Somerville and Easthampton schools partnered with the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, AFSCME Council 93 and other groups in a new lawsuit challenging Trump's executive order seeking to close the department and his administration's efforts to lay off many of its employees.

Attorneys said in the lawsuit that Congress created the department, meaning it “cannot be eliminated by the President or the Secretary of Education.” Skye Perryman, president

The legal challenge comes in the wake of mass layoffs at the department, which, along with some voluntary departures, resulted earlier this month in roughly 2,000 workers suddenly leaving the Cabinet-level agency.