Senate Advances Nomination of Kimberly Richey as OCR Staff Remain in Legal Limbo

This week, the Senate advanced the nomination of Kimberly Richey to serve as Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The Senate, which is continuing to work despite the partial government shutdown, is expected to take a final vote on her nomination next week. Meanwhile, the fate of hundreds of OCR staff members who were terminated as part of a reduction-in-force at ED last spring remains in legal jeopardy. 

This week, a federal appeals court cleared the way for the Administration to move forward with those personnel cuts, at least for now, by suspending a lower court order that had required the reinstatement of OCR staff. That June ruling, from a Massachusetts district court, had forced the Department of Education (ED) to develop and institute a timeline for the recall of employees. By the end of September, 80 employees had been recalled, with more to come in October and November. 

The appeals court cited a recent Supreme Court decision upholding similar agency-wide staffing cuts, but the question of whether OCR constitutes a special case remains unresolved. Unlike many offices, OCR’s mission—to enforce federal civil rights laws in education—is rooted in a congressional mandate, raising questions about how far the Administration’s authority extends. The panel stressed that its decision is only temporary. When the case is fully argued, the courts will have to decide whether the layoffs are legal or whether they undercut the federal government’s responsibility to protect civil rights in schools. In the meantime, with the federal shutdown still underway, all OCR functions are halted.

Read the decision here.