Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education entered into interagency agreements with the U.S. Departments of Labor, State, Health and Human Services, and the Interior as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. Under the agreements, six Department of Education offices would be transferred to agencies unrelated to educating the United States’ youth and young people. 

“President Trump and his administration continue to demonstrate a callous disregard for the welfare of students across the United States, and these interagency agreements are unfortunately consistent with the attacks on education that began as soon as President Trump took office. But in Illinois, we are using all tools available to push back against the onslaught of Trump administration actions that harm students and educators and eliminate diversity from our nation’s classrooms. 

“My office is continuing to vigorously litigate a lawsuit we filed in March to stop the Trump administration’s unlawful attempts to dismantle the Department of Education. I have condemned drastic reductions to the department’s workforce and programs that resulted in the closure of a Chicago branch of the Office of Civil Rights – an office dedicated to protecting students from discrimination and harassment. We have opposed the administration’s move to eliminate reporting requirements that prevent students of color from being disproportionately identified for special education programming and discipline. We even temporarily blocked the Department of Education from eliminating congressionally-approved funding to expand vital K-12 mental health programs. My office has also supported legal challenges to the elimination of federal grant funding that helps low-income, first-generation, disabled and underrepresented students access higher education. Teachers are the keys to student success, which is why we filed a lawsuit over the department’s move to terminate teacher preparation grants that states rely on to address teacher shortages, and I appreciate the Illinois Federation of Teachers now joining our fight. 

“My office will not be deterred in our fight for the thousands of Illinois students and educators who are betrayed by a Department of Education that is dismantling itself and abandoning its mission.”