FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2025
Media Contact: Sumeet Bal, Director of Communications, [email protected], 917.647.1952

Statement from Public Advocates on Trump Administration Gutting Department of Education

Today our nation faces a deeply troubling development. The Trump Administration fired nearly half of the workforce serving the Department of Education. This action will not only upend the lives of thousands of civil servants, but disproportionately harm millions—in K12 and higher education—of impoverished students and students with disabilities across rural and urban America, in red states and blue states alike. The department exists to support schools in serving all students, and specifically protecting students with disabilities, students of color and poor students who historically were denied equal opportunities to learn and to protect civil rights in education.

We condemn this likely unlawful action in the strongest possible terms. It represents a dangerous assault not only on students and families but is effectively dismantling the department by hamstringing its efficacy through forced layoffs, including the dismantling of regional civil rights offices. 

“This dangerous action attempts to do by administrative fiat what the President lacks the votes to achieve in Congress. It also shows the administration cares more about dismantling government and eliminating civil rights protections than it does about serving the American people, including the very constituents President Trump claims as his base,” said John Affeldt, Managing Attorney and Director of Education Equity at Public Advocates. “Most of the beneficiaries of federal funding for low-income students and students with disabilities are white Americans, a great many of them in red states.” 

This action is not about improving education. It jeopardizes billions in funding for low-income students, students with disabilities, and families nationwide. The lack of staffing hopes to roll back decades of progress, cripple civil rights enforcement protecting students from discrimination, reduce services for students and families, throw $93 billion in federal student loans into uncertainty, and weaken crucial national data collection and research that ensures accountability across states and transcends political divisions. 

“These reckless layoffs will sow chaos and confusion throughout our nation’s public school system,” said Guillermo Mayer, President & CEO of Public Advocates. “Instead of bolstering learning outcomes, the immediate effect of these actions is quite cruel. It forces millions of parents, especially parents of students with disabilities, to worry about whether their children will receive the services they need. It strikes fear in the hearts of tens of thousands of low-income students who are now wondering, ‘What will happen to my financial aid? Will I be able to afford college?’” 

As an organization committed to justice and equity, we will not remain silent. In this moment of uncertainty, we stand in solidarity with educators, families, students, and advocates across the country who believe in the promise of public education, as well as the thousands of public servants who were unceremoniously locked out of their offices today. Together, we will defend our public schools, protect educational equity, and fight for the right of every student to learn in an environment that acknowledges our full history and prepares them for a diverse and democratic society.

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Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity and climate justice.