Trump’s ongoing attacks on the Department of Education as he continues to pursue dismantling the agency are a threat to public education as we know it. First, the Trump administration almost entirely eradicated the Department of Education by reducing its staff by a third.

Then the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon announced that the department will no longer enforce rules meant to protect civil rights in education and will end its oversight of special-education programs. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice issued guidance describing which Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and policies it considers illegal for federal grantee recipients to use funding for. This guidance warns that such activities—including staff trainings and hiring practices that encourage diversity—could result in the loss of federal funding in public schools.

The administration is also attempting to divert tax money to voucher programs instead of traditional public schools, jeopardizing the progress that the department has made with policies promoting equality in education.

Trump’s actions have also forced many working people with student loans into expensive repayment programs by ending income-driven loan repayment program known as SAVE. This program was created to cut the cost of undergraduate loans in half.

Trump also created barriers to Public Student Loan Forgiveness, which cancels the remainder of student loan debt, after a decade of making payments, for teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and military service members.

These attacks against the Department of Education are attacks on our public schools, educators, working families sending their children to college, and working people with student loan debt. Every child deserves access to quality public education regardless of socioeconomic status and background. Together, we must ensure that all working families are able to send their children to schools equipped with the necessary resources to set them up for success. Let’s stop the Trump agenda and elect candidates to Congress who will fight for working people and our unions.

To view a list of our endorsed candidates who will fight for education, go to www.njunionstrong.org.

Attached please find CODE-U messaging for your use. Please text, tweet, post, and email and broadly distribute through your union’s social media pages. It’s as simple as copy and paste. Please contact John Shea, COPE Director, at cope@njaflcio.org or 609-989-8730 with any questions.

 In Unity,