Colorado and several Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration on Thursday, seeking to halt layoffs at the Department of Education and alleging the cuts amount to an illegal shutdown of its crucial work to administer student loans, protect civil rights and aid poor districts and students with disabilities.

The suit, filed in federal district court in Massachusetts by attorneys representing 20 Democratic states and the District of Columbia, claimed that the staff reductions are a “reckless” attempt to carry out President Donald Trump’s desire to close the department by making it unable to carry out work mandated by Congress.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced the staff reductions this week, saying halving the workforce “reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers.”

During the campaign, Trump said he wants to shutter the Department of Education and “send all education and education work and needs back to the states.” He argued at another point that the country spends $1 trillion on public education systems but that, “instead of being at the top of the list, we are literally right smack — guess what — at the bottom.”

The lawsuit argued the president and his Cabinet “must implement the laws enacted by Congress, including those statutes that create federal agencies and dictate their duties.”

“The executive thus can neither outright abolish an agency nor incapacitate it by cutting away the personnel required to implement the agency’s statutorily-mandated duties,” the lawsuit added. 

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit, but in a news release this week, McMahon defended the move, calling it a “significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.”

“The Department of Education will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking,” she said. 

The suit asked a judge to order a stop to the layoffs, which are to take effect March 21. The staff reduction would leave 2,183 workers at the department, down from 4,133 in January.

The lawsuit was filed with attorneys from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin, Vermont and the District of Columbia.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor, said the department’s layoffs will “harm Coloradans.”

“Coloradans rely on funding and support from the Department of Education for a range of programs, including for special education, student loan services, and rural teacher training,” said Weiser. “This evisceration of the agency will harm Coloradans, undermine our education system, and create chaos. And it is plainly unconstitutional, as only Congress can lawfully dismantle the department that it created or shut down services it has required the federal government to fund.”

Colorado receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding annually, according to the Colorado Department of Education.

This school year, federal funding accounted for $870.2 million of a $7.8 billion budget or 11%.

The federal funding has ranged from 10% in the 2018-2019 school year to as high as 15% in the 2022-2023 academic year.

“While it’s challenging to speculate on hypothetical situations, here in Colorado, our priority remains clear: we are committed to ensuring that every child starts strong, stays engaged, and graduates ready for post-secondary and workforce success and that both students and staff have the support they need to thrive,” Jeremy Meyer, a CDE spokesperson, has said.

Denver Public Schools (DPS) receives a significant amount of federal education funding.

DPS expects to get $96 million in federal grant funding this school year, said Scott Pribble, a district spokesperson. This represents roughly 7% of the district’s general fund.

The majority of the federal money, $50.5 million, is for educating English language learners and students in poverty.

“Without these funds, we would need to reduce services or look for other local funding sources,” Pribble has said. ”Any changes to federal funding will directly impact students.”

The department has been unclear on how it will carry out its funding obligations, but said this week that it will continue to do work it is mandated to do by Congress.

Not all of the dollars funnel through the Department of Education. Significant federal funding for early childhood education comes from the Department of Health and Human Services, and the gigantic student meal program is funded by the Department of Agriculture. 

In higher education, the Education Department also handles student loans for 43 million borrowers who owe the government more than $1.5 trillion.

The Pell Grant program, which awards more than $120 billion to 13 million students each year to help pay for higher education, is also managed by the department.

Questions have also risen about civil rights enforcement. As part of the layoffs, in San Francisco, the regional branch of the department’s Office for Civil Rights — already backlogged with investigations into school-related discrimination — is closing. Six other regional civil rights offices are also slated for closure.

Denver Gazette reporter Nicole Brambila contributed to this report.