A federal judge in Boston, Mass., blocked an executive order from the White House to shut down the U.S. Department of Education, and ordered employees who were fired in mass layoffs to be re-instated, according to the Associated Press.
The ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits that said Trump’s plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department.
One suit was filed by the Easthampton and Somerville school districts in Massachusetts, along with the American Federation of Teachers and other education groups.
The other suit was filed by a coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general.
"Main Street won," said Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle shortly after hearing about the preliminary injunction.
Without the U.S. Department of Education, LaChapelle said, students will be "harmed."
"The court is saying, indeed, the plaintiffs, Easthampton and Somerville, have a very solid case that the federal government can't curtail the operation of a department that is empowered by Congress, but more importantly, that there is an immediate order to return to "status quo," LaChapelle said.
What that means to Easthampton, she said, is the school district still has its federal partners in education.
"They are helping our school department and our families, ultimately deciding on educational policy; what that looks like in our elementary schools curriculum wise, what student aid looks for kids who are going to college and young adults who are going into vocational programs," La Chapelle said.
The suit argued that layoffs left the department unable to carry out responsibilities like supporting special education and enforcing civil rights laws, LaChapelle said.
"Our students have civil rights under the U.S. Constitution," LaChapelle said, "and if those aren't upheld in the Department of Education, then that trickles down to what is funded in our library curriculum and general curriculum. Who is literally writing the history in our school books would have fundamentally changed if this lawsuit was dismissed."
The judge's decision is just the beginning of a very long process LaChapelle said.
"We're in for some very long days. So let's lift up every victory, because that's lifting them for the Constitution," she said.
According to A.P., the Trump administration will appeal the ruling.
