Derrick Johnson, President of NAACP
The plaintiffs, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Education Association (NEA), and AFSCME Maryland Council 3, along with several public-school parents, argue that the administration has overstepped its constitutional authority by effectively shuttering the department without congressional approval. The lawsuit is supported by Student Defense and the Education Law Center (ELC).
According to court documents, the administration has implemented a series of staff reductions since January 20, culminating in a department-wide reduction in force on March 11 that has cut the agency's workforce by half. The lawsuit also cites the termination of $1.5 billion in contracts and grants for congressionally authorized programs.
On March 20, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “pursue all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.” The following day, the administration announced plans to transfer the student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and move disability-related programs to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Taken together, Defendants' steps since January 20, 2025, constitute a de facto dismantling of the Department by executive fiat,” the complaint states. “But the Constitution gives power over 'the establishment of offices [and] the determination of their functions and jurisdiction' to Congress—not to the President or any officer working under him.”
Robert Kim, executive director of Education Law Center
Plaintiff Mara Greengrass, a Maryland parent of a child with disabilities, expressed concern about the impact on special education services. “Funding for special education and the Department's oversight have been crucial in ensuring my son receives the quality education he—and every child in this country—deserves,” she said.
NEA President Becky Pringle warned that the department's elimination would increase class sizes, reduce job training programs, make higher education less accessible, and undermine special education services and civil rights protections.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson characterized the move as “deliberately destroying the pathway many Americans have to a better life,” while AFSCME Council 3 President Patrick Moran highlighted the impact on essential school workers who rely on federal funding.
The plaintiffs are seeking an immediate injunction to halt the administration's actions while the case proceeds. The Department of Education, established by Congress in 1979, is responsible for enforcing civil rights laws in education, supporting students with disabilities, administering federal student aid, and providing critical funding to schools serving vulnerable populations.
Administration officials have claimed that critical federal funding and support for schools will continue despite the department's closure, an assertion that Education Law Center executive director Robert Kim called a “dangerous lack of understanding” of the department's role.
“The Trump Administration's effort to dismantle the Department of Education is not only illegal; it inflicts great harm on students, schools, and communities across the country,” said Kim. “The Administration's assertion that critical federal funding and support for schools and students will somehow continue as normal even after shuttering the Department reveals a dangerous lack of understanding of the Department's role to provide funding for and implement programs for our most underserved student populations, ensure equal access and opportunity, and enforce civil rights in our nation's schools.”
The case is expected to raise significant questions about the separation of powers and the extent of executive authority to reorganize the federal government without legislative approval.
