A group of Massachusetts school districts and educator unions on Monday joined the legal fight against President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

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.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which they described as the first filed since Trump issued his executive order Thursday, argued that the federal Department of Education performs essential work authorized by Congress.

“From protecting students’ rights to expanding college access and ensuring support for students with disabilities, the Department of Education is a cornerstone of equitable public education,” Somerville School Committee Chair Ilana Krepchin said in a statement alongside the complaint.

“Dismantling it would cause real harm — not only to our students and schools, but to communities across the country. That’s why we are joining this case. It is the right decision for Somerville, for Massachusetts, and for the future of public education nationwide.”

Trump has argued that he wants to return more education policy authority to state governments and criticized the U.S. Department of Education as inefficient.

“The department has played a crucial role in the pathway to higher education for millions of Americans by providing and administering student loans, grants, and work-study programs,” said Todd Wolfson, President of the American Association of University Professors. “Without it, access to education for working class Americans will decrease. Funding for college education will be stripped away, programs for students with disabilities and students living in poverty will be eviscerated, and enforcement of civil rights laws against race- or sex-based discrimination in higher education will disappear.”

The lawsuit was filed Monday in the federal court in Boston.

Trump’s order last week to unwind the department directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

Even before the order, the White House had  announced massive layoffs at the Department, reducing the staff from 4,133 to 2,183.