Defending Our Public Schools

HE action on Feb. 19, 2025

On March 20, the Trump administration issued an executive order instructing the Secretary of Education to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of [the U.S. Department of Education] and return education authority to the states.” This directive follows a 50% reduction in the Education Department’s staffing, along with the termination of $1.5 bllion in contracts and grants, rendering many offices non-functional.

NEA Files Suit to Defend Public Schools from Trump’s Reckless Cuts
How are these lawsuits relevant to me and my work educating students?

NEA General Counsel Alice O'Brien: Educators have worked hard to make schools more inclusive environments that challenge and recognize all students and where all students feel safe. The purpose of NEA’s lawsuit challenging the “Dear Colleague” letter is to protect those efforts from the overreach of the administration. The suit also aims to protect school districts, colleges, and universities—and teachers and professors—from impermissible pressure to censure their curriculum, instruction, and scholarship. Reinstating operations at the federal Department of Education supports educators by ensuring that critical research into education progress and practices resumes; teacher development programs continue; civil rights complaints are addressed; and federal funding is delivered to support students from low-income families, those with special needs, and those in rural areas, among many others.

The National Education Association and a coalition of education, civil rights, and school employee groups that includes NAACP and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on March 24, 2025 filed a lawsuit in federal district court arguing that the staff cuts left the agency unable to carry out many of its mandatory functions and put student civil rights in jeopardy.

This lawsuit focuses specifically on the administration’s attempts to skirt Congress and effectively shut down the operations of the Department of Education. It asserts that the administration’s actions to dismantle the Department of Education violate the Constitution, which gives that authority to Congress.

NEA General Counsel Alice O'Brien explained: "We are asking the court to reverse the Trump administration’s unlawful actions and direct the administration to cease attempts to dismantle the agency’s operations now and in the future. If the court finds in our favor, the Department would need to comply with Congressional mandates as to how it is to operate and the programs it must run."

Challenge to funding tied to equity and inclusion
The NEA also filed a lawsuit on March 5 against the Trump administration challenging the "Dear Colleague" letter that threatened to revoke federal funding for schools with programs and curricula meant to increase equity and inclusion. That lawsuit was filed by the NEA, NEA-New Hampshire and the American Civil Liberties Union, including the Massachusetts and New Hampshire affiliate.

Trump administration canceled millions of dollars in grants for teacher training, development

Despite legal challenges, the Supreme Court ruled the grants could remain canceled until the appeal is heard.

On April 4, the Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s plea to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in teacher-training money as part of its anti-DEI efforts, while a lawsuit continues.

The two programs at issue – the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development – provide more than $600 million in grants for teacher preparation programs, often in subject areas such as math, science and special education, the states have argued. They said data has shown the programs had led to increased teacher retention rates and ensured that educators remain in the profession beyond five years.

In January, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined with 23 attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the implementation of a new policy that could withhold trillions of dollars in funding that every state in the country relies on to provide essential services to residents.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts receives more than $20 billion in federal funding each year to support projects that improve the health, welfare, and economic stability of residents’ lives. Massachusetts employs nearly 3,000 people through federal grants.

MTA fighting back against Trump

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