WASHINGTON (DC News Now) -- A large group of local college students rallied outside of the U.S. Department of Education Friday afternoon. Their message to the Trump administration is to take their hands off their schools. They say the White House continues to attack every corner of education, fro m funding to free speech. "Hands off! Our schools!" the crowd chanted. Students from Georgetown, Howard, George Mason, American and Temple universities are rallying together. "It really shows that we are not siloed in our own campuses, that we across D.C. and across our country are coming together to protect our education, to protect our civil liberties and our democracy," said Kaden Ouimet, American University student and board president of Taskforce for Democracy. The US must return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, a judge says The mass firings at the U.S. Department of Education have students concerned. "We're here to protest the Trump administration's attacks on our education from school funding, scholarships, research access, to diversity in our classrooms. And even more than that, attacks on our international community," said Emily Han, rally organizer and Georgetown University student. Parents of D.C. Public School kids are also worried. "We are here for our children's future. And this starts now. If he cuts it, what are we going to do? We're already stressed mentally," said Dawn Smith, citywide board member for PAVE. "Tiny hands can't take our speech. Take them off our DOE," the crowd chanted. While the Trump administration's ultimate goal is to shut down the Department of Education, only Congress can do that. So leaders made a list of demands to preserve the Department of Education and protect students. "You have your power. And there's there's nothing we can do without lawmakers who, in the face of this tyranny, don't take the easy path, but take the right one," Oimet said. Students are worried about content that could be restricted on campuses. "School funding should not and must not be tied to whether their courses align with the views of the government," said Reily Souther, Georgetown University student and policy director of the Georgetown University Student Association. They're also worried about funding that keeps them in class. "Without the Department of Education behind us I would not have been able to access the Pell Grant, the federal loans that helped make my education possible," said Ethan Henshaw, student body president at Georgetown University. President Trump said last month federal Pell grants and student loans will continue under the purview of the Small Business Administration. ...read more read less