Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and twenty other attorneys general throughout the country have joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's layoffs at the Department of Education.
“This is not just an administrative shake up,” Mayes said during a press conference on Thursday. “This is part of a deliberate effort to dismantle public education in this country.”
The 53-page lawsuit comes after the U.S. Department of Education announced cuts to nearly half of the department’s staff on Tuesday.
“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. “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.”
According to a press release from the DOE, the department had 4,133 employees when President Donald Trump took office in January. After cuts, the department will have about 2,183 employees. According to the department, this includes about 600 employees who accepted voluntary resignation opportunities. The remaining employees will be placed on administrative leave beginning Friday, March 21. The DOE also states that all impacted employees will receive pay and benefits until June 9 and receive severance or retirement benefits.
“We want education to be moved back where the states run education where the parents of the children will be running education where governors that are doing a very good job will be running education,” Trump said on Wednesday.
Another proponent of giving more responsibilities to states is Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne.
“We know the most about what’s going on in our schools,” Horne said. “I have over 600 people here who do nothing but work on schools. The governor’s office has two or three. So I’m hoping he’ll give those responsibilities to the state superintendents and I guarantee I’ll do a much better job than the federal government does.”
According to the DOE, all divisions in the department are impacted by the reduction in staff and some will require reorganization.
Mayes says the department cannot perform its legal obligations to oversee student loans, enforce civil rights protections, support students with disabilities and administer funding with these cuts.
“You cannot fire half of the people responsible for these programs and pretend that nothing will change. That is not streamlining; that is sabotage,” she said on Thursday.
The lawsuit, asking for a block of the layoffs and to prevent actions to dismantle the department, will head to a judge.
