The Department of Education Isn’t Safe
Here’s what Judge Joun’s injunction really means, what it doesn’t, and what happens next.
Last week, you might’ve seen a flurry of dramatic headlines like: “Judge Blocks Trump’s Bid to Dismantle the Department of Education.”
Mmm… not quite.
On May 22, 2025, U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun issued a preliminary injunction (a timeout that temporarily halts certain actions while the court decides whether they’re legal).
According to Judge Joun, the mass firings, agency shutdowns, and program transfers ordered by the Trump administration were probably unlawful.
But let’s be clear: It was a pause button on these actions. Not a final decision.
The administration is already appealing, and the broader attack on public education is still in motion.
Let’s break it down, step by step.
First, a recap:
January 20, 2025: Trump’s inauguration. Staff and DOGE Bros began internal “efficiency reviews” across federal agencies, including the ED.
Late January 2025: Over 60 employees were abruptly placed on administrative leave after attending a DEI training. Many weren’t probationary and didn’t even work on DEI initiatives, but that didn’t stop the administration from sidelining them. They have received no formal termination notice and remain in limbo.
February 9, 2025: A separate group of 65 probationary employees (with less than one year of federal service) were terminated via email. Later, On March 27, Judge Joun issued a court order temporarily reinstating them while the case proceeds. But despite that ruling, many are still on administrative leave, with no clear path back to work.
March 11, 2025: The ED began notifying employees about a Reduction in Force (RIF) of questionable legality. This would ultimately slash more than 50% of its workforce. Entire teams were impacted, offices closed, chaos ensued.
March 20, 2025: Trump signs his stupid executive order instructing Linda McMahon to “facilitate the closure” of the Department of Education. I still get comments every day asking if this Executive Order actually dismantled anything. (It did not.)
March 21, 2025: The administration announces its intention to transfer the ED’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and move special education programs to RFK Jr’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The RIF’ed ED employees lose access to internal systems.
February-March 2025: Lawmakers and unions call for investigations, internal whistleblowers contact congressional staff, and major lawsuits are filed in federal court, including:
21 Democratic attorneys general
Somerville and Easthampton school districts in Massachusetts
AFT, SEIU, AFSCME, and AAUP
These lawsuits were eventually smushed together (“consolidated”) into one big federal case challenging the legality of the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education. (Both the headline-grabbing moves and the behind-the-scenes gutting.)
April 25, 2025: A federal court held a hearing to decide whether to pause all of this madness while the lawsuit moves forward. The plaintiffs explain how schools, students, and civil rights are being hurt. The government argues it’s just reorganizing for “efficiency.”
May 22, 2025: Judge Joun issued the preliminary injunction we’re talking about today!
So what is going on?
Judge Joun’s May 22 Ruling…
Temporarily blocks the Trump administration from enforcing its March 20 Executive Order (EO).
Although that EO didn’t formally eliminate the Department of Education, it instructed Secretary McMahon to “facilitate its closure.”
Granted, that order came after most of the damage was already done, including firings in February and a so-called “Reduction in Force” (RIF) in early March.
The EO just gave post hoc cover to a behind-the-scenes gutting that was already well underway.
Orders the reinstatement of all employees fired on or after January 20, 2025. This includes both the early February terminations and the March 11 RIF.
But the court acknowledged that actually getting those employees back (especially those fired via the RIF) would require further proceedings.
Basically, this injunction froze further firings, but did not formally void the RIF that eliminate 50% of the ED’s workforce.
Froze plans to transfer the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and move special education programs to HHS.
While those plans weren’t in motion, they were publicly announced in March. This injunction preemptively blocks the administration from moving forward with any type of formal transfer.
Directed the ED to resume normal operations and submit weekly updates to the court. (Lol, they’re being babysat.)
What Judge Joun said:
“The record abundantly reveals that Defendants’ true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department without an authorizing statute.”
“There is also no evidence that the RIF has actually made the Department more efficient. Rather, the record is replete with evidence of the opposite.”
“Consolidated Plaintiffs have demonstrated that the Department will not be able to carry out its statutory functions—and in some cases, is already unable to do so—and Defendants have proffered no evidence to the contrary.”
The administration has framed this whole disaster as an “efficiency” initiative. But Judge Joun pointed out:
Programs have been eliminated without replacement
Services have been suspended midstream
Civil rights investigations are being abandoned and left incomplete
No cost-benefit analysis has been conducted
Honestly, the damage has been vast.
Let’s do a little partial inventory…
FAFSA oversight team was fired
K–12 grant compliance attorneys let go
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has been reduced to a shell of itself
English Learners division ceased operation
7 of 12 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) regional offices have been shuttered. Investigators’ average caseloads jumped from 50 to 80, and may hit 120. One official said the office now exists “in name but not in function.”
Title I and IDEA funds were delayed for dozens of districts
School districts were locked out of the ED’s G5 and G6 systems
Colleges couldn’t verify FAFSA data for 2025–2026
Some Pell Grant recipients were told their awards would be delayed indefinitely
The case now heads to the First Circuit Court of Appeals and the Trump Regime is already challenging this injunction.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m super glad this pause is being put into place, and I’m hopeful some of the damage will be reversed.
But, although his ruling buys us time, it doesn’t solve the crisis.
This injunction…
Is not a permanent block of these things. We’re still waiting for the case to be decided.
Does not undo the damage already done. Things like office closures, missed grant deadlines, and backlogged investigations are still an issue.
It doesn’t require the Department to restore every shuttered office or rehire every staffer to their original role.
In fact, impacted employees are still in the dark. Some RIF’d workers were told to return their government equipment the day after the injunction came down, but haven’t received any follow-up. Many expect to remain on administrative leave through at least June 10, with no clear path to real reinstatement (even as the remaining staff face crushing workloads.)
It doesn’t stop future attempts to undercut the department with new tactics.
The Trump administration’s plan is clear: defund, discredit, and dismantle public education by weakening federal enforcement, rebranding equity as discrimination, and rerouting money with no strings attached.
And they’re not going to stop trying.
So, what can we do?
Share this. Talk to your reps. Demand protection for public education every chance you get!
We’re not out of the woods. But at least we’re together!
<3 Frazz