Today, the Trump Administration is sending education back to the states. Every parent in America should be alarmed. The U.S. Department of Education has been the crucial backstop in ensuring children are not denied their right to a safe and equitable education. If Trump and his allies succeed, the progress made over decades of civil rights enforcement will be unraveled overnight, leaving countless students without the protections they need to thrive.
The goal is clear: strip away federal oversight, eliminate key civil rights protections, and return absolute power to state and local governments—many of which have long histories of failing marginalized students. The consequences of such a move would be catastrophic, particularly for families who rely on federal enforcement to ensure their children have access to quality education, free from discrimination and systemic neglect.
The truth is, States have demonstrated an interest in dismantling federal education protections. They have spent years resisting desegregation, ignoring the needs of students with disabilities, and implementing punitive policies that disproportionately harm Black, Latino, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ students. Without federal intervention, history tells us exactly what will happen: students in vulnerable communities will be pushed further to the margins, schools will become more segregated, and states will be free to set policies that deepen existing inequities.
This is not a problem of the past—it is a crisis that continues to affect students today. The states led by these governors are still grappling with systemic inequities in education, from ongoing segregation to discriminatory discipline policies and inadequate support for students with disabilities and English Language Learners. Despite decades of legal battles and federal interventions, these states continue to resist meaningful progress, choosing instead to weaken protections and ignore the needs of marginalized students. The fight for educational equity is far from over, and without federal oversight, the hard-fought gains of the past will be erased, leaving future generations vulnerable to the same injustices that plagued our history.
In United States v. Marion County School District (1978), the federal government sued the Marion County School District for maintaining a segregated school system. Despite the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, local districts resisted desegregation efforts. The federal intervention led to a 1983 agreement mandating further desegregation, including the transformation of nearly all-Black schools into district-wide magnet schools.
More recently, Methelus v. School Board of Collier County (2016) highlighted the continued need for federal oversight in ensuring educational access for immigrant and English Language Learner (ELL) students. Plaintiffs argued that the district violated the Equal Educational Opportunities Act and Title VI by diverting foreign-born ELL students to adult ESOL programs that charged fees and did not count toward high school diplomas. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest opposing the district’s attempt to dismiss the claims, reinforcing the importance of federal enforcement in protecting marginalized students.
In Northcross v. Board of Education of the Memphis City Schools (1960), Black families sued to dismantle Memphis’s segregated school system. Local authorities resisted, using policies like the Pupil Assignment Law to circumvent integration. Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, ultimately mandated desegregation, leading to the controversial yet necessary implementation of busing in 1973. Without federal intervention, Memphis schools would have remained segregated, undermining educational equity.
In 2025, federal courts are again being called upon in Tennessee to address injustices in Doe v. Hamilton County Department of Education. Two students—an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old with disabilities—were wrongfully arrested under Tennessee’s harsh laws on school threats. These lawsuits argue that school officials violated students’ rights by restraining and criminalizing them without due process, demonstrating the ongoing need for federal oversight to protect vulnerable students.
A 2021 complaint against Wilder School District, filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), alleged discrimination against ELL students and students with disabilities. The district’s shift to a self-directed, technology-based learning system disproportionately harmed these students. The federal complaint highlighted failures in identifying ELL students and providing appropriate instruction, as well as retaliation against parents who raised concerns. Without federal oversight, students in marginalized communities would be left without essential educational support.
Iowa was again at the center of an important education ruling with Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), a landmark First Amendment case. Students were suspended for wearing black armbands in silent protest of the Vietnam War. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa dismissed their complaint, and the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed that decision. However, the U.S. Supreme Court held that, in the absence of evidence that the armbands caused substantial disruption or material interference with school activities, or that any actual disturbances occurred, the regulation banning them and suspending students who refused to remove them was an unconstitutional denial of students’ right to free expression.
In Columbus Board of Education v. Penick (1979), the federal government played a key role in addressing systemic segregation in Columbus, Ohio. A class-action lawsuit revealed that the school board had deliberately maintained racially segregated schools, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Federal courts mandated a desegregation plan, reaffirming the federal government’s role in rectifying local injustices.
Recent complaints against Texas school districts underscore the continued need for federal oversight. In 2024, civil rights organizations filed complaints against Bonham ISD and Corpus Christi ISD, alleging discriminatory truancy policies that disproportionately impact Black students and students with disabilities. Schools failed to provide necessary accommodations, instead pushing students out through punitive measures, sometimes leading to incarceration. Federal intervention is critical in ensuring that students with disabilities receive the support they are entitled to under the law.
Similarly, Carroll Independent School District (CISD) in Southlake, Texas, faced OCR scrutiny for fostering a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ and minority students. Students reported racist and homophobic harassment, yet district officials denied the existence of discrimination and weakened protections. The federal government’s involvement is crucial to ensuring all students feel safe and supported in their learning environments.
Virginia has historically been at the forefront of resisting educational equity, with Senator Harry Byrd’s infamous “Massive Resistance” campaign seeking to block school integration following Brown v. Board of Education. Today, this legacy persists in cases like NAACP et al. v. County School Board of Shenandoah County (2024), where the reinstatement of Confederate school names prompted a lawsuit citing violations of the Civil Rights Act and Equal Educational Opportunity Act.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education is investigating Virginia’s response to civil rights violations in Fairfax County Public Schools, where thousands of students with disabilities were denied a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The investigation aims to hold the state accountable for failing to enforce federal disability rights protections.
These cases illustrate a consistent pattern: when local and state governments fail to protect students’ rights, the federal government serves as the necessary backstop to enforce civil rights laws. Whether addressing racial segregation, protecting ELL students, ensuring appropriate accommodations for students with disabilities, or combatting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, federal intervention remains crucial in guaranteeing equal educational opportunities for all. Without a strong federal presence, historical patterns of exclusion, segregation, and discrimination will persist, denying generations of students the quality education they deserve.