Jewish Council for Public Affairs Alarmed by SCOTUS Allowing Trump Admin to Gut DOE

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to lift a lower court order that had prevented the Trump Administration from carrying out mass layoffs at the Department of Education (DOE), Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, released the following statement:

“The administration’s plan to lay off over one-third of the Department of Education’s workforce – without any federal oversight – jeopardizes the rights and wellbeing of students across the country, and will inevitably lead to more discrimination, posing a direct threat to the safety of Jewish – and so many other — students. 

“The Trump Administration claims to prioritize the fight against antisemitism, but its gutting of the DOE is one of a number of steps it has taken to weaken the very tools we need to protect Jewish and all vulnerable students. By shuttering the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights, which investigates and protects campus safety and civil rights, this administration is doing nothing less than abandoning Jewish – and all – students. No other agency can effectively play the same role. 

“As Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissent, this decision will ‘unleash untold harm, delaying or denying educational opportunities and leaving students to suffer from discrimination, sexual assault, and other civil rights violations without the federal resources Congress intended.’

“We must understand this effort to dismantle the DOE as part of a broader push to undermine our democracy, civil service, and academic institutions. These moves, like the freezing and termination of critical grants to major universities and research institutions, will not make Jews or any other students safer. We will continue to do everything in our power to champion the strong educational institutions and inclusive democracy that are inextricably linked with the Jewish community’s advancement, rights, and safety.”