Last week, we shared news of an expected yet dangerous move from the Trump administration: an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. With Texas leaders cheering it on, this radical action puts federal funding, oversight, and countless public education programs at risk, especially for states like ours that depend heavily on Title I and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding.
This week, AFT is fighting back. In a new lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, AFT joined educators, school districts, and unions nationwide to challenge the legality of the executive order and defend the very existence of the Department of Education (DOE). As AFT President Randi Weingarten put it:
“Trying to abolish the department as one of the president’s first acts—whether through an executive order, a ‘reduction in force’ or concepts of a plan to shift services elsewhere—is not only illegal, it sends a message that the president doesn’t care about broad-based opportunity, doesn’t care about knowledge, and doesn’t care about this country’s future.”
And for many, this fight is personal. AFT represents hundreds of DOE employees who were laid off because of this political stunt—public servants whose work supported everything from student loans to civil rights protections in schools.
Legal Wins: Keeping DOGE Hands Off Our Data
While the battle over the Department of Education continues, AFT secured an important legal victory on another front. In a case involving Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal judge granted an injunction preventing the DOE, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Department of the Treasury from handing Americans’ private data to Musk and DOGE.
“Elon Musk’s operatives have been running roughshod over Americans’ privacy, and today the court correctly decided to uphold the firewall between their activities and the personal data of tens of millions of people. Every day, when Americans apply for a student loan or financial aid for their kids, they hand over their information to the government in good faith because they expect it to be safeguarded and used only for the purposes it was intended. They do not expect it to be transferred to a third party, rifled through by outsiders, or fed into AI software,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten in a statement.
“This is the United States, not Putin’s Russia, and Americans still believe our government should preserve freedom and privacy. Musk and DOGE must be held to account, and this preliminary injunction is a significant and important step forward.”
Higher Education, Research Under Threat
The pattern of federal overreach doesn’t stop at K-12 education. This week, AFT and the American Association of University Professors filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for its attempts to shut down vital scientific research and suppress faculty speech. While this case isn’t directly tied to the DOE, it’s all part of the same strategy: undermining public institutions, silencing experts, and dismantling the infrastructure of learning.
Student Loan Crisis: Borrowers Left in Limbo
The chaos has hit student borrowers hard, too. Last week, AFT filed a separate lawsuit demanding that the DOE restore access to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans (programs designed to help lower monthly payments based on borrowers’ income). These plans are essential to making higher education affordable, especially for those pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
Just 24 hours after AFT filed an emergency motion, the department announced it would make IDR applications available again. But the damage is far from over. Over 1 million borrowers are still stuck in limbo as they’re unable to access relief, losing out on qualifying PSLF payments, and navigating a system buried in red tape.
“Today, we’re suing to restore access to the statutory programs that are an anchor for so many, and that cannot be simply stripped away by executive fiat,” Weingarten said.
We Need Your Voice
As these legal battles continue, AFT is collecting stories from members and allies about what all this disruption means for their families, schools, and communities. Whether you’re a borrower locked out of IDR, a teacher worried about looming funding cuts, or a parent wondering what’s next for your child’s school, we want to hear from you.
Share your student debt story: go.aft.org/DebtJourney
Tell us how federal funding cuts would impact your school: AFT’s Protect Our Kids Toolkit