California sued the Trump administration on Thursday to stop massive layoffs in the Federal Department of Education, and claims that the cuts make up an illegal closure of his work to manage student rights, the protection of civil rights and to investigate students from families with low income and disabilities.
In the lawsuit, California Atty. General Rob Bonta claimed that the reduction of employees this week by Minister of Education Linda McMahon was a “ruthless” attempt to pursue President Trump's promise, to close the department by not fulfilling the obligations commissioned by the congress. Bonta joined the complaint in the complaint, which represented 19 democratic states and the District of Columbia, submitted to the Federal District Court in Massachusetts.
The Trump government ordered layoffs that the agency would leave about half the size of the president. McMahon described the reduction as the “first step” in the “final mission” of the department and removed the agency. Trump has commissioned McMahon to “get out of a job”, but faces challenges because he cannot officially conclude the department without the consent of the congress.
The layoffs that are to come into force on March 21 would leave 2,183 workers in the Department of 4.133 in January. Approximately 600 employees who had previously accepted voluntary withdrawal offers.
The lawsuit accused the administration of violating the separation of powers in the constitution and the administrative procedure law that regulates the registration of the executive.
In a statement on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the educational department said that the cuts were made by law, “oriented internally” and would not meet the students directly.
“President Trump was chosen with a mandate from the American public to return the educational authority to the States. The strength of the Education of the Ministry of Education was carefully and in accordance with all applicable regulations and laws, ”said Madi Biedermann, deputy deputy secretary for communication of the department. “They are strategic, internal cuts that do not affect students and families.”
Biedermann said that no employees who worked in these units were released: FAFSA – the free application for Federal Aid – Services for Student loans; Cover funds for basic and secondary level (ESEA) who support disadvantaged students; The Office for Special Education; Or the administration of rehabilitation services that serve children with disabilities.
Studentaid.gov, in which the FAFSA form is housed, had dropped for several hours on Wednesday, and the Associated press registered These cuts included developers and IT support employees who were commissioned to maintain the AID application. A spokesman for the department confirmed the claim that no employees who worked on FAFSA or loan service were released, but it was not clear whether this included technical support.
The office for civil rights, which ensures that schools are following the law on the Federal Anti -Discrimination Act, was significantly affected by layoffs, including all employees of the San Francisco regional office, in which around 50 employees work in cases of civil rights throughout California.
Regional civil rights offices in Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, New York and Philadelphia also close. Those in Seattle, Denver, Kansas City and Washington remain open.
Biedermann said that the Department of Civil Rights “will continue to investigate complaints and enforce the federal state law laws”.
The lawsuit submitted the lawsuit to General Prosecutor from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wasconsin, Vermont and the district of Columbien a.
“It is a basic principle for the basic rock that the president and his agencies cannot make a law. Rather, they can only implement the laws enacted by the congress, including the statutes, create federal authorities and dictate their duties, ”the lawsuit said. “The executive can therefore neither abolish an agency nor incapable by cutting off the personnel required to implement the agency's legally prescribed tasks.”
During a Wednesday with the Irish Prime Minister, Trump accused the employees of the educational department not to do their work: “Ministry of Education, Department for Large Buildings … and by the way, they are empty,” he said. “Nobody appears to work.” In an obvious reference to the layoffs, he added: “I think Linda did a very good job.”
Bonta-Council on Thursday by his colleagues from Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York, Trump, who were accused of having an “anti-education agenda”.
“In 2022, American students from 37 developed nations took 28th place in Mathematics and 12th in the natural sciences. These figures have no chance without the invaluable programs that the Ministry of Education offers, including the support of children from families with low income, vocational training, enforcement of anti -discrimination laws and countless other responsibilities that are of fundamental importance for our education system ” Program for international student evaluation.
Trump described the department as a “large subject” and cited the low performance of the US students as the reason for the agency's deposit.
Hawaii Atty. General Anne Lopez said Trump's vows to return education to the States was an “empty topic of conversation”, since states already have a political authority and offer most of the financing.
“Our children shouldn't be political farmers,” said Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Andrea Campbell. “We can tackle bloated bureaucracies lawfully and effectively, and the latest measures by the federal administration do not do this.”
California receives billions of federal financing of the educational department for K-12 and higher educational students and programs. This includes $ 16.3 billion in federal financing for K-12 school students or about $ 2,750 per student. The Los Angeles Unified School District-Da's second largest school system of the country sets its annual federal support to $ 1.26 billion.
Not all of these dollars go through the Ministry of Education. The significant federal financing for early childhood education comes from the Ministry of Health and Human Services, and the program for student meals is financed by the Ministry of Agriculture. La Unified estimates that it receives $ 363 million to feed students from families with low incomes.
About 80% of the La Unified students qualify for titles I-financed services, including tutoring, smaller classes, post-school programs, teacher training, advice and family goods. Another large financing area helps students with disabilities.
In university education, the educational department takes care of 43 million borrowers, which owe the government more than 1.5 trillion dollars. About half of Cal State University students receive student loans, a portfolio of more than 1 billion US dollars.
The Pell Grant program, which gives more than 120 billion US dollars up to 13 million students every year, is also managed by the department. Around 1.5 billion US dollars per year are put aside in Pell grants for California students.
The lawsuit on Monday is one of several that Bonta and other attorney in general lawyers of the democratic prosecutor have submitted against the Trump government.
On March 6, California joined seven other states, which the Trump administration sued for you -600 million US dollars nationwide -for teacher training programs, which were financed through the educational department for canceling. The administration said that the programs promote inappropriate and “split ideologies”, which are associated with diversity, justice and inclusion, known as Dei. A federal judge posted the programs again on Monday while checking the case.