Dear MoveOn member,

Donald Trump's Department of Education late this afternoon slashed its
staff by about 50%, effectively shuttering the agency and gutting its
ability to support public schools.^1

The order has triggered mass layoffs, with over 1,300 workers losing their
jobs with the flick of a pen, on top of hundreds of others who voluntarily
left or were already fired.^2

From day one, Trump has made clear his commitment to eliminate the
Department of Education. Gutting this agency will devastate American
public education—stripping away critical funding to support students with
disabilities, students in low-income communities, and students who use
federal loans to attend college.

This is a five-alarm fire. And we must fight back—immediately. The futures
of millions of students, educators, and families are hanging in the
balance.

[ [link removed] ]Rush a $9 donation right now to help support our
emergency campaign to stop Trump's attack on public schools and education
in America. If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express,
your donation will go through immediately.

Trump and Elon Musk's attempt to shut down the Education Department is
part of their plan to destroy American public education.

Trump has already threatened to strip away federal funding from schools
that engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion. He's also thrown his
support behind private vouchers, which use taxpayer dollars to pay for
private school tuition and are funneled disproportionately to wealthy
families.^3

Crucially, these private schools are not regulated and have zero academic
standards to which they are held accountable—and some wealthy families
have even used taxpayer dollars to pay for flat earth curriculums.^4

You read that correctly: Trump is pushing for a plan that will allow
conspiracy theorists to use taxpayer money to teach children that the
Earth is flat.

Perhaps worse, students who attend private schools with publicly funded
vouchers are forced to sign away their federal education rights. This
means that private schools, using taxpayer dollars, can deny
accommodations to students with disabilities and can discriminate against
students on the basis of their gender identity and sexual orientation.^5

That will become the future of American education—unless we all come
together to defeat Trump and Musk's extreme agenda.

That's why MoveOn is launching an emergency campaign to expose and stop
the Republican agenda to erode the right of every child to receive free
and public education and demand that Congress block the gutting or
elimination of the Department of Education. We stopped Trump's attacks on
education during his first term. And we can do it again—but only with your
support.

[ [link removed] ]Rush an emergency $9 donation today to help power
MoveOn's campaign to help save American public education. If you've saved
your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go
through immediately.

Thanks for all you do.

–Kelsey, Allison, Oscar, Justin, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Education Department to Fire 1,300 Workers, Gutting Its Staff," The
New York Times, March 11, 2025
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2. Ibid.

3. "Trump is pushing 'school choice,' but some Republicans aren't on
board," NBC News, February 20, 2025
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4. "Flat earthers and universal school vouchers, a match made in
Cuckooland (Arizona)," AZ Central, September 13, 2024
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5. "One year in, Arizona's universal school vouchers are a cautionary tale
for the rest of the nation," AZ Mirror, December 11, 2023
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Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump and his MAGA allies expect us
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working to defend our fundamental freedoms and protect our democracy.
MoveOn has been leading the movement against right-wing extremism for 26
years, and we promise you that we will still be here every step of the way
forward.

Will you donate to power MoveOn's work to protect our freedoms and
democracy under Trump's administration?

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