OLYMPIA, WA – Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general on Monday in filing a motion for a preliminary injunction as part of their lawsuit to stop President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the Department of Education.

On March 13, the attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after it announced plans to eliminate half of the Department’s workforce. Following a March 20 executive order directing the closure and President Trump’s March 21 announcement that the Department must “immediately” transfer student loan management and special education services outside of the Department, the attorneys general are now seeking a court order to immediately stop the layoffs and transfer of services.

“The devastating cuts and layoffs at the Department of Education will directly harm Washington’s youth and their families,” Brown said. “Our office will fight to defend the education and health of our students from President Trump’s illegal order.”

The attorneys general assert the Trump administration’s attacks on the Department have already had serious consequences for families and students throughout the country, including in Washington state. Staff layoffs led to the closure of its Office of Civil Rights outreach throughout the country, which Brown says protects students from discrimination and sexual assault. Federal approval of state programs is already delayed, and critical funding for state school systems will likely be delayed, according to Brown.

Brown and the other attorneys general assert that the Trump administration’s attacks on the Department are illegal and unconstitutional.

Joining Attorney General Brown in filing today’s motion are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.