California leads suit to preserve U.S. Department of Education

By Esther Wickham
The Center Square

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a massive multi-state coalition, has expanded a legal challenge against the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

The amended complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, adds new allegations targeting the administration’s recent transfer of department functions to other federal agencies. This follows an initial lawsuit filed in March 2025 regarding mass layoffs within the department.

“The Trump Administration is continuing its illegal effort to dismantle the Department of Education until it finally shutters for good. This isn’t about reducing bureaucracy,” Attorney General Bonta said in a statement. “If anything, these changes are only making bureaucracy worse.”

The coalition argues the administration’s actions violate the Constitution’s separation of powers.

“Neither the President nor his agencies can undo the many acts of Congress that authorize the Department, dictate its responsibilities, and appropriate funds for it to administer,” the complaint states.

In California alone, the Department of Education provides $7.9 billion in annual federal funding to more than 9,000 public schools.

Administration officials have defended the effort by citing a lack of return on investment, pointing to findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress that show nationwide test scores at historic lows.

Since its conception in 1980, the U.S. Department of Education has spent $3 trillion on education, and the scores have continued to go down, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated.

“We spent that money. Where has it gone? What can we show for it?” McMahon said. “So I think when we return education to the states … teachers, parents, principals working together know where those needs are in their states. There is no one-size-fits-all in education.”

In November 2025, the Department of Education initiated a major reorganization aimed at eventually closing the agency by transferring its core responsibilities to other federal departments. Six offices within the department were transferred to four partner agencies: Health and Human Services, Labor, Interior and State.

Bonta leads the lawsuit with New York Attorney General Letitia James, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez. They are joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

The Center Square reached out to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office for comment, but the office declined to comment.