In early 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). As part of this effort, the administration began mass layoffs of Department staff—cutting more than half the agency’s workforce, with plans to transfer remaining functions to unrelated agencies lacking the expertise or capacity to serve students.
The order threatens core functions of the DOE, including protecting students’ civil rights, administering federal student loans and grants, supporting students with disabilities, and ensuring educational access for low-income families. These layoffs and agency disruptions are already causing irreparable harm to students, families, and educators across the country.
A coalition of public school districts, educators, and labor unions, represented by Democracy Forward, filed a lawsuit challenging the executive order and requested immediate court action to stop the layoffs while the legal challenge proceeds.
The coalition includes Easthampton School District, Somerville Public School Committee, American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts, AFT, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93, the American Association of University Professors, and Service Employees International Union.
Latest Updates
- March 6, 2025 – A coalition of educators, school districts, and unions files a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
- April 1, 2025 – Plaintiffs file a Motion for Preliminary Injunction seeking to halt the ongoing mass firings of Department of Education staff.
- April 1, 2025 – Plaintiffs submit a declaration from Worcester Public Schools highlighting how the firings and department shutdown would harm students across Massachusetts and the nation.
- May 22, 2025 – The District Court of Massachusetts granted the preliminary injunction halting the administration’s unlawful effort to dismantle the Department of Education.
The case is Somerville Public Schools et al v. Trump et al.