Statement from CTU and IFT President Stacy Davis Gates on Trump’s Decision to Dismantle the Federal Department of Education

CHICAGO - Illinois Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates released the following statement on today’s announcement that the Trump administration, led by Secretary Linda McMahon, is illegally transferring core functions of the U.S. Department of Education to other federal agencies:

“Today's decision by the Trump Administration to unlawfully dismantle the Department of Education and scatter its core functions across various federal agencies is an assault on students, families, classrooms, and every principle of equity and public accountability.

It is not reform. It is not efficiency. This haphazard and poorly conceived maneuver is a power grab designed to weaken federal protections that far too many students and educators rely on. It guts civil rights enforcement for Black and Latine students, it harms our most vulnerable special education students and it marginalizes English-language-learning students. It will inflate class sizes, slash support for special education and job training, and open the floodgates for billionaires and private interests to raid public education dollars through unregulated and unproven voucher schemes, for-profit colleges and expanded unaccountable charter networks.

Let's be clear: this is illegal. And, this is a direct threat to all families across Illinois and the nation. That is why, on behalf of educators from preschool to higher education, we are calling on Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to take immediate legal action. The administration's attempt to dismantle a cabinet-level agency without Congressional approval raises serious constitutional and statutory questions. The stakes are far too high for us to stay silent while the law is ignored and the futures of our students and families are put at risk.

This moment is a brutal betrayal for Black and brown students, for students with disabilities, and for low-income communities already facing crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, and barriers to higher education. The Department of Education has long been a shield providing civil rights protections, student loan oversight, and a commitment to equity for rural and urban communities alike.

To every educator, parent, student, and ally in Illinois: we need you. Raise your voice. Take to the streets. Contact your lawmaker in Washington. Organize in your schools, on your campuses, and in your communities. When those in Washington abandon their responsibility, it is up to us to stand together and fight for every child who deserves a future shaped by opportunity, not oppression.”