Oregon Backs Lawsuit Deeming Trump’s Education Department Shutdown Illegal and Unconstitutional

The Trump administration’s announcement on Tuesday that it would fire 50% of the Education Department (ED) workforce in a ‘total shutdown’ move is illegal and unconstitutional, according to a coalition of 21 attorney generals who have brought a lawsuit opposing the executive order, including Oregon.

The Executive Order Will Affect Millions of Students Nationwide

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield says ED programs serve 18,200 school districts and 32,000 private schools throughout the U.S., while higher education programs provide support and services to 12 million post-secondary students annually.

The coalition and Rayfield point out that the primary beneficiaries of ED funding and services are students from low-income families and those with disabilities. The funding also assists teacher and social worker salaries, transportation for children to attend the programs, and speech and physical therapy.

Rayfield Says the Order is a ‘Direct Hit on Our Kids and their Futures’

Rayfield says the move on the ED is ‘a direct hit on our kids and their futures.’ If President Donald Trump succeeds in dismantling the ED, the most vulnerable students will be those who suffer the most.

The coalition argues that the ED is an executive agency authorized by Congress and that the federal administration is not legally entitled to ‘unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle’ the agency without an act of Congress.

Coalition Claims This is a ‘Targeted Destruction’ of the ED

The coalition is seeking to end the ‘targeted destruction’ of the ED that provides quality education and critical resources to millions of students.

The Oregon Attorney General has joined a coalition of AGs from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.