New York State Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of twenty other Democrat state attorneys general (and the District of Columbia AG) filed suit on Thursday against the Trump administration to stop the reduction in force (RIF) layoffs of just under half the department’s over 4,000 workers that was announced on Tuesday by Secretary Linda McMahon.
The forum shopping Democrat AGs chose to file the suit in federal court in blue state Massachusetts against McMahon and President Trump in their official capacities, and the Department of Education.
The suit claims the remaining employees will not be able adequately administer all the federal programs handled by the department and that “the executive branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress.”
James posted on X, “My office and a group of AGs are suing to stop Trump’s illegal attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. We’re not going to sit by while this administration attempts to leave tens of millions of students behind and strip away their access to a quality education.”
My office and a group of AGs are suing to stop Trump’s illegal attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.
We’re not going to sit by while this administration attempts to leave tens of millions of students behind and strip away their access to a quality education.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) March 13, 2025
New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of the Department of Education (ED). On March 11, the Trump administration announced that ED would be firing approximately 50 percent of its workforce as part of its goal of a “total shutdown” of the Department. Attorney General James and the coalition today filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the targeted destruction of this critical federal agency that ensures tens of millions of students receive a quality education and critical resources.
“This administration may claim to be stopping waste and fraud, but it is clear that their only mission is to take away the necessary services, resources, and funding that students and their families need,” said Attorney General James. “Firing half of the Department of Education’s workforce will hurt students throughout New York and the nation, especially low-income students and those with disabilities who rely on federal funding. This outrageous effort to leave students behind and deprive them of a quality education is reckless and illegal. Today I am taking action to stop the madness and protect our schools and the students who depend on them.”
The ED’s programs serve nearly 18,200 school districts and over 50 million K-12 students attending roughly 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools throughout the country. Its higher education programs provide services and support to more than 12 million postsecondary students annually. Students with disabilities and students from low-income families are some of the primary beneficiaries of ED services and funding. Federal ED funds for special education include support for assistive technology for students with disabilities, teacher salaries and benefits, transportation to help children receive the services and programming they need, physical therapy and speech therapy services, and social workers to help manage students’ educational experiences. The ED also supports students in rural communities by offering programs designed to help rural school districts that often lack the personnel and resources needed to compete for competitive grants.
As Attorney General James and the coalition assert in the lawsuit, dismantling ED will have devastating effects on states like New York. K-12 schools in New York received $6.17 billion, or $2,438 per student, from the ED in federal fiscal year 2024. Federal funding for public colleges and universities averaged $1,256 per student in New York in federal fiscal year 2024. The administration’s layoff is so massive that ED will be incapacitated and unable to perform essential functions. As the lawsuit asserts, the administration’s actions will deprive students with special needs of critical resources and support. They will gut ED’s Office of Civil Rights, which protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. They would additionally hamstring the processing of financial aid, raising costs for college and university students who will have a harder time accessing loans, Pell Grants, and work-study programs. This would be particularly harmful to New York, where more students receive Pell Grants than almost any other state.
With this lawsuit, Attorney General James and the coalition are seeking a court order to stop the administration’s policies to dismantle ED by drastically cutting its workforce and programs. Attorney General James and the coalition argue that the administration’s actions to dismantle ED are illegal and unconstitutional. The Department is an executive agency authorized by Congress, with numerous different laws creating its various programs and funding streams. The coalition’s lawsuit asserts that the executive branch does not have the legal authority to unilaterally incapacitate or dismantle it without an act of Congress.
Joining Attorney General James in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.
This is the latest action Attorney General James has taken to protect New Yorkers and the services they rely on from the Trump administration’s illegal attacks. On February 13, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction stopping the administration’s illegal revocation of birthright citizenship. On February 24, Attorney General James led a coalition of attorneys general in securing a court order preventing Elon Musk and members of DOGE from accessing Americans’ private information through the U.S. Treasury. On March 5, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general secured a court order stopping the Trump administration from withholding vital funding to the National Institutes of Health. On March 6, Attorney General James led a coalition of attorneys general in securing a court order blocking the Trump administration’s freeze of essential federal funds to states. Also on March 6, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general sued the Trump administration for illegal mass firings of federal employees and sued the Trump administration for cutting critical grant programs for teachers through the Department of Education.
STATE OF NEW YORK; COMMONWEALTH OF
MASSACHUSSETTS; STATE OF HAWAIʻI;
STATE OF CALIFORNIA; STATE OF ARIZONA;
STATE OF COLORADO; STATE OF
CONNECTICUT; STATE OF DELAWARE; THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; STATE OF
ILLINOIS; STATE OF MAINE; STATE OF
MARYLAND; ATTORNEY GENERAL DANA
NESSEL FOR THE PEOPLE OF MICHIGAN;
STATE OF MINNESOTA; STATE OF NEVADA;
STATE OF NEW JERSEY; STATE OF OREGON;
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND; STATE OF
VERMONT; STATE OF WASHINGTON; and
STATE OF WISCONSIN;
Plaintiffs,
v.
LINDA McMAHON, in her official capacity as
Secretary of Education; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION; and DONALD J. TRUMP, in his
official capacity as President of the United States;
Defendants.
First paragraph:
The Department of Education is essential. Plaintiff States rely on the Department for an extraordinary array of programs. The Department provides funds for low-income children and students with disabilities. It enforces the laws that prohibit discrimination in education. It administers federal student aid programs. These are just some of the key ways the congressional acts governing the existence and responsibilities of the Department are deeply intertwined with the education systems in Plaintiff States. Incredibly, all of these significant and statutorily-mandated functions were covered by a lean staff of only 4,133 people—until March 11, when the Department of Education announced through a press release that it is reducing that staff by 50%. U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force, Press Release, Department of Education (Mar. 11, 2025), https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of- ducationinitiates-reduction-force (“March 11 Press Release”). This massive reduction in force (RIF) is equivalent to incapacitating key, statutorily-mandated functions of the Department, causing immense damage to Plaintiff States and their educational systems
Demands:
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff States pray that this Court:
i. Issue a judicial declaration that President Trump’s Directive to dismantle the
Department of Education, and the Department of Education’s implementation of the
Directive are unlawful because they violate the United States Constitution and the
Administrative Procedure Act;ii. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 706, vacate Agency Defendants’ actions implementing
President Trump’s Directive to dismantle the Department of Education;
iii. Preliminarily and permanently enjoin the Agency Defendants from implementing
President Trump’s Directive to dismantle the Department of Education, including
through ordering a reduction in force;
iv. Award the Plaintiff States their reasonable fees, costs, and expenses, including
attorneys’ fees, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2412; and
v. Grant other such relief as this Court may deem proper.
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