Washington (AP) – Education Department Civil Rights Branch It has lost almost half of its staff in Trump administration layoffs, effectively attacking offices that are already facing a backlog of thousands of complaints from students and families around the country.
More than the total 1,300 layoffs The Civil Rights Office was released Tuesday, with around 240 people, according to a list obtained and verified by the Associated Press. Seven of the Civil Rights Agency’s 12 regional offices have been fired completely, including busy hubs in New York, Chicago and Dallas. Despite assurances that departmental jobs will continue to be affected, a huge number of cases appear to be in scope.
The Trump administration has not said how it will proceed with thousands of cases being handled by staff to which it is excluded. The case includes families whose families are trying to obtain school services Students with disabilitiesallegations of race-related bias and religionand complaints Sexual violence On school and university campuses.
Some remaining staff said there was no way to pick up all the incidents of their colleagues who were fired. Many people were already struggling to keep pace with their caseload. With less than 300 workers, the family has probably been waiting for a solution for years, they said.
“Their complaints aren’t moving because they’re afraid they won’t answer the phone,” said Michael Pirela, senior civil rights lawyer for the Civil Rights Bureau. “I really don’t understand how a handful of offices can handle the whole country.”
Sectoral authorities argued that the cuts would not affect civil rights investigations. The cuts were a “strategic decision,” spokesman Madison Biederman.
“OCR will be able to deliver work,” Biederman said. “It has to look different and we know that.”
The layoffs are part of Dramatic downsizing President Donald Trump has overseen his move to reduce the footsteps of the federal government.
Trump promoted a Full shutdown It calls it a “fraud” in the education sector and says it should hand over that power to the state. On Wednesday, he told reporters that he “doesn’t work at all.” In response to the layoffs, he said his administration was about “keeping the best.”
After the cuts, the Civil Rights Office has only workers and five regional offices in Washington, which has traditionally led to investigating complaints with schools and universities and mediating resolutions. The building is closed and staff have been fired in Dallas, Chicago, New York, Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Many attorneys in their New York City office had juggled over 80 cases, according to one staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation. Branches often mediated prominent cases by schools in New York City, the country’s largest district, and their lawyers. Anti-Semitism Survey Columbia University – President Donald Trump’s priorities.
Staff described several pending cases involving students with disabilities who accidentally leave school due to behavioral issues. He said the district is unlikely to comply with legal requirements due to limited monitoring from the office.
Pirela, who said he would leave the department before the cut, said it was unclear how complaints would be investigated in areas that no longer have offices.
“We have to physically go to school,” Pirela said. “We have to look at the play area to see if children with disabilities have access to it. We need to measure the entrance and exit and bathroom to see if children with disabilities have access to everything.”
Even before the layoffs, the Civil Rights Office had lost staff, even as complaints rose to record levels. The workforce was below 600 before Trump took office, so last year faced nearly 23,000 complaints more than ever before.
Trump official I ordered a freeze Most often, when they arrive in the department they are added to the backlog. When Education Secretary Linda McMahon lifted the freeze last week, there were more than 20,000 pending cases.
Historically, most of the office’s work deals with disability rights lawsuits, revealing an increase in complaints claiming discrimination based on gender and race. It also played a prominent role in investigating anti-Semitism and Islamophobia complaints amid the Israeli-Hamas war and the wave of campus demonstrations that spread across the country last year.
Trainer Craig, Trump’s appointee in the office, directed staff last week to focus on anti-Semitism incidents. In the memo, he accused former President Joe Biden of not holding the university accountable and promised harsher actions against violators.
To her Confirmation hearingMcMahon said the goal is not to refund important programs, but to operate them more efficiently. She vowed to support the agency’s civil rights activities, but said it might be better to be moved to the Department of Justice.
After the layoffs, an email sent by the education department to all staff said there was a need for major changes to how they work.
“It’s important that what we choose to prioritize is not prioritized in this transition,” the message states.
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