California and 19 States Sue Trump Administration Over Department Of Education Cuts

Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Thursday that California will be joining 19 other states in suing the Trump administration over their proposed 50% to the U.S. Department of Education.

Since being sworn into office in January, President Donald Trump has continually threatened to either seriously reduce the size of or outright eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. Several states, including California, braced for such cuts. Earlier this week, the Department announced that they would be undergoing a drastic reduction in force, with around 50% of all staff, or around 1,300 employees, being fired as a result.  This workforce reduction included a near elimination of the Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which is set to close at least seven regional offices, including those in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas, and Cleveland.

The 1,300 employees affected are expected to be cut completely by March 21st. The cuts this week were also on top of the 600 employees that already accepted voluntary resignations or retirements since January. While the Department will still exist at least in the near future, with the Trump administration recently needing the Department to help investigate antisemitism incidents on dozens of colleges and universities, the latest cuts are an indication on where things are likely heading.

“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Tuesday. “I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department. This is a significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”

While the cuts were praised by some, with some offices and functions likely to be transferred over to other Departments, many others criticized the cuts. In California, the cuts were expected to be substantial. In addition to the closure of the San Francisco office, it leaves open questions into possible funding issues. About 13.9 percent of public school funding in California came for the federal government last year. While state and local takes care of most standard education, federal money goes to programs for low-income students (i.e. Title I), disabilities (i.e. IDEA), and for students learning English.

The administration said that the cuts would be largely internal, were legal, and would not “directly hit” students.

“President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American public to return education authority to the states. The Department of Education’s reduction in force was implemented carefully and in compliance with all applicable regulations and laws,” said Department of Education deputy assistant of communications Madi Biedermann. “They are strategic, internal-facing cuts that will not directly impact students and families.”

With so much funding on the line and so many employees losing jobs, Attorney General Bonta stepped in. On Thursday, he pushed California to join a coalition of mostly blue states including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia in suing the federal government to stop the cuts, which they claimed were illegal.

Bonta sues Trump Administration over Education cuts

The suit, which was submitted to the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, claims that President Trump’s directive to shut down the Department, and the steps taken by the Department and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to implement that directive are unlawful. The suits names multiple acts of Congress that authorize the Department that the Trump Administration ignored, says that the mass firings violate the separation of powers, and notes that the firings are in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

“It is a bedrock constitutional principle that the president and his agencies cannot make law. Rather, they can only — and indeed, they must — implement the laws enacted by Congress, including those statutes that create federal agencies and dictate their duties,” read the lawsuit. “The executive thus can neither outright abolish an agency nor incapacitate it by cutting away the personnel required to implement the agency’s statutorily-mandated duties.”

In a statement, AG Bonta said that the firings were illegal, and that they hope to halt the cuts through State of New York v. McMahon.

“The Trump Administration’s attempt to gut the Department of Education’s workforce is another step in its end goal of shuttering the department for good,” said Bonta on Thursday. “In doing so, the Trump Administration ignores the invaluable role the Department of Education plays in ensuring the health, safety, and education of our children — administering programs that assist children from low-income families, providing vocational training, and enforcing anti-discrimination laws, among countless other responsibilities fundamental to our educational system. Dismantling the Department of Education from within would have catastrophic consequences — and like many of the Trump Administration’s actions since taking office, is blatantly illegal. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a President to follow the law, but for the eighth time in as many weeks, we’ll see him in court.”

Like the numerous other suits brought forth over other large cuts by the Trump administration, the Department of Education suit is expected to take some time to work through the court system. Meanwhile, cuts are expected to continue to come in around federal education spending, including the $400 million in grants the Trump administration recently took away from Columbia University.

“The Trump administration more than expected lawsuits to come from everything he did,” explained Gabriela Lopez, a former legal assistant in the Department of Education, to the Globe on Thursday. “It may seem like these cuts are being made with little notice, but everything he is doing has lawyers behind it ready to defend it in court. It took California and the 19 other states 2 days to scramble up a lawsuit. The federal government has been prepared for this very things for several weeks minimum. This will not be easy to stop.”