Attorney General Nessel Sues Trump Administration to Stop Dismantling of Department of Education and Protect Students

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel today joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration (PDF) to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education (DOE). On March 11, the Trump administration announced that DOE would be firing approximately 50 percent of its workforce as part of its goal of a “total shutdown” of the Department. Attorney General Nessel and the coalition today filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the targeted destruction of this critical federal agency that ensures tens of millions of students receive a quality education and critical resources.  

“In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the first piece of legislation that opened the doors for children with disabilities nationwide,” said Nessel. “Since then, students of all backgrounds have been guaranteed free appropriate public education. Yesterday's illegal action by the Trump Administration dismantles the Department of Education and leaves the nation rudderless to provide the necessary funding, support, and enforcement that all 1.4 million Michigan students rely upon.  It’s dangerous, reckless, and unacceptable.” 

The DOE programs serve nearly 18,200 school districts and over 50 million K-12 students attending roughly 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools throughout the country. In Michigan, it supports over 1.4 million K-12 students attending over 3,300 public and 600 private schools. Its higher education programs provide services and support to more than 12 million postsecondary students annually. Students with disabilities (212,000 Michigan students) and students from low-income families (681,000 Michigan students) are some of the primary beneficiaries of DOE services and funding. Federal DOE funds for special education include support for assistive technology for students with disabilities, teacher salaries and benefits, transportation to help children receive the services and programming they need, physical therapy and speech therapy services, and social workers to help manage students’ educational experience. The DOE also supports students in rural communities by offering programs designed to help rural school districts that often lack the personnel and resources needed to compete for competitive grants. 

As Attorney General Nessel and the coalition assert in the lawsuit, dismantling DOE will have devastating effects for states like Michigan. The administration’s lay-off is so massive that DOE will be incapacitated and unable to perform essential functions. As the lawsuit asserts, the administration’s actions will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support. They will gut DOE’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. They would additionally hamstring the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work study programs.  

With this lawsuit, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition are seeking a court order to stop the administration’s policies to dismantle DOE by drastically cutting its workforce and programs. Attorney General Nessel and the coalition argue that the administration’s actions to dismantle DOE are illegal and unconstitutional. The Department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous different laws creating its various programs and funding streams. The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the Executive Branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress.  

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.