfunded, how hard our educators work every day to make up for that, and how much public schools rely on federal funds and federal protections.
For the first time in generations, some school districts were finally starting to address the massive inequities baked into our public education system.
Trump's plan would wipe out those gains—and make the problems far worse.
The Department of Education ensures that schools serving high-poverty communities receive the funding they need to keep teachers in classrooms and to get meals on students' lunch plates. The department enforces Title IX protections, enabling girls and women to pursue education without discrimination. It provides critical oversight for students with disabilities. And more.
Trump's plan to eliminate the Department of Education would be absolutely catastrophic. The first steps he's already taken—slashing funding, denying trans students their humanity, firing key staff, and installing leaders who want to dismantle it from within—have already caused enormous harm.
We blocked most of Trump's attacks on education during his first term, and we can do it again—but only if we act right away.
MoveOn members are mobilizing across the country. Your donation will help support our organizing, advocacy, and work to pressure lawmakers to protect our public schools.
Please, if you can, donate $9 now to help MoveOn fight back against Trump and save the Department of Education. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.
Our children's futures are on the line. Let's fight like hell to protect them.
Thanks for all you do.
With determination,
–Emily Figdor, MoveOn Senior Director
Source:
1. "Trump says he wants Education Department to be closed immediately," Reuters, February 13, 2025
https://act.moveon.org/go/202715?t=4&akid=426378%2E40999114%2Er0yEXC
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