Salem, Oregon – Attorney General Dan Rayfield won a significant legal battle this week. A federal court decision stopped the Trump administration from going ahead with a plan that many people thought was detrimental, to dismantle the Department of Education. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts made the decision after Rayfield and 20 other state attorneys general sued the administration over its wide-ranging proposed cuts and restructuring.
The battle started in March when the government said it wanted to cut the Department of Education’s staff in half. The statement, which was quickly followed by an executive order to dissolve the department, stunned school communities across the country. The administration also wanted important functions like managing student loans and funding for special education to be moved quickly out of the department’s jurisdiction.
Rayfield responded quickly, warning that the move would cause immediate harm, especially in states like Oregon.
“This court order is a necessary step to stop a reckless plan that would hurt Oregon students and families,” he said.
Rayfield discussed on the dangers for rural schools, which depend a lot on federal money to keep special education programs and staff for children with disabilities. The fear was that sudden funding disruptions would leave vulnerable students without the support they need.
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Rayfield and the multistate group asked for an emergency injunction to stop the planned layoffs and keep important education services from being moved just days after the executive order was signed. Their legal position was based on the fact that Congress set up the Department of Education as an executive agency and that it is subject to federal law. The complaint says that the executive branch can’t legally eliminate of or change the agency in a big way without the agreement of Congress. The coalition also said that the mass layoffs broke federal guidelines that are meant to make sure that administrative operations are open and accountable.
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The federal judge agreed and issued a temporary order that prevents the layoffs from happening immediately and stops any other attempts to shift functions outside the agency. The court also said that any employees who had already been fired under the plan had to be hired back.
Attorneys general from many states, such as California, New York, Michigan, and Washington, joined Oregon in the court battle. The coalition stressed that getting rid of the Department of Education will not only hurt special education and student loan programs, but also a lot of other government programs that help schools, teachers, and kids throughout the country.
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For now, the court’s injunction gives teachers and families some peace of mind and stability after they had to deal with the possibility of big changes and uncertainty. Rayfield and his colleagues have made it apparent that they will keep defending the Department of Education’s role, saying that Congress, not the president acting alone, should manage changes of this size.
