AG Ford Joins Coalition Seeking Preliminary Injunction to Block Mass Layoffs and the Elimination of Core Services at the Department of Education

Carson City, NV — Today, Attorney General Aaron D. Ford joined a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction as part of their lawsuit to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education (ED). On March 13, AG Ford and the coalition filed their lawsuit after the Trump administration announced plans to eliminate 50% of the department’s workforce.

 
Following a March 20 Executive Order directing the closure of the DOE and President Trump’s March 21 announcement that, in addition to implementing layoffs, the DOE must “immediately” transfer student loan management and special education services outside of the department, AG Ford and the coalition are seeking a court order to immediately stop the mass layoffs and transfer of services.

“The President is acting unlawfully again and, this time, his actions would leave many of Nevada’s children out in the cold,” said AG Ford. “Ripping away resources from our children and expecting them to succeed is not only cruel, it is also against the law, because President Trump does not have the authority to dismantle the Department of Education by decree. As long President Trump continues to act unlawfully, I will continue to step in.”

 
As AG Ford and the coalition assert, the Trump administration’s attacks on the DOE have already had serious consequences for families and students throughout the country. Mass layoffs of EOD staff have led to the closure of the Department’s Office of Civil Rights locations throughout the country. Critical funding for state school systems has also been delayed. As the attorneys general argue, states rely on billions of dollars every year in funding for elementary and secondary education; services for children with disabilities, vocational education; adult education; and other crucial services. All of these programs will be severely disrupted if the administration’s incapacitation of the Department is not stopped.

AG Ford and the coalition argue in their lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction that the Trump administration’s attacks on the DOE are illegal and unconstitutional. The department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous 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 dismantle it without an act of Congress. In addition, the attorneys general argue that the EOD’s mass layoffs violate the Administrative Procedures Act.

 
Joining AG Ford in filing the lawsuit and today’s motion are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Review a copy of the motion.

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