Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents more than 2,700 U.S. Department of Education employees, released the following statement from AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman:

“For more than nine months, hundreds of employees at the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) have been sidelined from the critical work of protecting our nation’s most vulnerable students and families. Instead of following court orders and federal law, the Trump Administration chose to keep these civil rights professionals on paid administrative leave — a decision that has already wasted more than $40 million in taxpayer funds— rather than letting them do their jobs. The consequences are severe. By blocking OCR staff from doing their jobs, Department leadership allowed a massive backlog of civil rights complaints to grow, and now expects these same employees to clean up a crisis entirely of the Department’s own making. Students, families, and schools have paid the price for this chaos. While we are relieved these public servants are finally being allowed to return to work, Education Secretary Linda McMahon has made clear that she would rather play politics than uphold her responsibility to protect students’ rights. Her actions have undermined the Department’s mission, harmed families, and subjected dedicated federal employees to needless uncertainty, abuse, and harassment. We will continue to fight to hold this Administration accountable and to stand with the hardworking public servants who show up every day to ensure every student in America is treated with dignity, fairness, and respect.”

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November 18, 2025

Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents more than 2,700 U.S. Department of Education employees, released the following statement from AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman:

“This latest ploy by the Trump Administration to dismantle the Congressionally created U.S. Department of Education is not only unlawful — it’s an insult to the tens of millions of students who rely on the agency to protect their access to a quality education. Students, educators, and families depend on the Department’s comprehensive support for schools, from early learning through graduate programs. That national mission is weakened when its core functions are scattered across other federal or state agencies that are not equipped or positioned to provide the same support and services as ED staff. This move comes as the Administration has attempted to fire large numbers of career public servants in these very offices — and is now trying to shift their critical work to agencies with no educational expertise. Breaking apart the Department of Education and moving its responsibilities elsewhere will only create more confusion for schools and colleges, deepen public distrust, and ultimately harm students and families.”

Education by the numbers:

• 870,000 first-generation and low-income students served under the college accessibility program, TRIO
• 26 million students from low-income backgrounds served under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
• 9.8 million students enrolled in rural schools 
• 7.4 million students with disabilities served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• 5 million English learner students served under Title III of ESEA
• 1.1 million students experiencing homelessness served by the McKinney-Vento program
• Nearly 800,000 children living near military bases, Native American reservations, and  other Federal properties served by Impact Aid
• More than 1 million students served in Full-Service Community Schools  
• 200,000 students served by 21st Century Community Learning Centers  
• 87 million students and parents receiving federal student aid
• 6.6 million Pell Grant recipients
• 8.1 million secondary and 3.3 million postsecondary students served in Perkins career technical education
• 1.2 million out-of-school youth and adult learners served under Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

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November 18, 2025

Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents more than 2,700 U.S. Department of Education employees, released the following statement from AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman.

“This most recent ploy to further dismantle the U.S. Department of Education is not only illegal, it’s harmful to the 7.5 million students with special needs in this country. This comes after the Trump Administration tried to fire nearly every public servant in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services during the government shutdown — a move that is on hold under the continuing resolution. This office provides critical resources and support to students and their families, including distributing more than $15 billion in funding annually and making sure states and school districts follow the law. Moving the office to another federal agency will sow chaos, inspire even more distrust, and hurt our most vulnerable students.”

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November 13, 2025

Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127

Today, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents more than 2,700 U.S. Department of Education employees, released the following statement from President Rachel Gittleman about public servants returning to work after the historic government shutdown:

“We remain deeply concerned about how the U.S. Department of Education is treating employees as they return to work following the shutdown, particularly the more than 700 workers whose illegal firing has been rescinded by the Continuing Resolution signed by the President. Employees have not received official notice from the Department’s human resources office to return to work, instead being forced to rely on text messages from supervisors or colleagues. Many employees named in the October firings are locked out of their computers and do not have access to Department email. The Department told some of those employees that their accounts have been disabled, even though they remain employed by the agency. 

This disorganization and chaos only further demoralizes the hardworking public servants at the Education Department that have faced threats, harassment, illegal firings — and 44 days without paychecks. We will continue to fight for all of our members, including the 1,100 workers unlawfully fired from the Department in March that were completely left out of the Continuing Resolution. Many of these members are now on Affordable Care Act health plans, which means their premiums will skyrocket unless Congress deals with the lapsed subsidies.”

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November 8, 2025

Media contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, dorie.turner@gmail.com, 404-861-1127

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252, which represents more than 2,700 U.S. Department of Education employees, applauded a federal judge’s ruling that the Trump Administration blatantly violated workers’ First Amendment rights by unilaterally changing out-of-office messages to partisan language. The ruling comes following AFGE suing the Department of Education. AFGE Local 252 President Rachel Gittleman released the following statement: 

“This ridiculous ploy by the Trump administration was a clear violation of the First Amendment rights of the workers at the Education Department — one of the many ways the Department’s leadership has threatened, harassed, and demoralized these hardworking public servants in the last 10 months. While we are encouraged that the court sided with the Department’s staff in this case, we remain focused on fighting the continued unlawful dismantling of our Congressionally created federal agency.”

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