Report Finds Millions of Students Left with No Civil Rights Protections
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has released a report detailing the consequences of recent layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the adverse effects they have on students who depend on OCR to uphold statutory requirements for investigating and safeguarding their civil rights. Sanders is the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Following Secretary of Education Linda McMahon's decision to cut over 240 positions and shut down more than half of OCR's regional offices, the report highlights that over 46 million students across 27 states and territories are now without civil rights investigators to address their complaints. Additionally, OCR political appointees have failed to communicate publicly with students or families regarding plans to resolve their open cases.
Data indicates that the dismissed staff were handling 6,896 cases, leaving thousands of students in potentially unsafe learning environments or out of school altogether. With no clear resolution plan, the remaining investigators are expected to see their caseloads increase by over 200 percent.