California Attorney General Rob Bonta has expanded a multistate legal challenge against the Trump Administration, alleging new efforts to transfer core functions away from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The amended complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, adds claims that the administration is shifting critical education programs to other federal agencies without ensuring those agencies are prepared to manage them.
Bonta said, “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 — if anything these changes are only making bureaucracy worse. My fellow attorneys general and I stepped in to block these illegal actions, and now we’re going back to court to block this latest maneuver. The right to an education is at the heart of the social contract this nation makes with its citizens. California will continue to defend access to transformative learning for our children from the illegal overreach of the Trump Administration.”
The coalition’s initial lawsuit challenged what they called an unlawful mass firing at ED and transfer of essential responsibilities outside the department. Despite a preliminary injunction halting those firings—a decision later upheld by an appellate court but stayed by the Supreme Court—the Department continued transferring additional functions through Inter Agency Agreements (IAAs).
Among recent transfers are student loan management, K-12 funding programs, and vocational training services being moved from ED to other agencies such as the Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services. According to Bonta and his counterparts, these moves violate congressional mandates that require these functions remain within ED.
Bonta leads this action with attorneys general from New York, Massachusetts, Hawai’i, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
The California Attorney General’s office operates as the state’s chief law enforcement authority, providing legal representation and consumer protections statewide. Rob Bonta leads this office according to its official website. It also promotes transparency through public data portals like OpenJustice as detailed on its site.
Bonta’s office asserts that moving educational programs outside ED contradicts both federal law and administrative procedure requirements. The amended complaint argues that Congress intended these duties remain with ED rather than be distributed among unrelated agencies.
