Attorney General Campbell files lawsuit against Trump Administration over U.S. Department of Education dismantling

Boston — On Thursday, March 13, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced that she is co-leading a coalition of 21 attorney generals in a lawsuit against Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald J. Trump over the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, the coalition of attorney generals seeks a court order to stop the Trump Administration’s policies to dismantle the department by cutting its workforce and programs.

In a letter posted to the department’s website on March 3, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote that she fully intends to dismantle the department, falling in line with President Trump’s intentions.

On March 11, the department announced that it would lay off nearly 50 percent of its workforce, reducing its staff from 4,133 to 2,183.

“By attempting to dismantle the Department of Education which, among many things, funds educational programs that benefit low-income children and students with disabilities and enforces laws that prohibit discrimination in education, the Trump Administration is making it crystal clear that it does not prioritize our students, teachers or families,” Campbell is quoted in the press release. “Neither President Trump nor his Secretary have the power to demolish a congressionally-created department, and as Attorney General but most importantly as a mom, I will continue to hold this Administration accountable for illegal actions that harm our residents and economy.”

In the press release, Campbell, along with the coalition of attorney generals, argues that: 

Dismantling the department will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support, creating chaos and uncertainty for teachers, administrators, and students. In higher education, dismantling the Department would hamstring the process of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing federal subsidized loans, Pell grants, and work-study programs. 

In a visit on March 6 to Monument Mountain Regional High School at an event for students, Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler spoke about the potential dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.

“I am absolutely worried because, in my humble opinion, the foremost priority and responsibility should be ensuring the rights and protections of our most vulnerable students nationwide,” Tutwiler said. “Based on the moves that Attorney General [Andrea Joy Campbell] has already made to ensure that rights and funding streams are protected, along with the law being upheld [despite President Trump’s executive orders], I would assume that there would be a legal pushback should [the administration] attempt to dismantle the Department of Education, along with any attempts to roll back money from the state.”