A September 14, 2026 filing as part of New York v. McMahon claims that the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is withholding over 1,000 documents related to how the reductions-in-force (RIFs) of employees were planned and carried out.

Led by New York, more than 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the USDE on March 11, 2025 in the wake of the layoffs.

The September 14, 2026 court motion by the plaintiffs claims that the USDE is withholding approximately 1,072 of the identified 1,212 documents they have sought in the discovery process and they are asking the court to compel the USDE to produce those documents. Thus far, the USDE has continued to withhold hundreds of documents, averring that the internal agency documents are “privileged.” One particular document, titled “RIF Brief,” was dated five days prior to the layoffs on March 11, 2025.

For more details from K-12 Dive, click here.