US Supreme Court stayed injunction that blocked dismantling of Education Department
What is this stoppage of a stopping?
With the US Supreme Court agreeing to a request by US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to stay an injunction by a US District Judge Myong J. Joun, the court essentially allowed the Trump administration to proceed with efforts to shrink ED. The 14 July 2025 Supreme Court decision, over objections from three of its justices, effectively clears the way for Secretary McMahon to proceed with President Donald J. Trump’s executive order of 21 March 2025 that she “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the department.
On 22 May 2025, at the request of 20 US states (that includes the District of Columbia), two local education agencies, and a handful of education unions, Judge Joun prohibited the Trump administration from reducing ED’s staff and to reinstate any who had been dismissed. Judge Joun also enjoined the administration from moving special education and student loan programs in ED to other cabinet-level agencies.
In his injunction (Case 1:25-cv-10601-MJJ Document 128), following earlier layoffs and firings, Judge Joun wrote that
…the massive reduction in staff has made it effectively impossible for the Department to carry out its statutorily mandated functions. As one example, Defendants have shut down seven out of twelve offices of the Office for Civil Rights, a statutorily created program that protects students from discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and disability. The supporting declarations of former Department employees, educational institutions, unions, and educators paint a stark picture of the irreparable harm that will result from financial uncertainty and delay, impeded access to vital knowledge on which students and educators rely, and loss of essential services for America’s most vulnerable student populations. Indeed, prior to the RIF, the Department was already struggling to meet its goals, so it is only reasonable to expect that an RIF of this magnitude will likely cripple the Department. The idea that Defendants’ actions are merely a “reorganization” is plainly not true.
On 6 June 2025, on behalf of President Trump, Secretary McMahon applied to the Supreme Court to lift Judge Joun’s injunction. On 14 July 2025, without providing an official rationale for doing so, the court declared that
the preliminary injunction … is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.
Much of the focus in the coverage of the case is on reductions in force (i.e., “firing” or “laying off” employees) but, as noted in Judge Joun’s injunction, other changes in ED are also are no longer blocked. Those changes include movement of aspects of special education services to the Departments of Health and Human Services or Justice.1
In addition to the consequence for the movement of special education functions, dismantling ED will have other effects on special education. It is hard to know these effects for certain at this time, but we can imagine that reorganization will influence the functions carried out by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation and the Office of Special Education Programs. Also, reductions in other functions of the department, such as the research managed and funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, are likely to have ripple effects on special education.
Time will tell. Wait and see. Whatever happens, SET will endeavor to cover it.
Media coverage
In the US, the decision by the Supreme Court has, unsurprisingly, been in the news. Here are links to some of the coverage:
Abbie VanSickle for the New York Times (also en Español): Supreme Court Clears the Way for Trump’s Cuts to the Education Department: The move by the justices represents an expansion of executive power, allowing President Trump to dismantle the inner workings of a government department.
Cory Turner of National Public Radio on 14 July 2025: Supreme Court says Trump's efforts to close the Education Department can continue;
Mark Sherman for AP News 14 July 2025: Supreme Court allows Trump to lay off nearly 1,400 Education Department employees
Zach Schofield and Lexi Lonas Cochran for The Hill 14 July 2025: Supreme Court allows Trump to resume Education Department layoffs
John Kruzel for Reuters 14 July 2025: US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to gut Education Department
Footnote
Readers may recall post here on Special Education Today matters. Here are links to some of them:
Layoffs at US Department of Education…, 11 March 2025; U
S ED Layoffs…, 12 March 2025;
US Education Department Layoff: Day 2 13 March 2025;
Shuttering the US Department… 26 March 2025