Educators and classified professionals rallied in protest against the Trump administration in downtown San Diego on Friday during their union’s twice-yearly convention, warning of possible effects on schools and students.
Cuts at the U.S. Department of Education — which this week said it would lay off more than 1,300 people — could particularly hurt special education students in California, teachers union leader Jeff Freitas said.
“It will devastate the special ed students,” Freitas, president of the California Federation of Teachers, told reporters after the event.
The crowd gathered in Federal Plaza chanted “Who are we? CFT” and “Who’s got the power? We’ve got the power.” Amid the chants, there were sounds of bells, whistles and drums.
The Department of Education cuts appear to be a move to effectively dismantle the agency, which distributes federal funds to colleges and schools, regulates services for students with disabilities and conducts civil-rights investigations.
Freitas told reporters the cuts could also cost schools para-educators — the second adult in the classroom for special education students. And he said the department’s elimination, which would require an act of Congress, could decimate or privatize student loan forgiveness.
Demonstrators’ warnings about impacts to education were just one focus of the rally, where speakers from other unions also warned of the Trump presidency’s broader impacts on immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and organized labor.
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, pointed to children who are DREAMers or undocumented or whose parents are not citizens. “We know that the most vulnerable in our society are under attack first,” she said.
Zeph Capo, president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, said his union for years had advocated for LGBTQ+ students’ rights and opposed efforts to undo diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in Texas.
“I will stand in the way for those who try to erase all of our kids, because every kid, every student that comes through our doors, deserves dignity,” he said.
In some of the first actions of Trump’s presidency, the administration has targeted racial justice and diversity efforts as well as LGBTQ+ protections in schools.
In January, the Department of Education said it was moving to eliminate what it called “harmful” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and that it would no longer enforce Title IX protections for transgender students.
