March 13, 2025 Story by: Editor
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s recent layoffs have significantly reduced the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, eliminating nearly half of its staff. This decision comes as the office was already struggling with a backlog of thousands of complaints from students and families nationwide.
Among the over 1,300 layoffs announced on Tuesday, approximately 240 positions were cut from the civil rights division, according to a verified list obtained by The Associated Press. Seven of the agency’s 12 regional offices were completely shut down, including key offices in New York, Chicago, and Dallas. While department officials claim operations will continue unaffected, the reality is that numerous cases are now left unresolved.
The administration has yet to clarify how it will manage the thousands of pending cases previously handled by the eliminated staff. These cases involve crucial issues such as services for students with disabilities, allegations of racial and religious discrimination, and reports of sexual violence in schools and universities.
Those who remain in the office say the loss of their colleagues will make it nearly impossible to keep up with the workload. With fewer than 300 staff members, many families may face years-long delays in resolving their complaints.
“I fear they won’t get their calls answered, their complaints won’t move,” said Michael Pillera, a senior civil rights attorney for the Office for Civil Rights. “I truly don’t understand how a handful of offices could handle the entire country.”
Despite concerns, department officials insisted that the layoffs would not impact civil rights investigations. The staff reductions were part of a broader restructuring, according to spokesperson Madison Biedermann.
“OCR will be able to deliver the work,” Biedermann said. “It will have to look different, and we know that.”
A Broader Federal Downsizing
The layoffs are part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. Along with the Office for Civil Rights, other major divisions affected include Federal Student Aid, which oversees the student loan program, and the Institute of Education Sciences, which evaluates the effectiveness of the education system and teaching methods.
Trump has been vocal about his opposition to the Education Department, calling it a “con job” and advocating for its elimination in favor of state-level control. Speaking about the layoffs, he told reporters on Wednesday that many agency employees “don’t work at all.” He defended the cuts, stating his administration is “keeping the best ones.”
Following the layoffs, the Office for Civil Rights will now only operate from Washington, D.C., and five regional offices. Offices in Dallas, Chicago, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and San Francisco are being closed, with their employees let go.
Impact on Investigations and Civil Rights Cases
In the New York office, some attorneys were handling as many as 80 cases at a time, according to a staff member who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation. This office played a crucial role in mediating disputes involving New York City schools—the nation’s largest school district—and was actively investigating antisemitism allegations at Columbia University, a case prioritized by the Trump administration.
The same staff member highlighted concerns over cases involving students with disabilities, particularly those being wrongly excluded from schools due to behavioral issues. With fewer personnel, school districts may be less likely to comply with legal obligations.
Pillera, who had previously planned to leave the department, questioned how civil rights investigations would proceed in areas where offices have been shut down.
“We have to physically go to school,” Pillera said. “We have to look at the playground to see if it’s accessible for kids with disabilities. We have to measure doorways and bathrooms to see if everything is accessible for kids with disabilities.”
Even before these layoffs, the Office for Civil Rights was facing a growing workload with dwindling resources. The department’s workforce had already dropped below 600 before Trump took office, while civil rights complaints hit a record high of nearly 23,000 last year.
Upon taking office, Trump officials placed a freeze on most civil rights cases, exacerbating the backlog. When Education Secretary Linda McMahon lifted the freeze last week, more than 20,000 cases were still unresolved.
Prioritizing Certain Cases Over Others
Historically, most of the office’s workload has focused on disability rights, but there has been a rise in complaints related to discrimination based on sex and race. The office has also played a key role in investigating allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia, particularly following the Israel-Hamas war and the subsequent wave of campus protests across the U.S.
Last week, Craig Trainor, Trump’s appointee to lead the office, directed staff to prioritize antisemitism cases. In a memo, he accused former President Joe Biden of failing to hold colleges accountable and pledged stricter enforcement.
During her confirmation hearing, McMahon emphasized that the goal was not to defund essential programs but to improve their efficiency. She reassured lawmakers that civil rights enforcement would continue but suggested that it might be better housed within the Justice Department.
Broader Legal Ramifications
The civil rights office was not the only division to lose key legal staff. The layoffs also nearly wiped out the department’s Office of the General Counsel, which advises on legal matters related to education policy.
This office had been responsible for ensuring that federal funds allocated for disadvantaged K-12 students were used appropriately, providing guidance on higher education policies, and preventing conflicts of interest within the department. Before Trump’s presidency, around 100 attorneys worked in the office—only about two dozen remain today, most of whom focus on higher education and financial aid programs.
Following the layoffs, the Education Department sent a department-wide email acknowledging that major operational shifts would be necessary.
“What we choose to prioritize, and in turn, not prioritize, will be critical in this transition,” the message stated.
Source: AP News
