Texas NAACP joins lawsuit over Trump Administration's actions to dismantle Department of Education
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The Texas NAACP has joined a federal lawsuit against the Trump Administration for recent efforts to dismantle the Department of Education.
The lawsuit, filed by the national NAACP and other branches of the organization, states that getting rid of the department would threaten educational equality for students of color across the country.
NAACP lawsuit
(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
The lawsuit from the NAACP is seeking to block a March 20 executive order from President Trump directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take all necessary steps to close the Department of Education "to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law."
The lawsuit also wants a judge to declare efforts to dismantle the Department of Education as unconstitutional.
The Trump Administration has said that the dismantling of the Department of Education would give power to the states.
The suit brings up examples from Texas and across the country that the group says show the necessity of the Department of Education.
The Department's Office of Civil Rights is brought up multiple times in the suit. The OCR investigates potential civil rights violations within schools.
The Lubbock NAACP, who also joined the suit, filed an OCR complaint claiming two school districts in West Texas failed to properly address racial bullying and harassment against Black students. The case was being investigated by the OCR's Dallas regional office, but that office was shut down on March 11, according to the suit.
What they're saying:
"The dismantling of this vital agency will have devastating consequences for students of color and their families," said Gary L. Bledsoe, President of the Texas State Conference of NAACP in a statement. "This Executive Order undermines academic success, eliminates crucial family educational support systems, and removes an independent entity that enforces federal constitutional and statutory rights in education."
Efforts to dismantle the Department of Education
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Texas education advocates tell FOX 26's Abigail Dye that they're worried about funds being allocated by the state, rather than overseen federally.
The backstory:
After making campaign promises to close the Department of Education, President Trump signed an executive order directing Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take steps towards shuttering the department.
The White House has acknowledged that Trump cannot completely shut down the Department of Education, but Trump's action will make the department much smaller.
Trump is not the only Republican candidate to be critical of the department - or even call for its dissolution.
Ronald Reagan also aimed to eliminate the Department of Education, created under President Carter, as part of the 1980 Republican Party platform. The LA Times described it as a "major goal" when Reagan took office in 1981.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a lawsuit filed by the NAACP in United States District Court and past coverage from FOX Television Stations.