Battle Over Education Department: Trump Administration Takes Fight to Supreme Court

The Trump administration has taken its fight to dismantle the Department of Education to the U.S. Supreme Court. This comes after a federal judge blocked the move, a plan that would significantly shift education policy control to states and local boards. The administration's actions have been met with oposition from numerous states, school districts, and teachers' unions.

Originally established by Congress in 1979, the Department of Education supervises approximately 100,000 public and 34,000 private schools across the nation, and oversees $1.6 trillion in student loans. The administration's plan to close the department aligns with a longstanding conservative aim to reduce federal government size. The Justice Department is challenging the May 22 ruling by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, which ordered the reinstatement of employees subjected to mass layoffs and halted further department shutdown actions.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields labeled the court's decision as "misguided" after the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to pause the injunction. As the legal battle continues, the administration aims to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and shift special education services to the Department of Health and Human Services.

(With inputs from agencies.)