Education Department Dissolves National Parents Council Months After Lawsuit

The Department of Education (DOE) is to “immediately and permanently” disband a five-month-old national parents council after conservative groups sued it for allegedly being unbalanced and politically biased.

According to a Dec. 5 court notice (pdf), the department said it’s “immediately and permanently disbanding the [National Parents and Families Engagement Council] and that the Council will not hold any future meetings.”

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona first revealed the creation of the new parents engagement council on June 14, prompting rights advocacy groups including America First Legal Foundation (AFL), Fight for Schools and Families (FSF), and Parents Defending Education (PDE) to jointly sue the department in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on July 6, alleging the department had violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act when it established the council.

The groups have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit without prejudice in the wake of the DOE’s recent decision, the two-page filing reads. Conservative leaders welcomed the government announcement, seeing it as a sweeping victory in the fight for parental rights.