WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Education was established by Congress in 1979 to ensure equal access to education, to help families pay for college, and to provide funding for programs for children from low-income families as well as students with disabilities and English language learners; and

WHEREAS, the failure to continue to administer federal funding, which constitutes approximately 10% of K-12 funding, would cause significant harm to a large number of students, regardless of income levels; and

WHEREAS, the current administration has stated that U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon’s primary objective is to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education; and

WHEREAS, dismantling the U.S. Department of Education will mean fewer teachers, less support for our neediest students, larger class sizes, and likely higher taxes at the state and local level to make up for the funding shortfalls; and

WHEREAS, civil rights protections against discrimination based on race, gender and disability would also suffer; and

WHEREAS, approximately half of the workers at the U.S. Department of Education have been laid off, cutting into the ability to provide services and resources to public schools; therefore be it

RESOLVED, the United Federation of Teachers will support our national affiliates, the NEA and AFT, in their lawsuits against the illegal actions taken by the administration; and be it further

RESOLVED, the UFT will call on members to contact their members of Congress to demand that they stand up for public education and our students; and be it further

RESOLVED, the UFT will mobilize its members to lobby the governor, state legislators and city councilmembers to ensure that the rights and freedoms of our students and the members who serve them remain protected.