{"id":209,"date":"2026-05-23T18:08:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T18:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=209"},"modified":"2026-05-23T18:08:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T18:08:54","slug":"massive-layoffs-at-the-department-of-education-erode-its-civil-rights-division","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=209","title":{"rendered":"Massive Layoffs at the Department of Education Erode Its Civil Rights Division"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

With a mass email sharing what it called \u201cdifficult news,\u201d the U.S. Department of Education has eroded one of its own key duties, abolishing more than half of the offices that investigate civil rights complaints from students and their families.<\/p>\n

Read more Inside the Schools Alaska Ignored<\/a><\/p>\n

Civil rights complaints in schools and colleges largely have been investigated through a dozen regional outposts across the country. Now there will be five.<\/p>\n

The Office for Civil Rights\u2019 locations in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco are being shuttered, ProPublica has learned. Offices will remain in Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Seattle and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

The OCR is one of the federal government\u2019s largest enforcers of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, investigating thousands of allegations of discrimination each year. That includes discrimination based on disability, race and gender.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is devastating for American education and our students. This will strip students of equitable education, place our most vulnerable at great risk and set back educational success that for many will last their lifetimes,\u201d said Katie Dullum, an OCR deputy director who resigned last Friday. \u201cThe impact will be felt well beyond this transitional period.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Education Department has not responded to ProPublica\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In all, about 1,300 of the Education Department\u2019s approximately 4,000 employees were told Tuesday through the mass emails that they would be laid off and placed on administrative leave starting March 21, with their final day of employment on June 9.<\/p>\n

The civil rights division had about 550 employees and was among the most heavily affected by Tuesday\u2019s layoffs, which with other departures will leave the Education Department at roughly half its size.<\/p>\n

At least 243 union-represented employees of the OCR were laid off. The Federal Student Aid division, which administers grants and loans to college students, had 326 union-represented employees laid off, the most of any division.<\/p>\n

On average, each OCR attorney who investigates complaints is assigned about 60 cases at a time. Complaints, which have been backlogged for years, piled up even more after President Donald Trump took office in January and implemented a monthlong freeze on the agency\u2019s civil rights work.<\/p>\n

Catherine Lhamon, who oversaw the OCR under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden said: \u201cWhat you\u2019ve got left is a shell that can\u2019t function.\u201d<\/p>\n

Civil rights investigators who remain said it now will be \u201cvirtually impossible\u201d to resolve discrimination complaints.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of OCR\u2019s work is to physically go to places. As part of the investigation, we go to schools, we look at the playground, we see if it\u2019s accessible,\u201d said a senior attorney for OCR, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not laid off and fears retaliation. \u201cWe show up and look at softball and baseball fields. We measure the bathroom to make sure it\u2019s accessible. We interview student groups. It requires in-person work. That is part of the basis of having regional offices. Now, California has no regional office.\u201d<\/p>\n

The OCR was investigating about 12,000 complaints when Trump took office. The largest share of pending complaints \u2014 about 6,000 \u2014 were related to students with disabilities who feel they\u2019ve been mistreated or unfairly denied help at school, according to a ProPublica analysis of department data.<\/p>\n

Read more Texas Lawmakers Want a Charter School Network to Stop Paying Its Superintendent Nearly $900K. The School Board Says No.<\/a><\/p>\n

Since Trump took office, the focus has shifted. The office has opened an unusually high number of \u201cdirected investigations,\u201d based on Trump\u2019s priorities, that it began without receiving complaints. These relate to curbing antisemitism, ending participation of transgender athletes in women\u2019s sports and combating alleged discrimination against white students.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, students and families turn to the OCR after they feel their concerns have not been addressed by their school districts. The process is free, which means families that can\u2019t afford a lawyer to pursue a lawsuit may still be able to seek help.<\/p>\n

When the OCR finds evidence of discrimination, it can force a school district or college to change its policies or require that they provide services to a student, such as access to disabilities services or increased safety at school. Sometimes, the office monitors institutions to make sure they comply.<\/p>\n

\u201cOCR simply will not be investigating violations any more. It is not going to happen. They will not have the staff for it,\u201d said another attorney for the Department of Education, who also asked not to be named because he is still working there. \u201cIt was extremely time and labor intensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The department said in a press release that all divisions at the department were affected. The National Center for Education Statistics, which collects data about the health of the nation\u2019s schools, was all but wiped away.<\/p>\n

Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the layoffs \u201ca significant step toward restoring the greatness of the United States education system.\u201d In addition to the 1,300 let go on Tuesday, 600 employees already had accepted voluntary resignations or had retired in the past seven weeks, according to the department.<\/p>\n

Trump and his conservative allies have long wanted to shut the department, with Trump calling it a \u201cbig con job.\u201d But the president hasn\u2019t previously tried to do so, and officially closing the department would require congressional approval.<\/p>\n

Instead, Trump is significantly weakening the agency. The same day Congress confirmed McMahon as education secretary, she sent department staff an email describing a \u201cfinal mission\u201d \u2014 to participate in \u201cour opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service\u201d by eliminating what she called \u201cbloat\u201d at the department \u201cquickly and responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Education Department employees received an email on Tuesday afternoon saying all agency offices across the country would close at 6 p.m. for \u201csecurity reasons\u201d and would remain closed Wednesday. That led many workers to speculate that layoffs were coming.<\/p>\n

Then, after the workday had ended, employees who were being laid off began receiving emails that acknowledged \u201cthe difficult workforce restructuring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emails also went to entire divisions: \u201cThis email serves as notice that your organizational unit is being abolished along with all positions within the unit \u2014 including yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Parents Sue Trump Administration for Allegedly Sabotaging Education Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only five of the agency\u2019s civil rights offices remain nationwide. Those who are still with the department say it will now be \u201cvirtually impossible\u201d to resolve discrimination complaints.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[13,10],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-education","tag-trump-administration"],"yoast_head":"\nMassive Layoffs at the Department of Education Erode Its Civil Rights Division - Moving Services America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=209\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Massive Layoffs at the Department of Education Erode Its Civil Rights Division - Moving Services America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Only five of the agency\u2019s civil rights offices remain nationwide. 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