Progressive Groups Condemn the Dismantling of the Department of Education

NEVADA — Yesterday, the Department of Education announced it was laying off half its staff amid President Trump’s continued claim that he would dismantle the agency. During the 2021-22 school year, Nevada received $1.1 billion or $2,246 in federal funds per student. The Department of Education is responsible for sending federal dollars to states for education funding, ensuring schools adhere to non-discrimination policies, and pushing national initiatives to improve education.

Dawn Etcheverry, President of the Nevada State Education Association, issued the following statement:

“Eliminating the Department of Education isn’t about helping kids—it’s about abandoning them. While only Congress can dissolve the Department, the administration is gutting it from within. Firing half of its dedicated workforce is a direct attack on educators, families, and the students who rely on federal support. Gutting the Department means fewer resources for schools, larger class sizes, and weaker protections for students with disabilities. Slashing its capacity isn’t reform—it’s sabotage. Nevadans did not vote to abandon our commitment to equal educational opportunities, and educators refuse to stay silent as anti-public education politicians try to strip them from our students, educators, and communities.”

Shelbie Swartz, Battle Born Progress Executive Director, issued the following statement:

“The Department of Education is a safeguard for student safety, non-discrimination, and accessibility—essential protections that ensure every child, including those in Nevada, has a fair shot at success. Federal education funding helps level the playing field, but Trump’s reckless plan to dismantle this agency threatens to gut these resources, leaving Nevada’s students, teachers, and parents to suffer. This move is not about improving education; it's about appeasing his billionaire donors, like Linda McMahon, his Secretary of Education, who have long sought to undermine public education for their own gain. Their quest to undermine public education is evidenced by the layoffs we have seen over the past two months. The Department of Education is now operating at half its staff volume. This dramatic downsizing further proves that Trump and his cronies are dedicated to reducing the effectiveness of critical government agencies. And where is Governor Lombardo? Silent. Doing nothing. His refusal to stand up for Nevada’s children isn’t just complicity—it’s cowardice. This isn’t leadership; it’s negligence. Nevadans deserve a governor who fights for them, not one who bows to extremist attacks on our schools.”

Athar Haseebullah, ACLU of Nevada Executive Director, issued the following statement:

“Attempts to eliminate the Department of Education and further undermine public education, all while screaming Making America Great Again, are on brand for an administration that uses nationalistic talking points while undermining purported American values, like having competitive schools in a global marketplace. In a state where reading, math, and science proficiency are all abysmal, I'm not exactly sure why anyone who cares about kids learning would think this is remotely a good idea. There's a distinction between strategic deregulation to improve outcomes and the destruction of norms and standards, and this administration has leaned heavily on the latter in its first few months.”

Mathilda Guerrero Miller, Government Relations Director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, issued the following statement:

“Donald Trump’s gutting of the Department of Education is a deliberate attack on the foundation of equal opportunity in this country. Slashing its workforce in half isn’t about improving education—it’s about dismantling it from the inside out, stripping resources from our schools, and leaving the most marginalized students to fend for themselves. For Tribal nations and Indigenous students, this means the loss of critical funding that ensures access to quality education, culturally relevant curriculum, and essential support services. If Governor Lombardo truly cared about the future of Nevada’s children, he’d condemn this reckless power grab. Instead, his silence tells us everything we need to know—he stands with Trump and his billionaire backers, not with Nevada’s students, educators, or families. We won’t forget.”

Flor Diaz, Youth Justice Organizer of Make the Road Action Nevada, issued the following statement:

“Dismantling the Department of Education would mean turning our backs on students who depend on the federal government to succeed and, therefore, our nation's future. Every day, young people in Nevada push through overcrowded classrooms, underfunded schools, and a lack of resources, all while fighting for a better future. Without these federal investments, our public schools will have fewer teachers, less funding for essential programs, and even more barriers to success. This decision is not about improving education but taking away opportunities from students who already face the greatest challenges. Governor Lombardo and Nevada’s elected officials cannot sit on the sidelines. They must take a stand and fight back against this attack on our schools. Anything less is a betrayal of Nevada’s students and our future.”

Douglas Unger, Professor, UNLV, and Chapter President of the Nevada Faculty Alliance (affiliated with the American Association of University Professors and American Federation of Teachers):

“The elimination of the Department of Education could devastate Higher Education in Nevada. According to the American Federation of Teachers, in 2024, the DOE administered Pell Grants for more than 57,000 low-income students in our state who aspire to improve their lives and earning power through Higher Education or by enrolling in training schools for needed skills, resulting in more than $264,000,000 passed through to Nevada’s colleges, universities, and technical schools. The DOE also provides $1,700,000 in direct support to Nevada’s five minority-serving institutions and $20,000,000 to help underrepresented students to succeed. With draconian cuts at the Department of Education of the staff who oversee and administer these grants, what happens to the funds appropriated by Congress? Opportunities could be out of reach overnight for the students who need them most. Nevada’s public institutions—four community colleges, one state university, and two flagship R1 universities—could quickly spiral into a financial crisis. This could lead to unprecedented teacher layoffs and a best and brightest flight from our state, sure to impoverish Nevada’s economy and dim the lights on its future.”

Erika Washington, Executive Director of Make it Work Nevada, issued the following statement:

"We are against anything that threatens the quality and accessibility of public education, particularly for marginalized communities. Reproductive justice includes the right to raise children in safe environments with access to essential resources—quality public schools being a key resource all children deserve access to. Today's children are tomorrow's leaders, teachers, advocates, and elected officials. Without a strong Department of Education, all of our futures are at risk. Limiting educational access reinforces systemic inequities and limits opportunities for success, and that is a reproductive injustice we can't afford."

Gariety Pruitt, For Our Future Nevada State Director, issued the following statement:

“Trump’s attempt to undermine public education by gutting the Department of Education will be catastrophic for Nevada’s students, their families, and teachers. The Department helps level the playing field for students in low-income communities, supports schools in serving students with disabilities, and so much more to help provide a quality education and brighter future for every child. Any attempts to dismantle these critical services, including the firings of critical Federal workers, inflict very real damage across rural, suburban, and urban Nevada.

Furthermore, the administration's actions will make higher education more expensive and out of reach for many of Nevada’s working families. Students in Nevada, and across the country, will pay the price in Trump’s latest give away to billionaires. Cuts to the Department of Education endanger loans for students to make college affordable and threaten access to Pell Grants and would upend life for current college students and create barriers for students striving for college in the future. If you’re one of the millions of college students across the state and country who rely on these programs right now, you should be worried.”

Laura Martin, the Executive Director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Action Fund, released the following statement:

“Every child deserves access to quality public education regardless of income or zip code. Public education has been the means for generations of Nevadans to live their ‘American Dream’. The Department of Education helps local school districts serve students of all backgrounds with different needs. Trump’s gutting of the DOE is a betrayal to underserved communities who rely on federal funding to meet the educational needs of all students, be it rural or urban. If Lombardo wants his legacy to be the ‘education governor’, he needs to stand up against his own party for the sake of Nevada’s future generations. Nevada in particular, needs all the support it can get to help lift our literacy levels and set students up for success. Lombardo and Nevada’s lawmakers must make a choice, fight back against Trump or fail Nevada’s students for years to come.”

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