Maine is one of 20 states suing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and President Donald Trump to reverse layoffs at the federal Department of Education.
The Trump administration announced the layoffs of nearly 1,400 employees on Tuesday, nearly half of the Department's entire staff.
In a statement issued today, state Attorney General Aaron Frey said the action effectively dismantles that Department without congressional approval.
Ezekiel Kimball, interim dean at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development, said the layoffs will likely affect educators here in Maine.
"The people that someone in the state of Maine, a local school, a local school district, the State Department of Education might have emailed two days ago, might might not be there tomorrow. And so that's a very real change, given the the kind of critical functions that the Department of Education has been performing," Kimball said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said that the reduction in 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,"
Affected Department of Education staff will be placed on administrative leave beginning next Friday, March 21.
The federal lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts yesterday.
