(The Center Square) – A federal judge Thursday ordered an indefinite stop to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
The court order reinstated 1,300 fired workers, nearly half the department’s staff, and blocked attempts to transfer management of federal student loans and special education functions out of the department.
The U.S. District Court for Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in the case, which combined two previous lawsuits. One was Somerville Public Schools, et al v. President Donald Trump, et al. The other was State of New York, et. al, v. Secretary of State Linda McMahon, et al, and was filed by a coalition of states including California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Washington state.
Preliminary injunctions remain in effect until a court says otherwise.
Plaintiffs argued the Trump administration’s attacks on the Department of Education are illegal and unconstitutional.
Judge Myong Joun, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, agreed Trump needs congressional approval to dismantle the department. He also said plaintiffs will be harmed irreparably unless the cuts were frozen.
“I am convinced that the asserted harm to Plaintiff States’ citizenry, particularly their student populations, constitutes irreparable injury to Plaintiff States for purposes of the preliminary injunction,” the Boston judge wrote in his 88-page decision.
Joun noted plaintiff states and school districts are experiencing delays and uncertainty in receiving millions of dollars in federal funds, “which jeopardize their missions of ensuring an educated citizenry and providing quality education. Such delays and uncertainty raise immediate predicaments about whether there will be sufficient staff and student programming for the 2025-2026 school year and hinder long term planning.”
There could be irreparable harm to students’ education, Joun said.
The judge also noted the defendants have acknowledged they can’t close a federal department without congressional approval.
There’s no evidence that the defendants are working with Congress, Joun said.
Trump issued an executive order March 20 ordering McMahon to take all necessary steps to shut down the Department of Education.
“Closing the Department of Education would provide children and their families the opportunity to escape a system that is failing them,” Trump wrote in his order. “Today, American reading and math scores are near historical lows.”
The president’s order led to the firing of more than 1,300 workers, almost half of the department’s staff.
Joun noted Trump’s executive order said the department is only to be closed to the maximum extent allowed under the law.
That’s in Section 2 of the executive order.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes Thursday said the Trump administration has “zero authority” to dismantle congressionally authorized agencies.
“I’m proud to have brought this lawsuit to protect the funding and services that so many schools across Arizona – particularly in rural parts of the state – rely on,” Mayes said Thursday in a news release. “We will keep fighting to ensure the President follows the law.”
The layoffs ordered by Trump have hurt the Department of Education’s ability to meet statutory obligations for various programs such as student aid, civil rights enforcement and vocational training, according to the California Attorney General’s Office.
“We will continue to fight to ensure the unlawful and absurd dismantling of the Department of Education is reversed — permanently,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “Our students deserve better.”
