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March 13, 2025
Public education is under attack, and the latest round of mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education signals a dangerous shift toward privatization and defunding essential student services. Natalie Dean breaks down what’s at stake, who will be most affected, and how educators, parents, and communities can fight back to protect our schools and students.
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The landscape of public education is shifting fast. With the recent round of mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), the new administration has made its intentions clear: dismantle public education as we know it. More than 1,300 DOE employees were just given pink slips, a move that is just the beginning of an aggressive plan to gut federal education programs, eliminate essential student services, and push billions of dollars away from public schools toward privatization efforts.
For educators, this isn’t just policy, it’s personal. These cuts threaten the resources that millions of students rely on every day, particularly low-income students, students with disabilities, and English language learners. Programs that support special education, mental health services, career and technical education, and school meal programs are now on the chopping block.
The AFT’s Protect Our Kids initiative lays out the stakes:
This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for educators. Public schools are the bedrock of our democracy, and every student – regardless of race, income, or zip code – deserves a high-quality education. But we can’t fight these attacks alone.
Changes in funding, curriculum oversight, and school choice policies will directly impact your work. Stay engaged with AFT’s Protecting Our Kids campaign for updates, resources, and ways to take action.
Teachers, parents, and community members need to make their voices heard – loudly. Contact elected officials at all levels to demand they oppose these dangerous cuts and push for investment in safe, well-funded public schools.
The administration is targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, meaning lessons that reflect the experiences of Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and special needs students may be under scrutiny. Adjust your approach to teaching these topics in ways that still meet educational standards while protecting yourself from retaliation.
This fight is bigger than any one classroom. Educators must organize and mobilize in the communities where these cuts will hit hardest. Rallies, petitions, school board meetings—this is where change happens.
Numbers and statistics matter, but real stories are what move people. Share how these policy changes are affecting your students and colleagues. Highlight the direct consequences of defunding special education, gutting student support services, or making college unaffordable.
Public education is facing one of its biggest threats in modern history. But history has shown that when teachers, parents, and communities come together, we win. Now is the time to fight for our schools, our students, and our future.
Stay informed. Stay engaged. And don’t let them dismantle what we’ve fought so hard to build.
Kelly Booz uses the power of music, AI, and civic action to highlight the urgent threats facing schools, teachers, and communities nationwide. Read her blog to discover why defending public education is defending democracy—and how you can take action.
In this free, for-credit webinar, hear directly from President Weingarten on the issues that matter most and our work to support students, educators, families and communities. This year’s session will include a focus on the AFT's Protect Our Kids campaign to fight for public educaiton and what our students of all ages need.
