DENVER — Democratic attorneys general in 20 states, including Colorado, filed a lawsuit Thursday over cuts made to the U.S. Department of Education as the Trump administration faces pushback for trying to shut down the agency.
The lawsuit alleges the administration is gutting the agency as a way to unlawfully dismantle it.
Half of the department's staff was cut on Tuesday, with 1,300 employees getting notified they would be fired in 90 days.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement dismantling the department would have "devastating effects" on Coloradans.
Officials from Disability rights organizations, like Disability Law Colorado, said Thursday the move will strip essential protections for students with disabilities and weaken enforcement of civil rights laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and Section 504, a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability.
The move by the Trump administration has parents like Sarah Collins now living with uncertainty.
She told Denver7 her 13-year-old son has all the resources he needs in their community on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.
“He is autistic, so he has a sensory disorder. He has developmental delays and he has speech delays, so he sees occupational therapy, he does speech therapy, he does behavioral and behavior health therapy,” she said.
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How Education Department cuts could impact students and schools
With resources already so limited in rural Colorado, she’s worried about losing these crucial services as the administration makes cuts to the Education Department.
“When I think about how it's not only going to affect [him] in my family, it's going to affect a lot of extended family that we have, community members and other children that, I fear, are going to fall through the cracks,” she said.
The state received over $1.2 billion from the Education Department in the 2024 fiscal year for its school programs.
“The Department of Education has been responsible for handling a lot of funding that flows to students with disabilities and students in general, including in Colorado, and that is all potentially at risk,” said Disability Law Colorado co-legal director Emily Harvey.
She told Denver7 cuts to these state programs could lead to civil rights issues.
“I think we're all just keeping an eye on what's happening federally and trying to figure out what we can do at a state level to protect our children in the state,” she added.
As groups like Disability Law Colorado work with lawmakers to fight for protections, parents like Collins are hoping for the best.
“Children are a foundation, especially for my Ute tribe here, for the Ute Mountain Ute tribe. They are a foundation, and we do need them to get that education. And without that education, you know, we're not going to be able to build those communities,” she said.
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