Supreme Court Considers Block on Education Dept. Layoffs

As the Supreme Court weighs whether to allow the Trump administration to proceed with mass layoffs at the Education Department, a coalition made up of states, public school districts and teachers’ unions argued in court filings that the justices should leave the lower court’s injunction in place. 

That injunction has prevented the department from proceeding with plans to move career education programs to the Labor Department and required the agency to bring back more than 1,400 laid-off employees. 

“If the dismantling of the department is allowed to go forward now, and if Respondents ultimately prevail at the end of this case, it will be effectively impossible to undo much of the damage caused,” one group wrote in a filing. “By contrast, if the government ultimately prevails in this case, it will be able to put its plans into operation merely slightly later than otherwise.”

A district judge found that the layoffs and President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the agency caused irreparable harm to the plaintiffs, which include a public school district and several Democrat-led states. Judge Myong Joun also said that the evidence showed the administration’s “true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute.” An appeals court agreed with Joun’s ruling and upheld the injunction, leading the administration to seek emergency relief at the Supreme Court.

The administration has argued that the courts lack ​​”jurisdiction to second-guess the Executive’s internal management decisions” and refuted claims that the layoffs have prevented the department from fulfilling its statutory requirements.

The states noted in its response that the layoffs eliminated nearly all of the staff who review applications from colleges and universities for certification or recertification for federal student aid.

“Petitioners have failed to explain how the Department can continue to perform timely certification reviews with no staff, and disruptions in federal certification have already interfered with the ability of public colleges and universities to meet enrollment goals and provide academic programs,” the states wrote.

The Supreme Court has already considered one challenge to recent actions at the Education Department and allowed the agency to move forward with its cuts to teacher-preparation grants.