March 3, 2025
NATIONWIDE — Stop AAPI Hate released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s ongoing attempt to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) – most recently by coercing staffers with an offer of $25,000 to quit before 11:59 pm ET on Monday, March 3. According to the administration, this offer comes “in advance of a very significant reduction in force for the US Department of Education.” The quote below can be attributed to Manjusha Kulkarni, Co-Founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Executive Director of AAPI Equity Alliance:
“Donald Trump’s assault on our education system is an attack on our children, our communities, and our future. Trump is targeting our public schools because he wants to control what we learn, what we read, and how we think. He has already moved to censor history, banning discussions of Native American history, chattel slavery, segregation, and even immigration policies like the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese American incarceration. His education policies are designed to silence dissent, criminalize speech, and instill fear in immigrant communities. He is using our schools as a political weapon to push his authoritarian agenda, ensuring that future generations are deprived of the knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to challenge his rule. We must not allow him to distort history and deprive students of their right to learn the truth.
Trump’s ongoing attempt to gut and dismantle the U.S. Department of Education will also eliminate critical support for underserved students and erase essential protections for the most vulnerable children and teens in our communities. If Trump gets his way, students will lose teachers, literacy coaches, math specialists, paraprofessionals who support students with disabilities, and other vital educators. Class sizes will swell, and children from low-income families will be denied Head Start programs that set them up for lifelong success. Arts, sports, and special education services will be gutted, while students with disabilities and students of color will be left without the federal protections they rely on to ensure equal access to education.
Every child, in every state, deserves a high-quality education in a safe, well-funded school. The Department of Education plays a vital role in ensuring that all students — regardless of race, income, or background — receive the resources they need to succeed. That’s why we will not back down from Trump’s outright attack on students, teachers, and families across America. We are starting our fight in New York by advocating for the passage of S3334/A4638 to ensure AANHPI histories and stories are taught in our schools. And we will continue to resist Trump’s attacks on education and stand up for students, teachers, and families nationwide. Our children’s futures are on the line, and we will not let them be sacrificed to Trump’s political agenda.”
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