The group argued that only Congress, not the president, had the authority to dismantle the Ministry of Education.
A coalition of advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Monday, blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to call the Department of Education illegal.
The lawsuit alleges that President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the education sector exceeds his constitutional authority and violates federal administrative procedures laws.
The group urged the court to stop the department from being shut down, claiming that only Congress, not the President, has the authority to dismantle it since it was created by Congress.
“The defendant’s actions since January 20, 2025 constitutes the de facto dismantling of the department by Enforcement Fiat,” the group said in the complaint. “However, the Constitution is not in the President or the officers working under him, and gives power to control over their functioning and jurisdiction and jurisdiction over Congress.” ”
The coalition includes the National Association of Colored People (NAACP), Public School Parents, National Education Association (NEA), and AFSCME Maryland Council3.
The NEA said removing the department would put the work of more than 400,000 educators at risk, making it difficult to track the use of federal education funds approved by Congress.
“The strong exclusion of thousands of important workers will hurt the most vulnerable people in our community,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement, adding that the NAACP will take “necessary legal action” to stop the administration’s actions.
Another lawsuit was filed Monday by Democracy forward on behalf of teachers, school districts and unions, challenging efforts to shut down Trump administration departments. Similarly, they argued that Trump lacked Congressional approval to take such action.
The plaintiffs in that complaint include the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors, the United Nations of Service Employees and two public school districts in Massachusetts.
“Dismantling the role of the federal government, whether it is an illegal executive order or a widespread shooting to halt critical services and support, will significantly reduce our ability to provide free and equal education to all children, and on March 24th we will significantly reduce our ability to provide free and equal education to all children.
The Epoch Times reached out to the Education Department for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
According to its website, the education sector managed around 100,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools. It provided grants, loans and research research to approximately 10 million undergraduates.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on March 11 that the workforce would drop by almost 50% from 4,133 workers to around 2,183. The affected employees have been placed on administrative leave from March 31st.
Trump’s March 20th order directed McMahon to “take all necessary steps to promote Department of Education closures to states and communities to ensure an effective and uninterrupted supply of services, programs and benefits Americans rely on.”
The president argues that the US spends more on education than most other countries, but it performs the lowest in mathematics, and has declined for decades. As of 2022, the US ranks 28th in mathematics out of 37 economic cooperation and development agencies.
“We’re going back to the state where education is very simple. We want to get an education from our kids. We want them to love going to school,” Trump said on March 22.
The Department of Education was created in 1979 and was pioneered by President Jimmy Carter as a form of welfare access to poor children.
The American Federation of Teachers has condemned Trump’s order and said it will affect millions of students who rely on financial aid from the department to pursue their research.
“No one likes bureaucracy and everyone supports efficiency, so let’s find a way to achieve that. But this isn’t efficiency, it’s visceral,” the organization’s president, Randi Weingarten, said in a statement on March 20.
Stuart Liess contributed to this report.
