Those resources apparently include the more than 250 OCR employees that Education Secretary Linda McMahon has been trying to fire since March. 

Three weeks after Richey was sworn in, the department is telling laid-off staff to report by Dec. 15 to temporarily work through a backlog of civil rights complaints, according to an email sent out Friday. 

In a Monday statement, Rachel Gittleman, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents department staff, said she鈥檚 鈥渞elieved these public servants are finally being allowed to return to work鈥� and that keeping them sidelined has 鈥渨asted more than $40 million in taxpayer funds.鈥� She accused McMahon of playing politics. 鈥淒epartment leadership allowed a massive backlog of civil rights complaints to grow, and now expects these same employees to clean up a crisis entirely of the Department鈥檚 own making.鈥�

OCR has complaints to work through. In federal court updates as part of over the cuts, officials said that they were dismissing the majority of the complaints filed since the March layoffs. shows that staff have resolved 165 cases this year, but that鈥檚 well below previous years. 

The call back to work is the latest twist in a legal saga that has been a rollercoaster both for OCR employees and families waiting for action on their complaints. In October, a allowed the department to move forward with the layoffs as the lawsuit challenging them continues. Now, with the possibility that they could still ultimately lose their jobs, the attorneys, investigators and other OCR staff members must get back to work. 

鈥淭he department will continue to appeal the persistent and unceasing litigation disputes concerning the reductions in force,鈥� Julie Hartman, press secretary for legal affairs, said in a statement. 鈥淏ut in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers.鈥�

鈥楧rastically reduced staffing鈥櫬�

The department鈥檚 admission that it needs help to carry out its legal obligations is at least the third time officials have recalled staff after eliminating them. In May, a House appropriations subcommittee that she had rehired 74 people. 

鈥淵ou hope that you鈥檙e just cutting fat,鈥� McMahon testified. 鈥淪ometimes you cut a little in the muscle.鈥� 

In August, the department brought back employees, placed on leave in late January. Many had on diversity, equity and inclusion during the first Trump administration, an activity that made them a target for the administration鈥檚 aggressive anti-DEI agenda. While the union filed for arbitration to challenge the firings, Madison Biederman, a spokeswoman for the department said the staffers were recalled because 鈥渢he agency determined they are an asset to the workforce.鈥� 

Last week鈥檚 development is further evidence that 鈥渢he federal government cannot fulfill its civil rights mandate to students with such drastically reduced staffing,鈥� said Amanda Walsh, deputy director of external affairs for the Victim Rights Law Center, a legal advocacy group that sued over the cuts to OCR. The organization represents victims of sexual assault. 鈥淲e have not had any movement on our cases nor have we even heard where they鈥檝e been assigned, demonstrating that the caseloads are too big for the reduced staff to manage.鈥�

In March, the department shuttered seven of the 12 OCR regional offices, and during the government shutdown, tried to lay off another 137 OCR staffers. A the layoffs, and the agreement to reopen the government forced the secretary to bring the employees back to work, at least until the end of January.听

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, opened doors that were once firmly shut for students with disabilities.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the IDEA, we reflect on how far we鈥檝e come, and the work yet to do, to protect students with disabilities.

— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov)

One advocate for students with disabilities, whose cases make up the bulk of OCR鈥檚 work, suggested that Richey has contributed to the sense that 鈥渢hings are moving forward.鈥�

Callie Oettinger, who publishes , a blog, highlighted Richey鈥檚 recent marking the 50th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Along with leading OCR, Richey is serving as acting assistant secretary for the office that oversees special education. Both offices, she said in an accompanying video, are 鈥渃ommitted to vigorous enforcement.鈥�

鈥淭his is not the language of an agency sunsetting a program,鈥� Oettinger wrote. She told 社区黑料 she found Richey鈥檚 video 鈥渁 breath of fresh air, passionate and positive.鈥� 

The department did not say whether recalling the staff was Richey鈥檚 idea. But one current OCR staff member, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retribution, said 鈥渟he seems interested in us doing our work.”

The department said it will reinstate roughly 25 employees Sept. 8, nearly three months after a federal judge told the department to start the process, and will return another 60 every two weeks until early November. 

The plan comes after the Massachusetts district court judge to throw out a June 18 order requiring the department to put the employees back to work. Department officials are now appealing that ruling.

Sean Ouellette, who represents the families and advocates who sued over the firings at OCR, said he was pleased to see 鈥渁 commitment鈥� from the department.

鈥淚 hope they restore staff on the schedule they laid out, or hopefully faster. We鈥檙e not really sure it should take that long,鈥� said Ouellette, a senior attorney with Public Justice. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little skeptical because this only comes after the court called them out on the delay.鈥�

In another personnel development, the department will begin reinstating employees in late January because their positions were linked, sometimes tenuously, to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs. Many of those targeted were told by their supervisors during the first Trump administration to attend a DEI training. The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents the department staff, filed for arbitration 鈥� a dispute resolution process 鈥� rather than bringing a lawsuit.

鈥淏ecause our local refused to stand down, we have learned that a number of our members placed on DEI leave are being returned to duty,鈥� Sheria Smith, president of Local 252, wrote to employees Tuesday. 

But Madi Biedermann, a spokeswoman for the department, disputed that arbitration played a role in the decision.

鈥淭he agency determined they are an asset to the workforce,鈥� she said.

The action could slow down progress toward President Donald Trump鈥檚 pledge to dismantle the Education Department and eliminate any DEI-related activity 鈥� central pieces of his agenda that the public doesn鈥檛 necessarily support, according to recent PDK Poll results.听

McMahon fired roughly half its OCR staff members March 11 along with over 1,000 other employees. The Victims Rights Law Center, which represents victims of sexual assault, argued that their dismissal in combination with the closure of seven out of 12 regional offices, left the office unable to perform duties mandated by law. 

The department tried to link the OCR firings to a in which the Supreme Court allowed McMahon to let staff go from other divisions within the agency. In both cases, the courts have yet to issue a final decision on whether the firings were legal. Judge agreed with Public Justice, saying that the OCR case presented 鈥渄istinct factual circumstances,鈥� and 鈥渃annot be lumped in with鈥� the other lawsuit. 

The department disagrees. 鈥淎t bottom, plaintiffs鈥� lawsuit is an improper programmatic attack on how the department runs OCR,鈥� wrote Michael Bruns, an attorney with the Justice Department.听In the appeal to the U.S. Appeals Court for the First Circuit, he called the lawsuit 鈥渃rafty pleading.鈥�

For now, however, Joun鈥檚 opinion leaves the department with no further options but to bring back the staff. 

OCR, not surprisingly, hasn鈥檛 been able to move through cases as quickly as it did prior to the layoffs. Since March 11, the office has resolved 413 complaints, compared to about 200 per month previously, Steven Schaefer, deputy assistant secretary for policy at OCR, wrote in a filing to the court.  

Ouellette, the Public Justice attorney, said having more attorneys and investigators back to work should help OCR make progress on the backlog.

鈥淎t least that will get things back to the way they were, which was already strained,鈥� he said.

鈥楥alled back鈥�

Union officials haven鈥檛 received any communication from the department specifying which employees are returning or when they will start work, said spokesman Andrew Feldman. But the department did tell some to report to the cafeteria on Monday for a 鈥渂rief orientation,鈥� according to a notice to employees shared with 社区黑料.

鈥淲e have members who have self-reported to us they have been called back,鈥� Feldman said.

One of those is Kissy Chapman-Thaw, an education program specialist and former teacher. She learned secondhand that she would be among those returning Sept. 8, which she said the department鈥檚 IT help desk confirmed Wednesday. 

She oversaw budgeting and higher education grants, including COVID relief funds, but she attended the three-day DEI training in 2019, which she thinks likely contributed to her dismissal.   

鈥淔or me, as an African American woman, I felt not just educated, but I understood how to be more sensitive to other people in general,鈥� she said. She refused to quit while her job was in limbo. 鈥淎fter a month, I was like, I’m not going anywhere. They鈥檝e got to fire me. I’m just not going to walk away that easily.鈥�

Advocates say the reduction in staff has contributed to a backlog of untouched complaints, leading students to wonder whether their cases have been abandoned.

鈥淭he people who turn to OCR are the students who feel really betrayed by their own institutions or by their own school districts and often feel like they’re at the end of the road,鈥� said Amanda Walsh, deputy director of external affairs for the Victim Rights Law Center, a legal advocacy group that鈥檚 part the case. The Boston OCR office, one of seven shuttered in the downsizing, was handling complaints from the victims of sexual assault they represent. Now, Walsh said, they have no information on the status of those cases. 鈥淲e’ve proactively reached out to OCR for updates and have received no responses.鈥�  

The administration says that because the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the secretary to permanently fire over 1,000 staffers from other divisions in the agency, she should be free to dismiss OCR employees as well. 

The two cases are 鈥渇unctionally identical,鈥� the government鈥檚 lawyers wrote in a to the court. They said that the district court should throw out the June 18 order requiring McMahon to reinstate OCR鈥檚 attorneys, investigators and other support staff.

Attorneys for the Victim Rights Law Center and the two families who sued say their case is significantly different. Their clients 鈥� and those in similar situations nationwide 鈥� have pending complaints that have been left in limbo or dismissed because of the staff reduction. 

One Black student in the suit, identified as T.R., from peers in the Falls City, Nebraska, district. They called him a 鈥渕onkey鈥� and the n-word. A.J. from Birmingham, Michigan, another plaintiff, has a life-threatening dairy allergy. Students poured milk on his lunch and put cheese on his head. Tara Blunt, T.R.鈥檚 mother, withdrew him from school in 2023. A.J.鈥檚 mother, Karen Josefosky, pulled her son out the following year. 

Firing OCR staff 鈥渟talled civil rights investigations across the country and left thousands of students, including plaintiffs, without recourse for discrimination in school,鈥� attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in last week opposing the administration鈥檚 request.听

The delay in putting OCR staff back to work is just one example of the Trump administration鈥檚 failure to comply with about a third of the court orders issued against it, according to a recent of 337 lawsuits.

Rachel Oglesby, chief of staff at the Education Department, files weekly updates to Judge , with the Massachusetts district court, about the department鈥檚 progress toward reinstating the staff. But her statements list multiple reasons why the department has not acceded to the court鈥檚 wishes. Officials, she wrote, are still calculating whether there鈥檚 sufficient office space and discussing 鈥渢he feasibility鈥� of restoring employees鈥� access to computer systems. In the meantime, the department is paying the staff about $1 million a week while they鈥檙e out of work, she said.听

One OCR attorney still on the job said the layoffs have made it nearly impossible to address all of the complaints submitted. 

鈥淥ne person now has to do the work of three,鈥� said the attorney, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. 鈥淭here’s just not enough physical time in the day.鈥�

Joun didn鈥檛 give the department a hard deadline for staff to return to work. He just said McMahon had to 鈥渢ake all steps necessary to facilitate the return to duty鈥� of those terminated and continue to investigate all complaints. 

That choice of words allows the agency to appear to be meeting the court鈥檚 terms, said David Super, a constitutional law professor at Georgetown University.

鈥淲hen you use language like 鈥榝acilitate the return,鈥� 鈥� you certainly invite the administration to drag its feet,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter a week or two, if nothing meaningful is happening, that’s probably the time to consider whether clearer language is needed.鈥�

The department鈥檚 slow progress in getting OCR staff back to work is similar to the strategy it followed in the Supreme Court case brought by blue states and a group of districts and unions. 

On May 22, Joun, the Biden appointee presiding over both cases, temporarily halted the department from firing staff. The U.S. Appeals Court for the First Circuit upheld the ruling two weeks later. The department appealed, asking the Supreme Court to allow the firings to go forward while the case continues in Joun鈥檚 court. 

The never returned to work. Aug. 1 was their official last day.

With an administration unafraid to defy the courts, some legal experts question why judges haven鈥檛 used stronger measures to force compliance. District courts can hold government officials in contempt and enforce penalties, sanctions and even jail time. In 2019, a former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos $100,000 because she wouldn鈥檛 stop collecting loan payments from students defrauded by a for-profit college that went out of business. 

In the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, a held Department of the Interior officials in contempt for not paying Native Americans past royalties on oil, timber and other resources. This year, a District of Columbia circuit court judge to hold Trump in contempt for not returning deportees sent to El Salvador back to the U.S. In July, the men were , their home country.  

But appellate courts rarely uphold lower-court sanctions against administration officials, Nicholas Parrillo, a Yale University law professor, . On Friday, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals against Trump. 

Georgetown鈥檚 Super noted that the current Supreme Court, which has backed much of Trump鈥檚 agenda, has discouraged district judges from coming down hard on the administration.

The justices have 鈥渇ired several shots across the lower courts鈥� bows, suggesting that they should be less forceful in enforcing their orders,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey haven’t made a single sweeping statement; they’ve just nitpicked the cases that have come to them.鈥�

Despite noncompliance, federal agencies traditionally try to keep the courts happy by demonstrating 鈥渟ome steady progress,鈥� Parrillo wrote. 

In her filed Tuesday, Oglesby said a committee met the day before to discuss 鈥渞eintegration activities.鈥� Officials mailed 365 boxes to employees to return their old laptops before the department issues them updated equipment.听

On , she said there鈥檚 available space for employees in the Dallas regional office. But there鈥檚 not enough room in Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. She鈥檚 not sure about Chicago; the New York office is under renovation. 

Oglesby鈥檚 rationale doesn鈥檛 satisfy Terri Gonzales, a chief attorney who managed the Dallas office. She doesn鈥檛 understand why the department didn鈥檛 allow the staff to start working from home weeks ago.

鈥淔or approximately a full year during the COVID-19 pandemic, almost the entire staff of the OCR Dallas office worked remotely,鈥� she wrote in . 鈥淭here is no reason why staff members could not do the same now.鈥�

The department, she added, could have taken 鈥渃ommon sense鈥� measures to get the ball rolling, like providing staff with contact information for new supervisors and training them on any new procedures enacted while they鈥檝e been on leave. 

The department did not respond to questions about why OCR staff aren鈥檛 working remotely. 

鈥楥ause for grave concern鈥�

OCR is still under the leadership of Craig Trainor, who worked for the America First Policy Institute, the MAGA think tank McMahon chaired, until Trump appointed him acting assistant secretary. He鈥檚 awaiting confirmation for a post in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But like Kimberly Richey, Trump鈥檚 choice to lead OCR, Trainor鈥檚 nomination is stalled while Congress takes an August break.

Trump last week pressured the Senate to advance dozens of his nominees, but a deal with Democrats before the recess. 

Under Trainor, OCR has received nearly 6,500 complaints since the March mass layoffs and dismissed about 4,500 of them, Oglesby wrote. The office resolved 385 complaints and opened 377 investigations. They include one involving the in California requiring officials to clarify that service dogs are allowed at school. Another focuses on ensuring a , student with ADHD receives extra time on tests and other accommodations spelled out in his disability plan. 

In a third example, the Detroit district to fix an elevator at one of its elementary schools and ensure that no students, parents or staff with disabilities miss out on programs or services that require use of the elevator.

An investigation into complaints over services for students with disabilities in the District of Columbia Public Schools is 鈥渁ctively being investigated,鈥� added the current OCR attorney who asked not to be named.

In the past, the staff would have cleared about 200 complaints a month, Gonzales wrote.

鈥淭he low reported number of substantive resolutions contrasted with the high number of dismissals is a cause for grave concern,鈥� she told the court. 鈥淏ased on my experience, it suggests that OCR is not completing investigations promptly and fairly.鈥�

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to move ahead with firing more than 1,300 employees at the U.S. Department of Education as the Trump administration aims to eliminate the federal agency. 

While the states that sued and the government’s lawyers will continue to argue the case in the lower courts, McMahon said the opinion shows that the president “has the ultimate authority to make decisions about staffing levels, administrative organization and day-to-day operations of federal agencies.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan, dissented with the ruling.

“As Congress mandated, the department plays a vital role in this nation鈥檚 education system, safeguarding equal access to learning and channeling billions of dollars to schools and students across the country each year,” Sotomayor wrote. “When the executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the judiciary鈥檚 duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it.”

When a white teacher at Decatur High School used the , students walked out and marched in protest. But Reyes Le wanted to do more.

Until he graduated from the Atlanta-area school this year, he co-led its equity team. He organized walking tours devoted to Decatur鈥檚 history as a thriving community of freed slaves after the Civil War. Stops included a statue of civil rights leader , which replaced a Confederate monument, and a historical marker recognizing the site where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was for driving with an out-of-state license.

But Le feared his efforts would collapse in the face of the Trump administration鈥檚 crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion. An existing state law against 鈥渄ivisive concepts鈥� meant students already had to get parent permission to go on the tour. Then the district threw out two non-discrimination policies April 15. 

鈥淚 felt that the work we were doing wouldn’t be approved going into the future,鈥� Le said.

Decatur got snared by the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 to pull millions of dollars in federal funding from states and districts that employed DEI policies. In response, several organizations sued the department, calling its guidance vague and in violation of constitutional provisions that favor local control. Within weeks, three federal judges, including one Trump appointee, Education Secretary Linda McMahon from enforcing the directives, and Decatur promptly .

The reversal offers a glimpse into the courts鈥� role in thwarting 鈥� or at least slowing down 鈥� the Trump education juggernaut. States, districts, unions, civil rights groups and parents sued McMahon, and multiple courts the department skirted the law in slashing funding and staff. But some observers say the administration is playing a long game and may view such losses as temporary setbacks.

鈥淭he administration’s plan is to push on multiple fronts to test the boundaries of what they can get away with,鈥� said Jeffrey Henig, a professor emeritus of political science and education at Teachers College, Columbia University. 鈥淐ut personnel, but if needed, add them back later. What’s gained? Possible intimidation of 鈥榙eep state鈥� employees and a chance to hire people that will be 鈥榓 better fit.鈥� 鈥�

A recent example of boundary testing: The administration nearly $7 billion for education the president already approved in March.

But the move is practically lifted from the pages of , the right-wing blueprint for Trump鈥檚 second term. In that document, Russ Vought, now Trump鈥檚 director of the Office of Management and Budget, argues that presidents must 鈥渉andcuff the bureaucracy鈥� and that the Constitution for the White House to spend everything Congress appropriated.  

The administration blames Democrats for playing the courts. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller 鈥渞adical rogue judges鈥� of getting in the president鈥檚 way. 

The end result is often administrative chaos, leaving many districts unable to make routine purchases and displaced staff unsure whether to move on with their lives. 

While the outcome in the lower courts has been mixed, the Supreme Court 鈥� which has on much of Trump鈥檚 agenda 鈥� is expected any day to weigh in on the president’s biggest prize: whether McMahon can permanently cut half the department鈥檚 staff. 

In that case, 21 Democratic attorneys general and coalition of districts and unions sued to prevent the administration from taking a giant step toward eliminating the department.

鈥淓verything about defunding and dismantling by the administration is in judicial limbo,鈥� said Neal McCluskey, director of the libertarian Cato Institute鈥檚 Center for Educational Freedom. As a supporter of eliminating the department, he lamented the 鈥淚f the Supreme Court allows mass layoffs, though, I would expect more energy to return to shrinking the department.鈥�

The odds of that increased last week when the that mass firings at other agencies could remain in effect as the parties argue the case in the lower courts.

While the lawsuits over the Education Department are separate, Johnathan Smith, chief of staff and general counsel at the National Center for Youth Law, said the ruling is 鈥渃learly not a good sign.鈥� His case, filed in May, focuses on cuts specifically to the department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights, but the argument is essentially the same: The administration overstepped its authority when it gutted the department without congressional approval.

Solicitor General John Sauer, in to the Supreme Court, said the states had no grounds to sue and called any fears the department couldn鈥檛 make do with a smaller staff merely 鈥渟peculative.鈥�

Even if the Supreme Court rules in McMahon鈥檚 favor, its opinion won鈥檛 affect previous rulings and other lawsuits in progress against the department.

Here鈥檚 where some of those key legal battles stand:

COVID relief funds

McMahon stunned states in late March when she said they would no longer receive more than $2 billion in reimbursements for COVID-related expenses. States would have to make a fresh case for how their costs related to the pandemic, even though the department had already approved extensions for construction projects, summer learning and tutoring. 

On June 3, a federal judge in Maryland from pulling the funds.

Despite the judicial order, not all states have been paid.

The Maryland Department of Education still had more than $400 million to spend. Cherie Duvall-Jones, a spokeswoman, said the agency hasn鈥檛 received any reimbursements even though it provided the 鈥渘ecessary documentation and information鈥� federal officials requested. 

The cancellation forced Baltimore City schools to dip into a to avoid disrupting tutoring and summer school programs.

Madison Biedermann, a spokeswoman for the department, declined to comment on why it had yet to pay Maryland or how much the department has distributed to other states since June.

Mass firings

In the administration鈥檚 push to wind down the department, McMahon admits she still needs staff to complete what she calls her 鈥渇inal mission.鈥� On May 21, she told a House appropriations subcommittee that she had rehired 74 people. Biedermann wouldn鈥檛 say whether that figure has grown, and referred a reporter to the .

鈥淵ou hope that you’re just cutting fat,鈥� McMahon testified. 鈥淪ometimes you cut a little in the muscle.鈥� 

The next day, a federal district court her to also reinstate the more than 1,300 employees she fired in March, about half of the department鈥檚 workforce. Updating the court on progress, Chief of Staff Rachel Oglesby said in a that she鈥檚 still reviewing survey responses from laid off staffers and figuring out where they would work if they return.

But some call the department鈥檚 to bring back employees lackluster, perhaps because it鈥檚 pinning its hopes on a victory before the Supreme Court. 

鈥淭his is a court that鈥檚 been fairly aggressive in overturning lower court decisions,鈥� said Smith, with the National Center for Youth Law. 

His group鈥檚 lawsuit is one of two challenging cuts to the Office for Civil Rights, which lost nearly 250 staffers and seven regional offices. They argue the cuts have left the department unable to thoroughly investigate complaints. Of the 5,164 civil rights complaints since March, OCR has dismissed 3,625, Oglesby .

In a case brought by the Victim Rights Law Center, a Massachusetts-based advocacy organization, a federal district court McMahon to reinstate OCR employees. 

Even if the case is not reversed on appeal, there鈥檚 another potential problem: Not all former staffers are eager to return.

鈥淚 have applied for other jobs, but I’d prefer to have certainty about my employment with OCR before making a transition,鈥� said Andy Artz, who was a supervising attorney in OCR鈥檚 New York City office until the layoffs. 鈥淚 feel committed to the mission of the agency and I’d like to be part of maintaining it if reinstated.鈥�

DEI

An aspect of that mission, nurtured under the Biden administration, was to discourage discipline policies that result in higher suspension and expulsion rates for minority students. A warned that discrimination in discipline could have 鈥渄evastating long-term consequences on students and their future opportunities.鈥�

But according to the department鈥檚 , efforts to reduce those gaps or raise achievement among Black and Hispanic students could fall under its definition of 鈥渋mpermissible鈥� DEI practices. Officials demanded that states sign a form certifying compliance with their interpretation of the law. On April 24, three federal courts ruled that for now, the department can鈥檛 pull funding from states that didn’t sign. The department also had to temporarily shut down a website designed to gather public complaints about DEI practices. 

The cases, which McMahon has asked the courts to dismiss, will continue through the summer. In court records, the administration鈥檚 lawyers say the groups鈥� arguments are weak and that districts like Decatur simply overreacted. In an example cited in a complaint brought by the NAACP, the Waterloo Community School District in Iowa responded to the federal guidance by of a statewide 鈥渞ead-In鈥� for Black History Month. About 3,500 first graders were expected to participate in the virtual event featuring Black authors and illustrators. 

The department said the move reflected a misunderstanding of the guidance. 鈥淲ithdrawing all its students from the read-In event appears to have been a drastic overreaction by the school district and disconnected from a plain reading of the 鈥� documents,鈥� the department said.

Desegregation 

The administration鈥檚 DEI crackdown has left many schools confused about how to teach seminal issues of American history such as the Civil Rights era.

It was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that established 鈥渄esegregation centers鈥� across the country to help districts implement court-ordered integration. 

In 2022, the Biden administration awarded $33 million in grants to what are now called equity assistance centers. But Trump鈥檚 department views such work as inseparable from DEI. When it cancelled funding to the centers, it described them as 鈥渨oke鈥� and 鈥渄ivisive.鈥�

Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a Clinton appointee, disagreed. He blocked McMahon from pulling roughly $4 million from the Southern Education Foundation, which houses Equity Assistance Center-South and helped finance Brown v. Board of Education over 70 years ago. His order referenced President Dwight Eisenhower and southern judges who took the ruling seriously.

鈥淭hey could hardly have imagined that some future presidential administration would hinder efforts by organizations like SEF 鈥� based on some misguided understanding of 鈥榙iversity, equity, and inclusion鈥� 鈥� to fulfill Brown鈥檚 constitutional promise to students across the country to eradicate the practice of racial segregation.鈥�

He said the center is likely to win its argument that canceling the grant was 鈥渁rbitrary and capricious.鈥�

Raymond Pierce, Southern Education Foundation president and CEO, said when he applied for the grant to run one of the centers, he emphasized its historical significance.

鈥淢y family is from Mississippi, so I remember seeing a 鈥榗olored鈥� entrance sign on the back of the building as we pulled into my mother’s hometown for the holidays,鈥� Pierce said. 

Trump鈥檚 Justice Department many of the remaining 130 desegregation orders across the South. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, has said the orders force districts to spend money on monitoring and data collection and that it鈥檚 time to 鈥渓et people off the hook鈥� for past discrimination.

But Esh茅 Collins, director of Equity Assistance Center-South, said the centers are vital because their services are free to districts.

鈥淪ome of these cases haven’t had any movement,鈥� she said. 鈥淒istricts are like 鈥榃ell, we can’t afford to do this work.鈥� That’s why the equity assistance center is so key.鈥�

Her center, for example, works with the in Tennessee to recruit more Black teachers and ensure minority students get an equal chance to enroll in advanced classes. The system is still under a desegregation order from 1965, but is on track to meet the terms set by the court next year, Collins said. A week after Friedman issued the injunction in the foundation鈥檚 case, Ruth Ryder, the department鈥檚 deputy assistant secretary for policy and programs, told Collins she could once again access funds and her work resumed.

Research

As they entered the Department of Education in early February, one of the first moves made by staffers of the Department of Government Efficiency was to terminate nearly $900 million in research contracts awarded through the Institute for Education Sciences. Three lawsuits say the cuts seriously hinder efforts to conduct high-quality research on schools and students.

Kevin Gee from the University of California, Davis, was among those hit. He was in the middle of producing a practice guide for the nation on chronic absenteeism, which continues to exceed pre-pandemic levels in all states. In a , the American Enterprise Institute鈥檚 Nat Malkus said the pandemic 鈥渢ook this crisis to unprecedented levels鈥� that 鈥渨arrant urgent and sustained attention.鈥� Last year鈥檚 rate stood at nearly 24% nationally 鈥� still well above the 15% before the pandemic.

Gee was eager to fully grasp the impact of the pandemic on K-3 students. Even though young children didn鈥檛 experience school closures, many missed out on preschool and have in social and academic skills.

Westat, the contractor for the project, employed 350 staffers to collect data from more than 860 schools and conduct interviews with children about their experiences. But DOGE halted the midstream 鈥� after the department had already invested about $44 million of a $100 million contract.

鈥淭he data would’ve helped us understand, for the first time, the educational well-being of our nation’s earliest learners on a nationwide scale in the aftermath of the pandemic,鈥� he said. 

The department has no plans to resurrect the project, according to a June . But there are other signs it is walking back some of DOGE鈥檚 original cuts. For example, it intends to reissue contracts for regional education labs, which work with districts and states on school improvement. 

鈥淚t feels like the legal pressure has succeeded, in the sense that the Department of Education is starting up some of this stuff again,鈥� said Cara Jackson, a past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, which filed one of the lawsuits. 鈥淚 think 鈥� there’s somebody at the department who is going through the legislation and saying, 鈥極h, we actually do need to do this.鈥� 鈥�

Mental health grants 

Amid the legal machinations, even some Republicans are losing patience with McMahon鈥檚 moves to freeze spending Congress already appropriated.  

In April, she terminated $1 billion in mental health grants approved as part of a 2022 law that followed the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The department told grantees, without elaboration, that the funding no longer aligns with the administration鈥檚 policy of 鈥減rioritizing merit, fairness and excellence in education鈥� and undermines 鈥渢he students these programs are intended to help.鈥�

The secretary told Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley in June that she would the grants, but some schools don鈥檛 want to wait. Silver Consolidated Schools in New Mexico, which lost $6 million when the grant was discontinued, sued her on June 20th. Sixteen Democrat-led states filed a second later that month.

The funds, according to , allowed it to hire seven mental health professionals and contract with two outside counseling organizations. With the extra resources, the district saw bullying reports decline by 30% and suspensions drop by a third, according to the district鈥檚 complaint. Almost 500 students used a mental health app funded by the grant.

A judge has yet to rule in either case, but Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and other members of a bipartisan task force are that she鈥檒l open a new competition for the funds. 

鈥淭hese funds were never intended to be a theoretical exercise 鈥� they were designed to confront an urgent crisis affecting millions of children,鈥� Fitzpatrick said in a statement. 鈥淲ith youth mental health challenges at an all-time high, any disruption or diversion of resources threatens to reverse hard-won progress and leave communities without critical supports.鈥�

Her tenure encompassed President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term, a time when staff still addressed the 鈥渇ull range of complaints鈥�  鈥� from racial and gender discrimination to schools denying services to students with disabilities.

But to Simons, the Justice Department鈥檚 recent dismissal of a 鈥� at a time when continues 鈥� is a sign that the current administration has turned its back on students who don鈥檛 receive an equal education. It鈥檚 why she left the Educational Opportunities Section at the DOJ after 14 years  in April. 

鈥淭he administration has been very clear that resources are going to be allocated to certain identified priorities,鈥� she said 鈥� primarily keeping trans students out of women鈥檚 sports and punishing universities it accuses of tolerating anti-semitism. But that agenda, she said, 鈥渋s leaving a lot of parents and kids with nowhere to turn.鈥� 

Now she aims to be part of a solution. She鈥檚 lending her expertise to a new initiative intended to give families another way to resolve their concerns 鈥� the . 

The National Center for Youth Law, a 50-year-old nonprofit, will launch the project on Friday to help families with complaints that the DOJ or the Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department either won鈥檛 acknowledge or no longer has the capacity to investigate. Simons will co-chair the fund鈥檚 advisory council.

Announced in advance of Saturday鈥檚 71st anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision ending segregation, the effort will include a fellowship program for former OCR attorneys who lost their positions when the Trump administration gutted the agency and closed seven regional offices in March. The goal is to capitalize on the 鈥渂rain drain鈥� caused by the elimination of nearly 250 OCR staffers and connect families with pro bono attorneys who can conduct investigations and bring lawsuits to resolve their concerns.

鈥淚 have zero confidence in [the department鈥檚] ability to administer the system effectively,鈥� said Johnathan Smith, chief of staff and general counsel at the center. 鈥淚 think most parents who are looking at what’s happening probably would reach the same conclusion.鈥� 

As it shifts attention away from discrimination against LGBTQ students and racial minorities, OCR has left thousands of complaints untouched and dismissed many others. Trump鈥檚 2026 calls for an additional 35% cut to the office as the administration pushes to eliminate the department.

The center, along with parents and special education advocates, over the firings, and asked the District of Columbia federal court to . A hearing is set for May 20. 

Andy Artz was a supervising attorney in OCR鈥檚 New York City office until March 11, when the department placed him and hundreds of other department staffers on leave and locked them out of their computer systems. He was in the middle of helping a student who had been denied access to a senior trip because of multiple disabilities and close to reaching a resolution for a victim of sexual assault by a classmate. 

鈥淚 found the work really meaningful,鈥� said Artz, who hopes to work with the fund. 鈥淥CR was able to do a great job helping school districts and universities understand their obligations.鈥�

To the new administration, however, OCR perpetuated discrimination by focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion and harmed women by extending Title IX protections to transgender students.

鈥淟et me be clear: it is a new day in America,鈥� Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said when the department announced into a gender-neutral bathroom in Denver schools. 鈥淯nder President Trump, OCR will not tolerate discrimination of any kind.鈥�

Even if the court blocks the job cuts, it鈥檚 unclear whether attorneys would be allowed to return to cases that don鈥檛 align with the administration鈥檚 priorities. Smith still sees a need for the new project.

His team will work with local NAACP chapters, bar associations and other community organizations to get the word out about the OCR alternative, Smith said.

In addition to seeking attorneys who will represent students pro bono, the fund hopes to attract some of the talent forced to leave the federal government by offering four- to six-month fellowships. Attorneys will receive a $12,500 stipend and non-attorneys will receive $9,000. Depending on funding, Smith expects up to 10 fellows in the first round.听

鈥楾op-performing personnel鈥�

When Trump was inaugurated, OCR had over 12,000 open cases, . But the database hasn鈥檛 been updated since before the new administration took over. According to Julie Hartman, a department spokeswoman, OCR continues to 鈥渆valuate all legitimate complaints鈥� and has initiated over 200 disability-related investigations and dozens related to Title IX and anti-discrimination laws. 

鈥淥CR鈥檚 staff is composed of top-performing personnel with years of experience enforcing federal civil rights laws who work vigorously to protect all Americans鈥� civil rights,鈥� she said. 

She declined to comment on the fund specifically, but said the department 鈥渨elcomes support from 鈥� and has often worked with 鈥� outside groups who want to advocate for students and families and help those who believe that their civil rights have been violated.鈥�

Factoring in staff reductions and those who left voluntarily, Artz estimates that only about a third of OCR鈥檚 staff remains out of the over 560 attorneys, supervisors and other employees who worked there last fall.

As a former deputy assistant attorney general during the Obama administration, Smith doesn鈥檛 solely blame Trump for OCR being 鈥渢erribly backlogged.鈥� 

鈥淚t was a system that often was a black hole for families,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat does it mean to have an Office for Civil Rights that’s actually responsive to families and to young people?鈥�

For Callie Oettinger, a Fairfax County, Virginia, parent and special education advocate, getting OCR to act has yielded mixed results. She has seen complaints linger for years as well as recent steps by the new administration to act on disability cases. 

OCR still hasn鈥檛 completed a probe into her 2019 complaint that the Fairfax district denied transportation to students with disabilities who needed extra time to complete the PSAT. At the same time, she鈥檚 noticed an uptick in OCR investigations on more recent issues. Since early April, officials have responded to two complaints she鈥檚 involved in, one filed in December and another in March.

鈥淚t’s not clear why they’re starting where they鈥檙e starting,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hings are definitely moving forward, but they’re not doing themselves a favor by keeping their website so outdated.鈥� 

Others are looking elsewhere for relief. 

In Delaware鈥檚 Cape Henlopen School District, Louise Michaud Ngido, an English language teacher, said she鈥檚 heard nothing about that schools have failed to provide English learners with adequate support. Students new to the country, she said, don鈥檛 receive specific English development classes and staff members don鈥檛 provide translation services or interpreters for parents. The district denied any discrimination.

Under Cardona, OCR opened an investigation last October, but Ngido has heard nothing since. She said she hopes Delaware will be 鈥渕ore proactive鈥� and investigate complaints that OCR won鈥檛.

Department of Justice priorities

At least to eliminate the education department would shift OCR鈥檚 workload to the DOJ. But the education staff there has always been a fraction of the size of OCR鈥檚. Simon鈥檚 former office once had 40 attorneys. Now, she said, it has six. 

The agency鈥檚 priorities have also changed. 

In with the Epoch Times, a conservative media outlet, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said her agenda includes doing 鈥渟ome law enforcement鈥� against hospitals conducting gender-affirming surgeries, elevating parental rights and dismissing school district consent decrees over desegregation. 

The DOJ said in a that it ended its 鈥減robing federal oversight鈥� of integration efforts in Louisiana鈥檚 Plaquemines Parish schools because the district was spending 鈥減recious local resources鈥� to meet past administration鈥檚 demands for data on issues such as hiring and discipline. 

In the interview, Dhillon said the department wants to 鈥渓et people off the hook鈥� if they corrected past discrimination. Consent decrees, in which a district pays a court-appointed monitor for ongoing oversight, are 鈥渁 powerful tool鈥� and appropriate when there鈥檚 been severe corruption or racism, she said. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 not appropriate is to maintain these rent-seeking financial arrangements 鈥�  beyond their normal life cycle.鈥�

But Simons, the former DOJ section chief, said Black students are still disciplined at higher rates than their white peers and are more likely to attend 鈥渃rumbling鈥� schools. that racial and socioeconomic isolation has steadily increased since the 1980s.

鈥淪egregation persists; inequality persists,鈥� she said. 

Working with universities to collect and preserve existing data is another one of the fund鈥檚 goals. The administration, Smith said, might point to a declining number of OCR complaints as evidence of fewer problems in schools, when, in fact, it鈥檚 a byproduct of fewer investigations. 

鈥淲e want to be able to counter that narrative by showing that just because people aren’t going to OCR doesn’t mean that there aren鈥檛 real concerns and real issues of discrimination in our schools,鈥� he said. 

鈥楾he aid of legal counsel鈥�

Jackie Wernz, a civil rights attorney and consultant who worked at the department during the Obama and first Trump administrations, said it鈥檚 important for nonprofits like the center to 鈥渟tep up,鈥� but cautioned that outside efforts have limitations.

鈥淲ithout a robust federal civil rights arm, civil rights in this country are not going to be enforced,鈥� she said. 

States don鈥檛 have the same expertise and resources, she said, and it鈥檚 unclear who would enforce any changes.

But Smith countered that the bulk of what OCR investigators do is negotiate solutions between families and district staff. 

鈥淗aving parents and children do that with the aid of legal counsel,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ill yield far better results and outcomes than if they try to navigate those systems on their own.鈥�

He would cry and run off during fire drills. Teachers put his desk in the corner, so he wouldn鈥檛 disturb his classmates. They would call her during the day so she could talk him into sitting still. Jones was shocked then that when Kelsey reached first grade, the school said he no longer needed extra support, like a teacher鈥檚 aide and a plan to help him control his behavior.

鈥淚’m like, 鈥樷�橧f there’s not a problem, why were you calling me all these days?鈥� 鈥� she said. Kelsey, who has autism, went a year without any special education services, and Jones was preparing to sue the District of Columbia鈥檚 public school district. The toughest part, she said, was that her experience wasn鈥檛 unusual. 鈥淚f you have 30-plus parents 鈥� and they have very similar stories, there is something systemic. They put it on the parents, like this is a one off.鈥�

Ordeals like hers are why the U.S. Department of Education last month launched into the school district. A from an independent civil rights committee showed the district has failed to identify and adequately serve thousands of students with disabilities and has one of the highest rates of special education complaints in the nation. This marks the first investigation the Office for Civil Rights launched that didn鈥檛 focus on President Donald Trump鈥檚 priorities, such as on university campuses and transgender students competing on . 

The district says it will 鈥渇ully cooperate鈥� with OCR. But the agency鈥檚 review is kicking off in the midst of disruption to the federal government鈥檚 enforcement of protecting students with disabilities. Education Secretary Linda McMahon gutted OCR鈥檚 staff, and Trump is attempting to move oversight of special education programs to the Department of Health and Human Services. If the investigation results in a plan for improvement, it鈥檚 unclear who would hold the district accountable.

鈥淗HS lacks the expertise needed to administer the [Individuals with Disabilities Act],鈥� said Maria Blaeuer, director of programs and outreach with Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc., a District of Columbia advocacy group. Her testimony informed many of the recommendations in the December report. Moving IDEA to HHS, she said 鈥渄oes nothing to improve services for students with disabilities and it deprives state and local education authorities of the expert advice and support they need.鈥� 

Craig Leen, a civil rights attorney who served in the Department of Labor during Trump鈥檚 first term, may have played a role in turning the department鈥檚 attention to students with disabilities. He is vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights鈥� D.C. advisory committee, which issued the report, and he navigated the district鈥檚 special education system for his own children.

The report found that the district under-identifies children with disabilities when they are young, which creates delays in students getting the extra help they need. When disagreements arise, the report said, the school district takes a 鈥渟ue and settle鈥� approach, which favors parents who can afford litigation in order to get services or accommodations for their children.

鈥淭hat’s not a best practice, obviously,鈥� said Leen, who became involved in disability rights when he was the city attorney for Coral Gables, Florida. 鈥淵ou shouldn’t have to sue to get what you’re entitled to.鈥�

Leen鈥檚 daughter Alex, who has autism and an intellectual disability, attended Hardy Middle School in the district, but he didn鈥檛 feel she was getting the support she needed to be engaged in class. When he inquired about getting Alex into St. Coletta, a charter school that specializes in serving children with disabilities, an administrator suggested the family file a due process complaint, like a lawsuit.

Transportation 鈥� a key focus of the advisory committee鈥檚 report 鈥� was also a frequent problem.

鈥淪ometimes [the bus] would not arrive at all. Sometimes it would arrive an hour late,鈥� he said. Alex would only wait so long before she got frustrated and wanted to go back to her room. 鈥淢y daughter needs a very routine schedule. Waiting for an hour for the bus would disrupt the whole day.鈥�

But Leen鈥檚 struggles are not uncommon 鈥�  as indicated by a class action lawsuit from families over transportation problems last year and a 30 years ago. 

One factor contributing to the transportation headaches is that the district doesn鈥檛 actually have its own buses and drivers. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which oversees both the traditional public school district and more than 120 charter schools, provides no transportation for most of the city鈥檚 students. It is responsible only for getting children with disabilities to and from school consistently. Many attend schools far outside their neighborhood, or even in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs, where their needs can be met.

The superintendent鈥檚 office told the committee that it has the fleet necessary to cover all the bus routes and has offered incentives to recruit drivers. But parents say the system is still unreliable. 

They want GPS tracking for buses, nurses and aides, more vehicles that are wheelchair accessible and better communication 鈥� like an app. The committee鈥檚 report also pointed to teachers who ultimately quit because they were sometimes stuck at school until 7 p.m. waiting for buses to pick up students. 

Santanya Prince-Abdoul, whose 7-year-old son attends school in D.C., started keeping track. She recorded in a notebook over 20 times since fall of 2024 that the bus was late or didn鈥檛 arrive.

鈥淚 was promised that I would be contacted by a supervisor on various occasions, and no one has ever called me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 stopped using the system and started to transport my son to school, which defeated the whole purpose.鈥�  

She also clashed with educators over updating his individualized education program with a goal of counting up to 100. The plan still said her son, who has medical issues and seizures, should practice counting to 20.

鈥淭hose are the kinds of things that we are having to sit in meetings to negotiate,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven with the attorney involved they’re still resisting, they’re still opposing.鈥�

The committee concluded that 鈥渃hronic underfunding鈥� contributes to the district鈥檚 inability to adequately serve students 鈥� an issue not unique to D.C. Congress intended for the federal government to cover 40% of states鈥� special education costs; instead it鈥檚 about 14%. 

In other ways, D.C. schools are atypical. The district has to depend on Congress to approve its budget every year 鈥� an often . In most places, a parent dissatisfied with how their district is handling their child鈥檚 case can file a state complaint. But D.C.鈥檚 state superintendent鈥檚 office often refers parents directly to OCR, said Blaeuer, with Advocates for Justice and Education.

鈥淰ery often by the time they’re filing with OCR, they’ve given up on solving it for their student this school year,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey’re hoping to make it better for the following school year and for the other students who come after their child.鈥�

In its statement, the district said it has made 鈥渟ignificant investments to strengthen our special education programs, expand inclusive learning opportunities and engage families as partners in their children鈥檚 success.”

At a in February, Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee elaborated. 

鈥淲e have reduced our number of complaints over the last couple of years.鈥� Last year, he said, parents filed 205 due process complaints, but the number has dropped over 60% over the past decade, he told Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. Ferebee added that the district is trying to 鈥渆nhance鈥� communication with families as a way to resolve problems before educators and parents reach an impasse. 鈥淭his is something that we will continue to work on.鈥�

But some families are unwilling to wait. At the end of 2023-24 school year, Jones pulled her son out of Miner and enrolled him in Two Rivers Public Charter School, also in D.C.  She cried at her last parent-teacher conference when she realized how far Kelsey, now in third grade, has come.

鈥淢y son can now write a story out of his imagination. At Miner, he was regressing, wasn’t even verbal,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e’s learning how to advocate for himself, like 鈥楬ey I need a break. My battery is low.鈥� He’s going to stay there until eighth grade.鈥� 

Experts consider a released by the department late Friday to be more in line with how the courts have traditionally viewed illegal discrimination.

鈥淭his is such a far cry from what they put out two weeks ago,鈥� said Jackie Wernz, a civil rights attorney and consultant who worked in both the Obama and first Trump administrations. 鈥淚t’s downright reasonable.鈥�

Part of the Trump administration鈥檚 larger effort to root out diversity, equity and inclusion, the called diversity a 鈥渘ebulous鈥� goal and warned that districts could be subject to investigations for treating 鈥渟tudents differently on the basis of race.鈥� It prompted opposition from , and education . And it left some educators wondering topics like Black History Month.

The Q&A, however, asserts that officials would not automatically consider anything labelled DEI to be illegal and would examine as part of its investigations whether a policy actually resulted in discrimination against students. Cultural and historical observances are fine, the document says, as long as all students are welcome to participate, regardless of race.

鈥淭hey were trying to see how far they could go, and then they got the pushback,鈥� Wernz said, noting the timing of the department鈥檚 guidance. 鈥淚 love that they say you can celebrate Black history at the end of the month.鈥�

In a on the changes, Wernz noted that the department clarified that it would need evidence that a particular racial group was harmed before it decided to launch an investigation. But she still warned districts to avoid lessons that separate students by race or assignments that ask them to identify their race. 

Neeraja Deshpande, a policy analyst at the conservative Independent Women鈥檚 Forum, said there was no need to walk back any instructions to districts.

鈥淚 don’t think the earlier letter needed to be softened,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut, of course, school districts were going to have questions and this seemed to answer them.鈥�

鈥榁agueness, Confusion and Chaos鈥�

The department is still likely to get wide-ranging reports of what members of the public consider 鈥渄ivisive ideologies and indoctrination.鈥� The portal it unveiled last week doesn鈥檛 define what the department considers to be illegal discrimination. 

The additional guidance hasn鈥檛 prompted the American Federation of Teachers to drop its federal lawsuit over the original letter. In a statement, AFT President Randi Weingarten said that the Q&A 鈥渏ust made things murkier.鈥�

Last week, the union, along with AFT-Maryland and the American Sociological Association, sued, appeared to ban the teaching of 鈥渟ystemic and structural racism鈥� in American history. The lawsuit says the teachers would be afraid to discuss Jim Crow laws, the internment of Japanese Americans and other examples of historical discrimination.

The Q&A doesn鈥檛 discuss how teachers should approach lessons on history and only says, 鈥淥CR鈥檚 assessment of school policies and programs depends on the facts and circumstances of each case.鈥�

鈥淚f you are a classroom teacher, you still have no idea what you can or can鈥檛 teach when it comes to the history of the United States and the world,鈥� Weingarten  said. 鈥淚t seems like vagueness, confusion and chaos is the point.鈥�

Leaders say they have no plans to hit pause on the project despite a from the U.S. Department of Education that warns against efforts to 鈥減reference certain racial groups.鈥� The strongly worded message from Craig Trainor, the top civil rights official at the department, said schools could be investigated for treating 鈥渟tudents differently on the basis of race.鈥� 

The Long Beach community asked for 鈥渁 space that lifts the experience of Black youth,鈥� said Deputy Superintendent Tiffany Brown, adding that the district has a 鈥渃ommitment to listen to those voices.鈥�

Long Beach is not alone. While many school leaders at the letter鈥檚 tone, several left-leaning states and districts have since countered Trainor鈥檚 threats with tough statements of their own. 

鈥淲e’re going to be as inclusive as we’ve always been,鈥� said Gustavo Balderas, superintendent of the Beaverton School District in Oregon. He called the department鈥檚 letter 鈥渁n attempt to bully鈥� districts. 鈥淟et’s not be hyper-reactive to things that come out right now.鈥�

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey in a statement that DEI efforts make the state stronger. California state Superintendent assured districts that memos can鈥檛 override existing law or 鈥渋mpose new terms on existing agreements.鈥� And Illinois state chief Tony Sanders reminded educators that state law on the history of different racial groups and LGBTQ issues. 

The letter is part of the Trump administration鈥檚 larger DEI offensive, which has included and the cancellation of millions of dollars in contracts related to equity goals.

On Thursday, the department unveiled , a website where the public can report schools they think are illegally discriminating against students.

Many districts and advocacy organizations like , the School Superintendents Association, have homed in on a footnote in Trainor鈥檚 letter stating that it 鈥渄oes not have the force and effect of law and does not bind the public or create new legal standards.鈥� 

鈥淚t is just a letter. It’s not rules or regs. It’s not changing law,鈥� said Sonia Park, executive director of the Diverse Charter Schools Association, a network with member schools nationwide. 鈥淲e have diverse in our name. It’s not something we’re going to fade away from.鈥� 

The letter referenced , a 2023 ruling in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial preferences in college admissions. But some experts say the letter is inconsistent with the court鈥檚 opinion. 

鈥淭he letter goes far beyond what the Supreme Court said in SFFA, and, indeed, even contradicts it,鈥� said Neal McCluskey, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the libertarian Cato Institute. Trainor, for example, said that when making admission decisions, colleges can鈥檛 factor essays in which students write about the role of race in their lives. 

But that鈥檚 the opposite of what the court ruled, McCluskey said. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said nothing in the ruling 鈥渟hould be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant鈥檚 discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise.鈥澛�

According to Madison Biedermann, a spokeswoman for the department, officials plan to issue additional guidance. Andrew Manna, an Indianapolis-area education lawyer, said it might also take an actual complaint against a district or an OCR investigation to get clarity on what officials consider to be illegal discrimination. 

But some welcome the department鈥檚 more muscular approach. 

鈥淚 think, and hope, the department will be at least as strict as the Obama administration was,鈥� said Neeraja Deshpande, a policy analyst at the conservative Independent Women鈥檚 Forum. She鈥檚 referring to a 2014 alerting districts that they risked civil rights investigations if they disproportionately disciplined Black and Hispanic students. A few months later, OCR launched an investigation into the , later finding over 100 instances where Black students were disciplined more harshly than their white peers for similar infractions.

鈥淭his is a fundamental question of fairness, as was SFFA,鈥� Deshpande said. 鈥淥CR should absolutely go after schools that undermine fairness via unfair DEI preferences.鈥�

Groups or classes or extra academic support aimed at specific are among the practices that Parents Defending Education, a conservative advocacy group, argues are illegal.

The American Federation of Teachers, along with AFT-Maryland and the American Sociological Association, is challenging the letter. They in federal court Tuesday, saying the 鈥渧ague and clearly unconstitutional memo is a grave attack on students, our profession and knowledge itself.鈥�

鈥楾arget-rich environment鈥�

Leaders in more right-leaning parts of the country said they鈥檙e also not worried about Trainor鈥檚 letter, largely because lawmakers in their states have already banned DEI.

Last year, Utah, for example, passed that labels diversity, equity and inclusion 鈥減rohibited discriminatory practices.鈥� When Utah鈥檚 education department gave the legislature a compliance update, there were no violations to report, state Superintendent Sydnee Dickson told 社区黑料. 

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 need to make dramatic changes in our K-12 system,鈥� she said. 

Trainor鈥檚 letter followed an from the president that called on the education department to devise a plan for stripping districts of their federal funds if they advance 鈥渄iscriminatory equity ideology.鈥� Officials have until the end of April to devise such policies. 

But the OCR letter accelerates the process, warning districts to 鈥渃ease all efforts鈥� to accomplish what it calls 鈥渘ebulous鈥� diversity goals and that it will begin taking 鈥渁ppropriate measures to assess compliance鈥� March 1. The department has yet to specify what those measures might be.

Parents Defending Education has already done a lot of the work for the new administration. The organization keeps a of districts nationwide that have equity-related policies and initiatives. Last year, it forced the Los Angeles district to revise its Black Student Achievement Plan, which provided additional counseling and academic support in schools predominantly serving Black students. All students, not just those who are Black, are now eligible for the extra help. 

 The group鈥檚 list has more districts from California than from any other state. 

鈥淐alifornia is a target-rich environment for the administration’s causes,鈥� said Laura Preston, director of government affairs for F3Law, which handles education cases throughout the state. 

She suggested that the state might not want to risk the loss of federal education funds at a time when state resources are needed to rebuild parts of Los Angeles ravaged by fire. But she also questioned OCR鈥檚 ability to conduct thorough investigations when the department is . The letter, she said, sets up a potential clash between states and the federal government. prohibits the government from mandating or controlling instruction or withholding funds from districts if they don鈥檛 comply. 

鈥淭rump keeps saying he wants states鈥� rights [and] then tries to be the federal school board,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t doesn’t work in the long haul.鈥�

鈥楥ommitted to full compliance鈥�

To show that some education leaders welcome Trainor鈥檚 message, the department last week highlighted statements from several state chiefs who agree with the letter. 

鈥淚 applaud this directive from the U.S. Department of Education and Florida stands ready to assist other states to end racial preferences in education,鈥� said Manny Diaz, Florida education commissioner. And Ellen Weaver, state superintendent in South Carolina, said her department is 鈥渃ommitted to full compliance with the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 directive.鈥�

But Diaz, Weaver and Dickson from Utah were also among the 12 state education leaders who last month told Linda McMahon, Trump鈥檚 education secretary nominee, that they wanted the department to stop issuing 鈥渄ear colleague鈥� letters intended to push states to 鈥渢ake actions aligned to the current administration鈥檚 priorities and opinions.鈥�

McCluskey at Cato said the letter is still consistent with their request, which was to clearly state that dear colleague letters are not legally binding. But he still finds such missives problematic.

鈥淔or all intents and purposes they impose new law, while those who issue them simultaneously claim they legally change nothing,鈥� he said. 鈥淥f course, they shouldn鈥檛 change anything. Changing law is a legislative responsibility.鈥�

Aaron Spence, superintendent of the Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia 鈥� which has long been targeted on Parents Defending Education鈥檚 鈥� said he鈥檚 tried to reassure the community that his district isn鈥檛 doing anything illegal, like using racial quotas or hiring staff based on race instead of qualifications.

In January 2022, just after his election, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an demanding that schools avoid 鈥渋nherently divisive concepts.鈥� But Spence doesn鈥檛 view his district鈥檚 to be controversial and said under , districts are required to report student progress for different subgroups. 

鈥淧eople get this pie mentality, which is 鈥極h gosh, if they do more for this group of students, they’re doing less for this group of students,鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淭he goal for everybody is 100% success. We’re working to ensure all of them get over the bar of achievement that we’ve set for them.鈥�

They include new chief of staff Rachel Oglesby and Jonathan Pidluzny, deputy chief of staff for policy and programs. As the institute鈥檚 chief state action officer, Oglesby focused on promoting job opportunities that don鈥檛 require college degrees, while Pidluzny directed higher education reform work, including to eliminate university diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. 

Civil rights experts immediately noted the addition of Candice Jackson as deputy general counsel. An architect of the 2020 Title IX rule, in 2017 that most sexual assault accusations 鈥渇all into the category of 鈥榳e were both drunk,鈥� 鈥� but later apologized. Another addition with experience from Trump鈥檚 first term is Tom Wheeler, a former Department of Justice official who was Obama-era guidance that said trans students should be allowed to use bathrooms that match their gender identity. He鈥檚 been named principal deputy general counsel. 

Policy experts and former department staff said they expected to see names from America First, which McMahon chaired after leaving her post as head of the Small Business Administration during President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term. Little known prior to the election, the institute helped shape the aggressive agenda he began to execute on Monday with a series of executive orders, including that says the U.S. government only recognizes 鈥渢wo sexes, male and female.鈥� Outside of the education department, , who led the think tank, is up for agriculture secretary, and , the organization鈥檚 former chief policy officer, is expected to join the White House Domestic Policy Council.听

鈥淟ots of AFPI folks, which is not surprising with Linda McMahon at the helm.鈥� said Jackie Wernz, who runs Education Civil Rights Solutions and served as an attorney in the department while Jackson was there. Wheeler, she said, is also well-known in 鈥渆ducation law circles鈥� and has experience working within the 鈥渃onfines of the federal government.鈥� But with Trump already challenging existing laws on issues such as immigration and school safety, she said tradition might not matter.

鈥淚t will be interesting to see how he develops now that the rules on how to govern seem to be out the window,鈥� she said.

While he鈥檚 not from America First, Steve Warzoha, the new White House liaison, is a longtime McMahon colleague from Connecticut, where he led the Greenwich Republican Town Committee. He鈥檚 also spent some time at , Trump鈥檚 Florida headquarters, and according to , was arrested for driving under the influence in 2022 after leaving the area.

Asked about the arrest, Madi Biedermann, the department鈥檚 new deputy assistant secretary for communications and outreach, said she wouldn鈥檛 鈥渃onfirm or comment on personnel.鈥�

While the team thus far is light on K-12 education experience, those names are likely to emerge once Trump nominates an assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. Biedermann said she expects more announcements next week.

The department unveiled the new appointees, who don鈥檛 require Senate confirmation, as McMahon awaits a hearing before the Senate. A date has not yet been set. On Saturday, Trump also nominated former Tennessee education chief Penny Schwinn as deputy secretary. 

Several conservatives said they were impressed by the list. Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, called them 鈥渟mart, experienced people who know the law, the policies, and the regulatory context,鈥� And David Cleary, a principal with The Group, a lobbying firm, said they are a 鈥渕uch better prepared team than in Trump 45鈥� and show the administration is interested in more than just school choice. 

Experts widely believe he鈥檒l escalate of civil rights protections for Jewish students. While he has not yet named an assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights, Craig Trainor, who spent time at America First Policy Institute as senior litigation counsel could help lead those efforts. The newly named deputy assistant secretary for policy in OCR, he led investigations into antisemitism on college campuses as a senior special counsel for the House judiciary committee under Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair.

But civil rights advocates said the department鈥檚 core function is to protect the rights of all students. Many who fought for LGBTQ students鈥� rights during the Obama administration are alarmed. 

The 2016 guidance on rights for trans students were 鈥渄eveloped after years of meeting with stakeholder groups, tracking the case law developments and looking at the research,鈥� said Shiwali Patel, an attorney with the National Women鈥檚 Law Center who worked in the Obama administration and left during Trump鈥檚 first term. While the Biden administration wrote those protections into Title IX, Trump鈥檚 picks, she said, are undoing that regulation 鈥渨ithout thoughtfulness and care.鈥�

Liz King, senior director for education equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an advocacy organization, said the new faces at the department represent 鈥渁 very narrow slice of America.鈥�

These are among the numerous allegations of antisemitism The School District of Philadelphia failed to adequately address in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years, according to the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights.  

Pennsylvania鈥檚 largest district didn鈥檛 demonstrate that it fulfilled its legal obligation to evaluate whether a hostile environment existed in schools and, if so, take the necessary steps to eliminate and prevent it, the office found.

As part of an with the department, the 121,202-student district pledged to issue an anti-harassment statement that will be published on its website and printed or linked to in publications aimed at the school community. It will also provide annual staff training on federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics 鈥� and improve its documentation of related complaints.   

A district spokesperson said in a Jan. 3 statement that the school system 鈥渟trives to create welcoming and inclusive environments that allow our students to feel safe and heard,鈥� and that it takes complaints of bullying, harassment, and discrimination seriously. The district has also been embroiled in several recent controversies alleging that it

As part of its agreement, Philadelphia schools will also provide an age-appropriate program for all 6th- through 12th-grade students to address discrimination: They鈥檒l be taught to identify and report harassment 鈥� and will be informed about the disciplinary action that will follow a credible complaint. 

The district will also administer an OCR-approved school climate assessment in which students will be asked about the prevalence of harassment, their willingness to report it and how they believe such cases will be handled. Philadelphia schools will provide the office with its findings and take steps to address any concerns. 

The Department of Education has dropped a flurry of agreements regarding K-12 and higher education discrimination complaints in the weeks before President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 second inauguration. Trump has, on many occasions, pledged to , leaving its fate and that of its civil rights office uncertain. 

Two other higher education cases announced in late December 鈥� one focused on the system and the other at 鈥� also sprung from the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. 

The ongoing conflict set off student protests throughout the country, including at some of the nation鈥檚 top colleges.

In the case involving five UC campuses, the department found the universities failed to respond promptly or effectively to incidents of harassment based on students鈥� Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Palestinian and Arab ancestry 鈥� and some of them subjected students to different treatment regarding access to campus or university programs. 

The Cincinnati case, which included all such students except for Israeli, found the university misapplied laws governing reports of harassment or more commonly ignored discrimination complaints. 

Another case, this one announced in early January, found likely operated a hostile environment harmful to many student groups, including those of Jewish and Palestinian heritage. was also called out in the new year because its records failed to show whether it considered if nearly 100 harassment complaints 鈥� many by Jewish and Arab students 鈥� amounted to a hostile environment. 

In addition to numerous antisemitic incidents, the Philadelphia case also includes allegations of harassment against Black students. A Jewish teacher noting the hostility she and Jewish students felt, added that some of her Black students were called slaves and told to pick cotton until their hands bled. 鈥淭he teacher wrote that they were traumatized and felt sick and asked who was going to help the students,鈥� an OCR filing states. 

The Philadelphia school system also failed to maintain a required list of such complaints: a keyword search on a database where these incidents were supposed to be logged did not include several alleged offenses flagged by those who brought the complaint, OCR found. As part of the agreement, staff will be annually trained to better process, investigate and resolve such cases. 

OCR investigators examined documentation provided by an unnamed complainant, a community organization of approximately 250 Jewish families in the district and an advocacy group. The office also spoke at length with the district鈥檚 Title IX coordinator, among others.

Michael Balaban, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, filed a complaint with the district in April 2024. He said he did so to represent the concerns of many Jewish families, who told him they feared retribution if they complained directly. 

Balaban said teachers addressing the war should have presented facts about the Middle East in neutral terms, allowing students to come to their own conclusions. He said he is grateful for OCR鈥檚 efforts and hopes the district will move forward with making school a safer environment for all. 

鈥淚鈥檓 happy with the work that OCR did,鈥� he told 社区黑料. 鈥淎t the end of the day, the school board has to comply. That is really what we will be watching.鈥�

In one case that sparked controversy, several posters, including those that read, 鈥淔rom the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,鈥� a slogan that critics see as calling for and 鈥淭his is not war, this is genocide,鈥� were displayed along with the Palestinian flag in close proximity to an Israeli flag in the common area of a school. The principal had the materials removed the morning they were discovered. 

Interviews revealed that a group of students stayed after school in a teacher鈥檚 classroom to create the posters. Video footage showed that teacher and two others displayed the materials. A principal later told the educators their actions created a hostile environment and a subsequent report about the incident noted it had a 鈥渘egative and profound impact on Israeli and non-Israeli staff and students causing feelings of alienation and outrage.鈥�

The teachers were not named by OCR, but and ultimately quit their jobs for trying to make the school a safe space for Palestinian students. 

鈥淭he punishment is not because we hung up posters, the punishment is not because we didn鈥檛 have parents鈥� permission after school, they鈥檙e going to say that that鈥檚 what it is,鈥� one of the teachers told The Intercept. 鈥淏ut the punishment is the fact that these posters are pro-Palestinian, they are anti-genocide, they are anti-violence towards Palestinian people.鈥�

These incidents, along with others, have caused an ongoing furor, one that has played out at raucous school board meetings. One October 2024 session was disrupted when protestors demanded that another pro-Palestinian teacher, . Her supporters said she was being punished for her views; those who complained against her said she made credible threats of violence against Jewish parents. 

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

The allegations of antisemitism detailed in OCR’s report, some supported by district documentation, include the following: 

• A teacher, in grading a geography assignment where students were asked to name various countries on a map, crossed out Israel and hand wrote Palestine on a list of possible answers. The school principal sent a note to families acknowledging the incident, stating that it left 鈥渟tudents feeling unsupported.鈥� 

• Students drew swastikas and the Hitler salute on a paper left on a classmate鈥檚 desk, and called the child 鈥淏ig nose,鈥� 鈥淩ich kid,鈥� and 鈥淐racker.鈥� The student was put in a headlock and thrown into a trash can. The student reported the incidents to a teacher, but no action was taken until their parents notified the principal. The district transferred the student to a new school. 

• The teacher whose supporters rallied for her reinstatement wrote on social media: 鈥淎nother Educator Misconduct Complaint to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Another Dismissal. What鈥檚 the end goal here? 鈥� I guess I can鈥檛 expect anything less from Zionist genocide supporters. Zionism is Racism.鈥� Another teacher, showing support for the post, responded with an expletive-filled rant against 鈥渁ll those who are trying to get those of us who speak out against a literal genocide in trouble.鈥�

• The dismissed teacher i by name on social media: 鈥淚 asked y鈥檃ll nicely to keep my name out y鈥檃ll mouth鈥鈥檃ll been harassing me for almost a year鈥ou can report me to the Department of Education 10 million times鈥� What you want to happen won鈥檛.鈥� The next day, the teacher posted to her public Instagram account, 鈥淏lacked owned [gun emoji] shops in or near Philly? Asking for a friend.鈥�

• Another teacher wrote on social media that, 鈥淭hese Zionists are no different from the swarms of white supremacist spectators cheering on the public lynchings of over 3,000 Black people.鈥�

• Another wrote: 鈥淟et鈥檚 not be confused about this complaint, this is a group of racist white parents trying to get black teachers and staff fired, for fear that their children will learn the truth. (that their parents are racist.)鈥� 

One teacher鈥檚 social media accounts were shared by the district with an external law firm so it could conduct an investigation. According to the district, the firm concluded the educator did not engage in discrimination or harassment based on religion or national origin.

The civil rights office said it requested a copy of the firm鈥檚 findings, but the district refused, citing attorney-client privilege. Christina Clark, a district spokesperson, told 社区黑料 some information was shared with OCR.

Amid reports of heightened antisemitism and Islamophobia in schools and colleges since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, a senior Education Department official said the agency has received a 鈥渉uge, huge influx鈥� of civil rights complaints that have led to a surge in federal investigations. 

Since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel and the subsequent bombing and invasion of Gaza by the Israeli military, the into schools鈥� and colleges鈥� responses to complaints of discrimination based on shared ancestry, which includes antisemitism and Islamophobia. 

Of the new investigations, the senior official told 社区黑料, 19 are in response to conduct that unfolded in schools in the last two months alone. Of the incidents since Oct. 7 that are now under investigation, 17 took place on college campuses. 

Last fiscal year, by contrast, the office opened 28 shared ancestry investigations over the entire 12-month period. The year before, there were just 15. Such inquiries seek to determine whether schools adequately respond to incidents that create hostile learning environments in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity or national origin. 

鈥淲e are deeply concerned about the incidents that we’ve seen reported in schools all over the country, and about the safety of students, and the protection of non-discrimination rights for students in P-12 schools as well as in institutions of higher education,鈥� Catherine Lhamon, the department鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights, said in an interview Wednesday with 社区黑料. 鈥淲e’re very, very concerned about what we’re seeing in schools.鈥�

Though officials declined to comment on the specifics of active federal investigations, a spike in reported antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in and outside of schools have convulsed the nation and elevated student safety concerns. 

Near Louisiana鈥檚 Tulane University, a clash between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel and police are investigating a as a potential hate crime targeting an Arab Muslim student. At Rutgers University, officials chapter following claims the group disrupted classes and vandalized campus. At Harvard University, a rabbi to hide the campus menorah each night of Hanukkah due to vandalism fears. In California, a with involuntary manslaughter and battery after an alleged physical altercation broke out at a demonstration that led to the death of a Jewish protester. 

Outside of schools, police said a 6-year-old Chicago boy was in an alleged anti-Muslim attack, and in Burlington, Vermont, three college while walking down a sidewalk over Thanksgiving weekend. 

The escalating confrontations have embroiled school leaders, who have been criticized for failing to clamp down on hate speech and discrimination. Just days after in Washington about rising antisemitism on college campuses, Elizabeth Magill resigned as University of Pennsylvania president. She and the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were accused of being equivocating and evasive after giving carefully worded replies to repeated questions about whether calling for the “genocide of Jews” violated their schools’ code of conduct. Magill responded that it鈥檚 鈥渁 context-dependent decision,鈥� underscoring school leaders鈥� obligations to ensure safe learning environments while protecting people鈥檚 free speech rights. 

Harvard University President Tuesday after facing similar scrutiny for her testimony at the congressional hearing and unrelated plagiarism allegations.

Of the 29 active federal Title VI investigations opened since Oct. 7, just eight are focused on incidents in K-12 schools 鈥� including at three of the nation鈥檚 10 largest districts. Among them are the New York City Department of Education, the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Hillsborough County Schools in Tampa, Florida, and the Cobb County School District in suburban Atlanta.

Though the circumstances prompting the investigations remain unknown, many of the institutions included on the Education Department鈥檚 list of active investigations have experienced high-profile incidents involving discrimination. 

In New York City, a raucous, and prompted a lockdown after a teacher posted a picture of herself at a pro-Israel rally on social media. Also turning to social media, one student said the teacher 鈥渋s going to be executed in the town square,鈥� and another promoted 鈥渁 riot鈥� against her. 

In suburban Atlanta, the Cobb County School District sparked controversy following the Hamas attack to the school community that warned of an 鈥渋nternational threat,鈥� noting that 鈥渨hile there is no reason to believe this threat has anything to do with our schools, parents can expect both law enforcement and school staff to take every step to keep your children safe.鈥� Because of the message, several Muslim parents said their children had become the targets of Islamophobic bullying. 

In , the civil rights office highlighted hypothetical instances that put school districts at odds with their Title VI obligations. Among them: A Jewish student is targeted by his peers with swastikas and Nazi salutes but his teacher tells him to 鈥渏ust ignore it鈥� without taking steps to address the harassment. Another example involves school officials failing to remedy a Muslim student鈥檚 complaints that she was called a 鈥渢errorist鈥� and told 鈥測ou started 9/11.鈥�

Even before the most recent conflict between Hamas and Israel, law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have reported an uptick in hate crimes over the last several years, including on campuses. 

Reported hate crimes surged 7% between 2021 and 2022, released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October, including a 36% increase in anti-Jewish incidents 鈥� which accounted for more than half of incidents based on religion. Among all reported hate crimes, 10% occurred at K-12 schools and colleges.

The Education Department last month released its most recent Civil Rights Data Collection, the first since the pandemic. Students reported 42,500 harassment allegations during the 2020-21 school year, including bullying on the basis of sex, race, sexual orientation, disability and religion. Of those, 29% involved harassment or bullying on the basis of race while only a sliver 鈥� 3% 鈥� involved students saying they were targeted because of their religion. 

The current climate has put Jewish college students on edge, according to , a nonprofit focused on eradicating antisemitism. Since the beginning of the academic year, 73% of Jewish college students said they鈥檝e been witness to antisemitism. Prior to this school year, 70% reported experiencing antisemitism throughout their entire college experience. Yet just 30% of Jewish college students said their college administration has taken sufficient steps to address anti-Jewish prejudice. 

During a televised interview on MSNBC Friday, Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said he thought conditions would improve on college campuses for Jewish students because the Title VI investigations now being launched by the Education Department would force college administrators to take action. 

Muslim Americans of all ages have similarly . In a two-week period between Oct. 7 and Oct. 24, reports of bias incidents and requests for help at the Council on American-Islamic Relations surged 182% from the average 16-day period in 2022. 

As lawmakers call on school leaders to take a stronger stance against hate speech, they鈥檝e faced pushback from free speech advocates. Earlier this month, New York of 鈥渁ggressive enforcement action鈥� if they failed to discipline students 鈥渃alling for the genocide of any group of people.鈥� In a statement, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a right-leaning nonprofit focused on students鈥� free speech rights, said Hochul鈥檚 admonition 鈥渃annot be squared with the First Amendment.鈥�  

鈥淐olleges and universities can and should punish 鈥榗alls for genocide鈥� when such speech falls into one of the narrowly defined categories of unprotected speech, including true threats, incitement and discriminatory harassment,鈥� the group said in the statement. 鈥淏ut broad, vague bans on 鈥榗alls for genocide,鈥� absent more, would result in the censorship of protected expression.鈥�

The senior Education Department official said that schools must 鈥渘avigate carefully鈥� their obligations under Title VI and the First Amendment. Even if a student鈥檚 speech is protected, the official said, school leaders still have an obligation to uphold all students鈥� nondiscrimination rights.

鈥淲hat concerns me is when a school community throws up its hands and says, 鈥楾his speech is protected and so there鈥檚 nothing more for us here,鈥欌�� said Lhamon, the assistant secretary for civil rights. 鈥淭hat may be true, but that鈥檚 only true where a hostile environment isn鈥檛 created that the school needs to respond to.鈥�

With schools continuing to find themselves caught in emotional debates over students鈥� access to controversial books, the U.S. Department of Education has hired a new official to oversee its response to content challenges and take action if it finds that removing materials violated students鈥� civil rights.听聽

Matt Nosanchuk, a former Obama administration official and nonprofit leader whose work has focused on the Jewish and LGBTQ communities, started his job Monday as a deputy assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights. In the coming weeks, he鈥檒l lead training sessions for schools and libraries on the shifting legal landscape related to restricting books available to students. The American Library Association will host the聽聽Sept. 26.

鈥淎cross the country, communities are seeing a rise in efforts to ban books 鈥� efforts that are often designed to empty libraries and classrooms of literature about LGBTQ people, people of color, people of faith, key historical events and more,鈥� a department official said in an email to reporters Thursday. 鈥淭hese efforts are a threat to student鈥檚 rights and freedoms.鈥�

The move comes as conservative groups continue to push for the removal of books they argue are inappropriate for students and GOP leaders take action against districts with books that include sexual content or discuss historical racism. 

鈥淭he Department of Education has decided to lawlessly leverage its civil rights enforcement power to coerce school districts into keeping pornography in their libraries,鈥� said Max Eden, a research fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. 

, an advocacy organization, found almost 1,500 instances of book bans affecting 874 unique titles last school year. In many cases, parents complained that the books were too advanced or graphic for younger readers. But civil rights officials say removing a book just because it has LGBTQ characters or discusses racial violence is a form of discrimination.

In a first-of-its-kind resolution in May, the department found that a Georgia district may have created a 鈥渉ostile environment鈥� when it withdrew several books with LGBTQ and Black characters following parent complaints. The agreement required the Forsyth County Schools to notify students of its library book review process and survey middle and high school students about harassment based on race or sex and whether they feel comfortable reporting it. 

Some parent leaders applauded the appointment. 

鈥淟eadership and energy on this has been a long time coming,鈥� said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union. She hopes 鈥渢o see real action and resources for children, parents and families who have been caught in the crossfire of this hate-filled political campaign for far too long.鈥�

In Florida, for example, a new states that districts must remove books that contain 鈥渟exual conduct鈥� if the material is determined to be inappropriate. Those who disagree with a district鈥檚 decision to keep a book on the shelves can ask for a review by a special magistrate.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 one more level of control from the state to overturn what they don鈥檛 like,鈥� said Melissa Erickson, executive director of Alliance for Public Schools, a nonprofit. She鈥檚 expressed concerns about the ability of conservative-leaning school boards to dictate what鈥檚 taught in the classroom.

In 2021, some parents in the Williamson County, Tennessee, district sought to remove the children鈥檚 book 鈥淩uby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story,鈥� an autobiography about Bridges鈥檚 experience as the first Black student to desegregate an all-white school in New Orleans. They objected to the word 鈥渋njustice鈥� and a reference to 鈥渁 large crowd of angry white people.鈥�

In Oklahoma, the state that said officials can downgrade a district鈥檚 accreditation if it has books with 鈥渟exualized content鈥� that an average person might find unfit for students. The rule followed state Superintendent Ryan Walters鈥檚 claims that some included books such as 鈥淕ender Queer鈥� and 鈥淔lamer鈥� that feature graphic illustrations of sex. In several cases, the books had already been removed.

Some advocates say they鈥檝e been unfairly criticized for supporting the rights of parents to restrict their children from access to explicit material.

鈥淲hen people ask questions they’re crucified,鈥� Nicki Neily, president and founder of Parents Defending Education, testified Tuesday in a . 鈥淧retending that objections to minors accessing explicit sexual content is a threat to liberty and literature is a straw man and a distraction from real concerns about the quality of children’s education and whether students are safe in school.鈥�

Margaret Crespo, superintendent in residence for ILO Group, an organization that supports women leaders in education, said Nosanchuk鈥檚 hiring is likely to rankle those who think the federal government should stay out of local school board matters.

She resigned in August as superintendent of the Laramie County School District 1, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where board members pushed for a policy in which books with sexually explicit content would be off limits unless to children without parents鈥� prior permission. The school board is .  

But Crespo acknowledged the department鈥檚 assistance could be helpful to districts.

鈥淢any don鈥檛 have policy or state statute to guide the conversation,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd are struggling to meet the needs of all students.鈥�

In Virginia, state education officials could be partly to blame.

The federal government whether the Virginia Department of Education misled school districts about their responsibility to serve students with disabilities during school closures. The probe focuses on whether the department allowed districts to deliver services that 鈥渇ell short鈥� of the free and appropriate education required under federal law. 

At the time, former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos districts still had to serve students with disabilities despite the shutdown. But Virginia鈥檚  during that period said officials should 鈥渁cknowledge service delivery limitations鈥� and then make 鈥渞easonable efforts鈥� to follow a student鈥檚 special education plan 鈥� known as an individualized education program 鈥攐nce schools reopened.

Districts across the state released documents saying that some services would be 鈥渇unctionally unavailable鈥� because students were learning remotely and that educators would do their best to serve students online and by phone. 

The state education department 鈥減rovided cover to the school systems for whatever type of 鈥� remote learning or virtual instruction鈥� they provided, alleged Reade Bush, an Arlington, Virginia, father and part of the coalition of parents that asked the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights to investigate. 鈥淭here was no attempt to make it compliant for students who could not engage in virtual learning.鈥�

Virginia is the third state OCR has investigated for its handling of special education services during the pandemic. OCR dropped its investigation in Indiana in June, 2021, saying that it had no evidence the state was denying services to children with disabilities. Another investigation is ongoing.

The Department of Education all states last month of their responsibility to ensure districts follow the law and suggested that some need to tighten supervision. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for at least two years, and six states, including Virginia, didn鈥檛 meet expectations this year, according to the department.

Advocates welcomed the department鈥檚 guidance. Denise Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, a nonprofit focusing on students with disabilities, said monitoring 鈥渉as been sorely lacking at all levels,鈥� but added that even when states make improvements, federal officials should take 鈥渕eaningful action鈥� when needed. 

鈥楾he system is just horrible鈥�

The federal inquiry in Virginia is the latest challenge facing the state for its oversight of services for students with disabilities. Fairfax County parents and the state agency last fall, stating that 鈥渟chool-friendly鈥� hearing officers who review parents鈥� complaints overwhelmingly rule against families. A federal district court last month, but the plaintiffs plan to appeal to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The state鈥檚 failure to hold districts accountable is a long-standing problem that , according to special education advocates. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who made parent empowerment a centerpiece of his campaign, has special education, but some state board members remain frustrated.

鈥淭he system is just horrible in every which way 鈥� anti-family, pro-lawyer, pro-litigation,鈥� Board Member Bill Hansen said during .

Virginia has had three education chiefs since the beginning of the pandemic. James Lane, the superintendent when COVID hit, is now an acting assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. In that role, he recused himself from Virginia education matters and OCR hasn鈥檛 discussed the investigation with him, according to the department.

Youngkin appointed Jillian Balow to replace him. She served a little over a year before resigning in March. When she stepped down, she told 社区黑料 that special education 鈥渋s the most complex work that goes on in a state agency,鈥� but declined to make additional comments because of the lawsuit. 

Now Lisa Coons, former chief academic officer in Tennessee, is in charge. She also declined to comment on the OCR investigation, but told the board during the June meeting that she鈥檚 making changes, such as opening a parent engagement office and taking more authority over special education.

Michael Adamson, an attorney representing the family in the lawsuit against Fairfax schools and the state, said 鈥渓ack of oversight 鈥� results in a kind of Wild West鈥� and 鈥渞eally bad behavior鈥� at the district level. 

鈥楤etter off in Haiti鈥�

The state told a Fairfax County parent in March, 2021, that it wouldn鈥檛 override a district鈥檚 decision to only offer remote learning and that district leaders were 鈥渂est positioned鈥� to determine services. By that point, federal civil rights officials were the district鈥檚 failure to provide them. 

Now Fairfax, in an agreement with OCR, must implement an to offer compensatory education 鈥� the term for make-up services districts owe students when they fail to provide them in the first place. The district wouldn鈥檛 comment on the state鈥檚 guidance.

Bush and his wife, who adopted two children from Haiti in 2013, had a similar experience. His 11-year-old son, who is autistic, was among the first students that the Arlington Public Schools allowed to return to school in January of 2021. But he spent his days on an iPad, learning from an aide in another room, despite a doctor鈥檚 recommendations that he needed to interact with other children. The Arlington district did not respond to a request for comment.

Bush鈥檚 son lost reading skills, made up imaginary friends after months of isolation and, like some children with autism, began incessantly 鈥渟cripting鈥� 鈥� repeating lines from movies or TV shows.听In his son鈥檚 case, it was play-by-play commentary from football games. He did hundreds of cartwheels a day and lost motivation for learning and wrestling, a sport in which he had excelled.

鈥淗e really nosedived. We’re still trying to get him back,鈥� Bush said. 鈥淢y son would be better off in Haiti of all places. They kept .鈥�

Bush and other parents continued to face opposition when asking districts for compensatory education.

His son received six and a half hours of reading support in 2021, and another 25 hours in 2022 after he showed Arlington officials test data and samples of his son鈥檚 work. Now entering sixth grade, he鈥檚 two years behind in reading.

In rural Page County, Jordan Choe鈥檚 two children, 9 and 7, have autism, ADHD and dyslexia. 

During the 2021-22 school year, Choe chose to keep the children in the Page district鈥檚 optional virtual learning program. The students had access to Edgenuity, an online learning platform, but no special education services. 

He complained to the state, which said in a letter to the family that remote learning聽鈥渨as never designed鈥� to comply with special education law.听

The family eventually hired a private tutor. 

鈥淲e lived on mac and cheese and hot dogs to be able to pay for this,鈥� Choe聽said.听

鈥�Not unique鈥�

Special education advocates say Virginia waited too long to heed the federal government鈥檚 warnings. But families in the state certainly aren鈥檛 the only ones still seeking compensatory education

鈥淲hat is happening in Virginia is not unique,鈥� said Diana Heldfond, founder and CEO of Parallel Learning, a company that provides virtual assessment, therapy and instruction for districts, including some in Virginia. 

She partly attributed the breakdown of special education during the pandemic to underfunding.The law says federal funds should cover 40% of the cost of education for students with disabilities, but in reality it鈥檚 . 

Students and teachers pay the price,聽said Anne Holton, another Virginia state board member.

鈥淚 have seen 鈥� teachers [with] 鈥ssentially no training at all dealing with some of our children with the toughest needs,鈥� she said during the June meeting. 鈥淚t’s no surprise at all to me that 鈥� everybody is frustrated, including the teacher.鈥�

Disclosure: Andy Rotherham is a member of the Virginia Board of Education and a member of 社区黑料鈥檚 Board of Directors.

During the 2021-22 school year, the School District of Rhinelander, in the central part of the state, altered the student鈥檚 schedule so they 鈥渃ould take in-person classes with teachers who were allies,鈥� and attend the rest of their courses online. 

Teachers and students wouldn鈥檛 use the student鈥檚 preferred pronouns despite multiple complaints, and the student faced both physical and verbal harassment. 鈥淜ids whispered and giggled the name鈥� of the student, according to the complaint.

鈥淸The Office for Civil Rights] is concerned that the district response to the persistent harassment limited the student鈥檚 participation in school activities,鈥� according to OCR鈥檚 statement on the agreement. In addition, the district鈥檚 actions don鈥檛 reflect 鈥渟teps to ensure the student鈥檚 equal access to education with their peers.鈥�

By the end of October, the district must train all staff on compliance with Title IX, educate students on sex-based harassment, including gender identity, and conduct a school climate survey to better understand the extent of the problem.

The case stands out for a few reasons. Compensatory education is typically a remedy for a student who was denied special education services. Last year, a California district a family up to $5,000 for counseling or therapy services because it failed to promptly address harassment of a transgender student, but experts said they were unaware of other agreements like the one in Rhinelander. 

In addition, students typically subjected to what is known as , such as being placed in virtual or home-based instruction, often have disabilities that contribute to discipline problems. That wasn鈥檛 the issue with the Rhinelander student, but advocates said the situation likely isn鈥檛 isolated.

鈥淭oo often these incidents are unreported and unaddressed,鈥� said Aaron Ridings, chief of staff and deputy executive director for public policy and research at GLSEN, an LGBTQ student advocacy group. 鈥淭hat results in long-term harm in terms of educational outcomes and overall health.鈥� 

While Wisconsin isn鈥檛 among them, have considered and passed anti-LGBTQ and transgender legislation this year. Over 400 bills were introduced, and a recent analysis by 社区黑料 shows that LGBTQ students face harassment in both red and blue states. 

shows that transgender and nonbinary students are roughly twice as likely as other students to say they鈥檝e missed or changed school because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable. 

But in the Rhinelander case, an assistant principal officially changed the student鈥檚 schedule and was 鈥渓ooking to move Student A away from particular students,鈥� according to the complaint. The family, however, expressed that those victimizing the trans student should be removed from the classes.

The student is no longer enrolled in the district and moved out of the state, but Eric Burke, superintendent of the 2,300-student system, said officials planned to discuss compensatory services with the family. If the student returns, the district must offer counseling and identify a staff member that the student can go to if they experience further harassment, according to the resolution.

In a separate statement, the district said it agreed to resolve the complaint 鈥渋nstead of fighting over the merit of the allegations鈥� and that providing 鈥渕ore training was a commitment we have already embraced.鈥�

The investigation found that the district also frequently reported incidents involving the student as 鈥減eer mistreatment鈥� instead of sexual harassment, as in the case when a 鈥渕ale student 鈥榖umped鈥� Student A in the hallway and used a derogatory term 鈥� toward them.鈥� 

As part of the agreement, the district must create an online record-keeping system to document conduct that could amount to sex-based harassment. 

GOP recommends cuts

Title IX complaints made up roughly half of the nearly 19,000 complaints OCR received in fiscal year 2022, according to the agency鈥檚 . While thousands were from the same person and most involved athletics, the Biden administration鈥檚 rewrite of Title IX to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has likely made LGBTQ students more confident officials will investigate their case, .

鈥淔or the first time in history, it is possible to more comprehensively combat pervasive denigration of young people based on their gender identity under federal law,鈥� Ridings said.

The administration, which saw a drastic reduction in OCR staff under President Donald Trump, has been trying to rebuild the office and asked Congress for a 27% increase in funding 鈥� $178 million 鈥� for fiscal year 2024.

House Republicans, however, have recommended a 25% cut in a that aims to advance 鈥渃onservative priorities.鈥� The bill would also halt implementation of President Joe Biden鈥檚 inauguration day on civil rights protections for LGBTQ individuals across the federal government. 

Democrats have warned that the bill, which is still before the House appropriations committee, would lead to in federal education programs, namely an 80% cut to Title I grants for high-poverty schools. But the debate over funding is still likely to stretch well into the fall. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to see what the end game of this strategy would be,鈥� Charles Barone, vice president of K-12 policy with Democrats for Education Reform, a think tank, said about the bill. He noted that most Republicans represent districts that would be affected by the proposed cuts. But he added, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be fighting over this into Christmas.鈥�

Some parents鈥� public comments against diversity and inclusion initiatives likely led to 鈥渋ncreased fears and possibly harassment鈥� of students, and the district鈥檚 efforts to reduce any harm were insufficient, according to from the department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights.

The resolution required the Atlanta-area Forsyth County Schools to notify students of its library book review process, but concluded it did not violate federal discrimination and harassment laws when Superintendent Jeff Bearden directed staff to remove eight books last year for material it deemed sexually explicit.

Some anti-censorship advocates welcomed the department鈥檚 involvement.

鈥淭his is the most volatile time in history of book censorship,鈥� said Pat Scales, a retired school librarian and former chair of the American Library Association鈥檚 Intellectual Freedom Committee. 鈥淚 hope that the [Office for Civil Rights] will look into more cases.鈥�

That鈥檚 what Democrats in the House requested earlier this year when the department to investigate whether restrictions on books and curriculum violate the law. The Georgia action 鈥� which a department spokesperson confirmed was the first time its civil rights division issued findings on book removals 鈥� could inform how other districts handle future challenges. But the spokesperson added that 鈥渘either the investigation nor the resolution agreement directs, supervises or controls curriculum.鈥�

Democrats recently criticized the GOP-led , which they say will lead to more book bans. Republicans intend the measure to increase transparency into curriculum and reading materials.

The department鈥檚 resolution comes as Republicans continue to push restrictions on students鈥� access to library materials. The Louisiana Senate last week passed a bill that would allow parents to block their children from checking out books they considered inappropriate. And under that takes effect Aug. 1, librarians and educators in Arkansas could face criminal charges if they distribute texts labeled 鈥渙bscene.鈥�

Last week in Florida, nonprofit PEN America, publisher Random House, five authors whose books have been removed and two parents for withdrawing controversial books even when experts in the district advised against it. 

The district is 鈥渄epriving students of access to a wide range of viewpoints, and depriving the authors 鈥� of the opportunity to engage with readers and disseminate their ideas to their intended audiences,鈥� according to the complaint. 

Beyond its investigation into the 54,000-student Forsyth district, the department began looking into the Granbury Independent School District in Texas last December. The American Civil Liberties Union calling the district鈥檚 removal of books with LGBTQ themes sex discrimination under Title IX. That investigation is ongoing.

In Forsyth, parents complained about books that included John Green鈥檚 a story of a boy at an Alabama boarding school that has a sex scene, and a memoir about growing up gay and Black by journalist George Johnson, one of the plaintiffs in the Florida lawsuit. The books, which were not required reading for any class, are young adult titles considered suitable for teens 14 and up.

The district removed eight books. In early August last year, the district鈥檚 media committee decided to return seven of them after reviewers considered a series of questions such as whether the books had a 鈥渉igh degree of potential user appeal and interest鈥� and 鈥減romoted diversity.鈥� was the only one not returned to the shelves.

But leaders did not take 鈥渟teps to address with students the impact of the book removals,鈥� according to the department鈥檚 investigation. As part of the resolution, the district must survey middle and high school students next fall to ask about harassment based on race or sex and whether they feel comfortable reporting it. 

Forsyth spokeswoman Jennifer Caracciolo said the district would implement the resolution and was 鈥渃ommitted to providing a safe, connected, and thriving community鈥� for students and families.

One Forsyth County student said a book ban focusing on LGBTQ and non-white characters 鈥渃ontradicts the idea of democracy.鈥�

鈥淒espite the claims that these bans are not based [on] discrimination, they have a ripple effect,鈥� said Isabella Rappaccioli, who will be a sophomore at Forsyth鈥檚 Alliance Academy for Innovation this fall. She鈥檚 also a member of the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, which campaigned against restricting classroom discussions of divisive concepts. s.

鈥淐hallenges like these 鈥� vicariously send a message to our young people that they are different from their peers,鈥� she said. 鈥淣o child deserves to feel that way.鈥�

But Neal McCluskey, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the libertarian Cato Institute, called the resolution 鈥渇ederal overreach.鈥�

鈥淭he agency’s analysis seems to have come down to this: Some students reported feeling that the school climate was hostile to their group, therefore it was,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut issues like this are much more complicated, including whether others felt keeping the books in libraries was hostile to them.鈥� 

The department鈥檚 investigation is not the first time the district became embroiled in controversy over a decision to remove books some parents find inappropriate. Under  in January with parents who complained about several books, the district must allow the reading of explicit excerpts at school board meetings.

Mama Bears, a conservative parents group that advocates for book restrictions, last year when the board refused to allow parents to recite passages with profanity or sexually explicit language during public comments. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story sided with the parents. In a settlement, the district paid $107,500 in legal fees and agreed not to prohibit parents from quoting from any book in the district鈥檚 school libraries or classrooms. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 their First Amendment right to be able to give their opinions like anybody else,鈥� said David Keating, president of the Institute for Free Speech, which defended the parents. 

The nonprofit didn鈥檛 take a position on whether the books removed were unsuitable for students, and he said he would defend liberal parents if they were silenced for arguing in favor of such books. But he added that if districts are removing books because of political pressure, 鈥渢hat raises First Amendment red flags all over the place.鈥�

Legal precedent on the issue dates back to 1982. The U.S Supreme Court ruled in that the Island Trees Union Free School District in New York violated the Constitution when it removed books that some parents deemed to be “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and just plain filthy.”

鈥楾rue education鈥�

In Granbury, Superintendent Jeremy Glenn鈥檚 comments 鈥� such as there being 鈥渘o place鈥� for books with transgender characters in school libraries and that 鈥渢here are two genders鈥� 鈥� sparked the district鈥檚 review of books. Ultimately two of the three titles removed contained LGBTQ topics, including 鈥淭his Book is Gay,鈥� a nonfiction for youth coming out as gay, lesbian or transgender.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas arguing that removing books with LGBTQ themes amounts to sex discrimination under Title IX.

Scales, the retired librarian, said schools discriminate against students when they remove such books.

鈥淏ooks help readers develop empathy,鈥� she said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 give them the books and hope that this younger generation will see things differently than the folks who are trying to shut down true education.鈥�

But in a moment of d茅j脿 vu, 7,339 of those Title IX complaints were filed by a single person 鈥� the same one who directed 6,157 similar claims to OCR in 2016, according to the civil rights office, which declined to name the filer, citing privacy rules. That person would have had to file an average of 20 complaints a day 鈥� or nearly one an hour 鈥� in 2022.

鈥淭his individual has been filing complaints for a very long time with OCR and they are sometimes founded,鈥� Catherine Lhamon, the department鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights, told 社区黑料. 

She noted anyone can file a complaint for any perceived violation.  

鈥淚t doesn’t have to be about their own experience,鈥� Lhamon said. 鈥淭here’s not a lot I can tell you about the person.鈥�

In , the office received 18,804 complaints, the highest number in its history and a figure that exceeds by 12% its previous record of 16,720 set in . Lhamon has talked on multiple occasions about how is straining its limited resources, with 2022鈥檚 being particularly challenging. 

鈥淲e investigate every complaint over which we have jurisdiction,鈥� the assistant secretary told 社区黑料. 鈥淪o the 7,339 complaints from that single individual last year took a very substantial amount of time for my staff.鈥�

And while Lhamon did note her office has found in the complainant鈥檚 favor in the past, she didn鈥檛 immediately know how often or if this happened in 2022. 

In 2016, the more than 6,000 complaints filed by that same individual alleged discrimination in school athletic programs, according to the civil rights office. Fiscal year 2022 followed much the same pattern when the office logged 4,387 allegations of Title IX discrimination involving athletics. 

One complaint could include more than one type of alleged Title IX violation, encompassing, for instance, both athletics and gender harassment. 

The 2022 athletics-related claims far outpaced the 1,030 related to sexual or gender harassment or sexual violence. The figure also swamps similar claims from when just 2,093 complaints included Title IX-related claims 鈥� with just 101 focused on athletics. More than 500 cases concerned sexual or gender harassment or sexual violence that year. 

Some wonder about the type and validity of complaints filed by one person. 

鈥淲hen you see that almost 80% of Title IX complaints filed with the Education Department were filed by a single person 鈥� and this person filed nearly 8,000 complaints in a year 鈥� it raises questions about whether at least some were filed in bad faith,鈥� said Elizabeth Tang, senior counsel at the National Women鈥檚 Law Center. 

It鈥檚 possible too, Tang said, that the uptick can be a response to increased awareness about student鈥檚 rights. It might also reflect a perception that the Biden administration is more receptive to these complaints than the prior one which, under the leadership of former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, looked to roll back more stringent investigations of campus sex assault and discriminatory discipline claims.

Liz King, senior program director of education at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said she hopes greater awareness is at work, but is concerned about ongoing and possibly increased civil rights violations against students. 

“Any single instance of discrimination is one instance too many,鈥� she said, adding that the civil rights office does not have the staff to meet the task it鈥檚 been given. 

The surge in complaints comes at a time when the agency faces significant challenges: It shrank from nearly 1,100 full-time equivalent staff in FY 1981 to 546 last year and is dealing with a host of issues that reflect by the pandemic.

Biden, in his March budget address, sought 鈥� to $178 million 鈥� for the civil rights office to meet its goals. Lhamon, whose 2021 confirmation Senate Republicans tried to block, said she鈥檚 grateful for the president鈥檚 support and hopes Congress approves the increase. 

Race, color, or national origin discrimination claims made up 3,329 of all complaints received in FY 2022, according to the civil rights office鈥檚 annual report, which was released last week. That鈥檚 up from 2,399 the year prior. Disability-related complaints comprised 6,467 of the total compared to 4,870 in FY 2021.  

At the same time, age discrimination claims, which made up 666 complaints in the most recent report, were down from 1,149 the prior year. The office notes the majority of these claims were also filed by a single person in both years.

The civil rights office fielded 8,934 complaints in FY 2021 and more than 9,700 the year before that, according to its annual reports. 

Lhamon said a number of cases this year involved the LGBTQ and transgender community, a student population that has become the focus of hostile legislation in multiple conservative states. The complaints can cover a wide swath of issues, she said, from the prohibition of same-sex prom kings and queens to a school鈥檚 refusal to allow an LGBTQ student group to form on campus. 

鈥淚t could be that students are not allowed to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity or are not allowed to play on a particular sports team,鈥� she added. 

The first resolution agreement crafted by her office on behalf of a transgender student was in 2013: It developed fewer than 20 such agreements for these children in FY 2022, Lhamon said. 

Among the allegations made against schools, the civil rights office found in April 2022 that Chino Valley Unified in California violated Title IX by failing to properly respond to a complaint of sexual harassment of students on a high school athletic team. 

This included the 鈥渧ideotaped assaults of teammates, students forcibly physically overpowering other students and sharing photos of their genitals among the team and on social media, and students placing their genitals on and near other students鈥� faces and bodies.鈥�

The response from district administrators and coaches failed to end the behavior. According to the office, Chino Valley agreed to reach out to all former athletes from the offending school鈥檚 fall 2017 team and offer counseling services or reimbursement for such services.

It also was made to conduct a climate survey of the school鈥檚 athletics teams and train district leaders, school administrators and coaches about their responsibilities for responding to such claims. 

In another case, this one involving the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine in Puerto Rico, OCR found the school failed, over the course of several years, to investigate a student鈥檚 report that another student sexually assaulted her. 

The office concluded that the school鈥檚 procedures for resolving sexual harassment complaints did not comply with Title IX. As a result, it agreed to conduct the investigation, reimburse the complainant for some coursework, train employees and align its grievance procedures with the law. 

In a third case, Tamalpais Union High School District in California was faulted by OCR for failing to investigate allegations that a transgender student was harassed about her appearance, voice, body, name and pronouns. 

The office found in June the district鈥檚 inadequate response allowed for a hostile environment for the student. The district agreed to reimburse the student and her family for counseling costs and review its policies and procedures among other measures.

Tardiness, absenteeism or 鈥渟ubjective鈥� offenses like defiance or disrespect, should not result in a suspension, the guidance said. And children with disabilities removed from regular classrooms for more serious offenses, or because they could harm themselves or others, must continue to receive special education services. Officials touted the materials, including a Q&A and examples of how to provide behavior support, as the most detailed guidance on students with disabilities the department has released.

鈥淭his work is especially urgent now as our schools and our students and families continue to heal from the pandemic,鈥� said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. 鈥淭he disruptions of the last two years have led to a sharp increase in students experiencing mental health challenges.鈥�

Recent that despite the drop in suspensions during remote learning 鈥� and recent trends toward restorative practices 鈥� students with disabilities have been disciplined more during the pandemic than their peers without disabilities. At the same time, educators said this past school year was marked by an increase in student misconduct. According to , roughly half of schools surveyed blamed the 鈥減andemic and its lingering effects鈥� for increases in classroom disruptions, rowdiness and disrespectful behavior. Many students with disabilities, however, also missed out on services required by their individualized education program, or IEP, during the pandemic 鈥� services that could have mitigated behavior problems, . 

The guidance also follows a May announcement that the Office for Civil Rights will update Section 504 鈥� a 45-year-old civil rights law meant to protect students with disabilities from discrimination. 

Students with a 504 plan don鈥檛 always qualify for special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. But in their comments, Cardona and Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights, stressed that both are subject to laws preventing discrimination.

鈥淭he department is making a statement that school districts need to provide these protections even if they have not identified students with disabilities,鈥� said Dan Stewart, an attorney with the National Disability Rights Network. 

The documents represent the first of two parts focused on discipline. Later this summer, the department is expected to release guidance focusing on racial disparities in discipline. Some expect it to echo Obama-era guidance that many thought overreached because it threatened schools that ran afoul of the policy with a civil rights investigation. 

Tuesday鈥檚 release notes that states, under the law, must measure whether there is significant disproportionality in discipline, based on race and ethnicity, of students with disabilities, and  raises the possibility that districts could be subject to a civil rights investigation 鈥渋f there is question regarding whether school districts are imposing discipline in discriminatory ways.鈥�

Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute and a vocal critic of the earlier guidance, said there are students who are identified as having an 鈥渆motional disturbance鈥� because of their behavior.

鈥淲e shouldn’t be surprised if they continue to misbehave, and get suspended or expelled at higher rates,鈥� he said, adding that any civil rights investigation of a district is a 鈥渇orm of punishment鈥� and that districts might 鈥渦nder-discipline their students with disabilities 鈥� especially those with emotional disturbance 鈥� in order to make their statistics look better.鈥�

But he acknowledged the new document takes a more balanced approach. 鈥淸The Office for Civil Rights] is trying to be clear that it doesn’t want schools to be hamstrung in terms of dealing with safety issues, or kids that are disrupting the learning of others.鈥�

Selene Almazan, legal director for the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, agreed, noting that the guidance doesn鈥檛 鈥渦ndercut鈥� schools鈥� ability to remove a student with disabilities for disciplinary reasons. 

鈥淪chools have always had at their disposal the ability to discipline students who present an immediate danger,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think this ties their hands.鈥�

Daniel Losen, director of the Center for Civil Rights Remedies at the University of California Los Angeles, argued that the earlier guidance, which former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded, was not an overreach. Critics, he said, 鈥渃omplained that any disparity would be regarded as discriminatory.鈥�

鈥楧idn鈥檛 have a full understanding鈥�

Katy Neas, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, noted that over the past year of and holding listening sessions with educators and parents that staff turnover was resulting in an increase in discipline that removed students from school.

鈥淭here are so many new people in new roles that didn鈥檛 have a full understanding of what the law required,鈥� she said, adding that the guidance should help families and schools work toward appropriate services. 鈥淏ehavior is often a sign of communication when something鈥檚 not right.鈥�

The guidance, for the first time, addresses what are known as 鈥�,鈥� such as shortening a student鈥檚 school day, even when parents haven鈥檛 agreed to a change in the student鈥檚 special education services. A normal school day for a student with disabilities shouldn鈥檛 be any longer or shorter than it is for those without disabilities, the guidance said.

鈥淚nformal removals have been lurking in the shadows for quite some time,鈥� Stewart said, adding that the department鈥檚 attention to the issue is a monumental step forward鈥� and 鈥減uts districts on notice that the department is going to take these things more seriously.鈥�

The guidance also notes that students who have been removed from school while awaiting a threat or risk assessment 鈥� a practice that schools are increasingly using to prevent violence 鈥� are still protected under IDEA. 

鈥淪ometimes districts say, 鈥榊ou can’t come back until you get a letter from a doctor or a psychologist that says you鈥檙e OK to return,鈥� 鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淭hat places the burden on the parent. That鈥檚 a removal. That鈥檚 an expulsion.鈥�

Advocates also praised the guidance for making a strong statement against restraint and seclusion of students, saying that the department is 鈥渘ot aware of any evidence-based support for the view that the use of restraint or seclusion is an effective strategy in modifying a child鈥檚 behaviors that are related to their disability.鈥�

And while the controversy surrounding the issue hasn鈥檛 changed, the pandemic offers up a troubling new context: Districts are reporting spikes in , violent attacks on school employees and blatant disregard for school rules.

鈥淭here is certainly a much higher level of dysregulation in our kids,鈥� said Rico Munn, superintendent of the Aurora Public Schools in Colorado. He added that educators usually expect students to fall into a routine and follow rules by September. 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 hitting that until spring break.鈥�

The education department is expected to update its policy in two parts. One will focus on students with disabilities, who are significantly to be suspended and expelled than non-disabled students. The other will address racial gaps in discipline 鈥� a reality that persists in many districts despite over the past decade to keep students from being removed from school and often referred to police.

Advocates for students鈥� educational rights are eager for the department to make a strong statement against discipline that keeps students out of the classroom.

鈥淒iscipline is inherently an authoritative tool used to punish students for being what an adult has decided is disobedient,鈥� said Denise Stile Marshall, president of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which focuses on the rights of students with disabilities. 鈥淭here is a lot of research on this, but simply put, punitive school discipline does not improve student behavior or academic achievement.鈥�

If that sounds familiar, it鈥檚 not accidental. The person leading the department鈥檚 effort is Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary at the Office for Civil Rights, the same position she held under President Barack Obama. Seth Galanter, who worked with Lhamon during the Obama years, has also returned to the civil rights office after four years at the National Center for Youth Law.

In 2014, the Obama administration issued a saying that schools where Black and Hispanic students were disproportionately removed for disciplinary reasons could be in violation of federal civil rights laws 鈥� even if those students misbehaved at higher rates. 

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded that guidance in 2018, siding with those who called the move and said it misinterpreted meant to prevent discrimination.

The Biden administration comes to the issue not only more sympathetic to the idea of restorative justice, but in the midst of a pandemic that has seen an increase in student misbehavior. One said student behavior was so 鈥渁bysmal鈥� that educators were afraid for their safety.

鈥楢 year of disrupted schooling鈥� 

That鈥檚 one reason why Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, that the department should hold off on new guidance, arguing that districts shouldn鈥檛 have to fear a federal investigation for removing disruptive students from the classroom. 

The pandemic, he noted, was worse for low-income Black and Hispanic students, who were more likely to attend schools that had been closed longer. 

鈥淭he very same students that have more catching up to do after a year of disrupted schooling are also facing the prospect of a more challenging learning environment if schools are hesitant to remove problem students,鈥� he wrote. 

Others say the pandemic shouldn鈥檛 interrupt the administration鈥檚 efforts to revisit the issue of bias in school discipline.

鈥淚t is always a good time to say that racial discrimination is wrong [and] that children with disabilities have the right to be alongside their non-disabled peers,鈥� said Liz King, the senior program director for education at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 

She thinks the guidance should reflect showing police in schools don鈥檛 reduce gun violence but do increase suspensions, expulsion and arrests of students 鈥� especially for Black students. She wants the department to take a stand against seclusion and restraint of students and 鈥渓ean in” to the rights of Black and Hispanic girls and LGBTQ students.

Black girls are five times more likely than white girls to be suspended from school at least once and four times more likely to be arrested at school. A 2016 from advocacy group GLSEN found that LGBTQ students are suspended at higher rates than non-LGBTQ students. 

鈥楢bsolutely a dance鈥�

The Obama-era guidance embraced so-called restorative justice practices that aim to give students a chance to build stronger relationships, work out their grievances and make amends for their actions in lieu of suspension. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have passed laws supporting the model, according to the at Georgetown Law School. 

on such programs was mixed, but a more from California showed restorative practices can shrink Black-white discipline disparities and are associated with higher grade point averages in high school.

But 鈥済ood discipline is very expensive鈥� and hard to implement with the 鈥渞egular teacher allocation in the school,鈥� said Elliott Duchon, former superintendent of the Jurupa Unified School District, near Los Angeles. 

His district launched a multi-year effort to reduce suspensions and expulsions after federal officials found that Hispanic students were more likely to be suspended than white students.

Los Angeles Unified鈥檚 restorative justice program costs $13 million a year, according to the district, and funding for the Oakland district鈥檚 program 鈥� considered 鈥� was almost cut until the city and private funders stepped in to pick up the cost. 

Critics of alternative discipline practices argue the Obama-era guidance created tension between teachers who make discipline referrals and administrators who send students back to class without any consequences.

鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely a dance,鈥� said Jacqueline Shirey, at-risk coordinator for the Beaumont Independent School District in Texas. 鈥淚f we are going to say that students can鈥檛 leave, what are we doing to help the teachers?鈥�

With that in mind, Shirey began training teachers last fall to set up 鈥渄e-escalation鈥� spaces in their classrooms 鈥� a desk with a box that includes stress balls, 500-piece puzzles and writing materials. 

鈥淚 saw a way for students to learn how to manage their own emotions before it became disruptive, and I didn鈥檛 want students to leave my classroom to do that,鈥� she said, but added that ground rules are necessary. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 implement it with a purpose, then it really does become supplies in a corner that students can play with.鈥�

When students returned last fall, some administrators decided it was important to take a business-as-usual approach to discipline. 

In Nashville, Hunters Lane High School Principal Susan Kessler said her teachers 鈥渆nforce dress code this year and every year鈥� and that it helps in 鈥渕aintaining school culture, enforcing building security and reducing distractions in the classroom.鈥�

Other school leaders factored in the impact of school closures on students鈥� behavior.

Aaron Eyler, principal at Matawan Regional High School in Aberdeen, New Jersey, brought his staff together in September for a frank conversation about what to expect when students returned. 

He told them not to worry about trying to 鈥渨in the battle鈥� against students wearing hoodies and hats. And he wasn鈥檛 surprised to see more of what he referred to as insubordination, like students wearing Airpods and being late to class. The point, he said, was to keep students from missing even more instruction.

鈥淲ith 鈥� what happened last year and the lack of consistent structure,鈥� he said, 鈥渢here was no way we weren鈥檛 going to have greater instances of discipline than what we鈥檙e accustomed to in school.鈥�

Ronn Nozoe, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said any guidance from the department is likely to 鈥渞uffle feathers,鈥� but he added, 鈥淵ou never want to tie the hands of folks who are actually doing the work.鈥�

Special education experts say there鈥檚 wide variation in how school districts accommodate students鈥� needs in the classroom and that parents are often in the dark about their children鈥檚 rights under 504.

鈥淚t’s time to 鈥� make the regulations current and responsive to the experiences of students and families in schools,鈥� Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said Friday, after the update was announced. 鈥淲e have, over these 45 years of experience, seen ways that sometimes schools don’t understand or don’t follow the law.鈥�

The announcement follows the department鈥檚 with the Los Angeles Unified School District to make up for services that roughly 66,000 students with disabilities missed during remote learning. The district has to determine which students were denied services and make sure parents know their children are eligible for additional support. The update, according to the department, is also part of the Biden administration鈥檚 strategy to address among young people. 

Experts in the special education field said updating the law is long overdue.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about darned time,鈥� said Julie Weatherly, a special education attorney in Alabama who advises districts and works to resolve disputes with families over special education services. At a minimum, she said, she hopes some language in the regulation will be updated.

鈥淭he best thing that could happen would be that the word ‘handicapped’ would be removed,鈥� she said. 

It wasn鈥檛 until 2010, when President Barack Obama signed 鈥�,鈥� that the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded individual” were replaced with “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability” in federal law. 

Typical accommodations under 504 include letting students sit in the front of the classroom, break up assignments into shorter sections and gain exemption from physical activities. The department, Weatherly said, could update the regulations to provide more specific examples of how a disability interferes with learning or 鈥渕ajor life activities,鈥� as the law states.

But she said she doesn鈥檛 want to see the department add extensive documentation requirements. For students who require an individualized education program under IDEA, she said, the process is already 鈥減arent unfriendly.鈥�

But families and advocates want to see a more standardized process for ensuring that students receive services. 

Denise Stile Marshall, CEO of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, said Section 504 is 鈥渋ncredibly important in terms of protecting equity and student access,鈥� but districts sometimes 鈥渢reat it like a consolation prize鈥� if a student doesn鈥檛 qualify for special education 鈥� and might not even let the parent know accommodations are available. 

Lisa Mosko Barros, a Los Angeles parent and advocate, added that currently, districts aren鈥檛 required to involve parents in designing accommodations and that schools don鈥檛 receive additional funding for a child served under the program, as they do for special education.听

鈥淭here does not seem to be as robust a framework for accountability鈥� as with special ed, she said, 鈥渘or does there seem to be adequate mandates around family partnership in the process.鈥�

Advocates for students with dyslexia said they welcome the opportunity to provide comments. 

鈥淔ar too often, individuals with dyslexia are denied access to the accommodations and educational services they are entitled to,鈥� said Megan Potente, co-state director of Decoding Dyslexia California. 鈥淪trengthening rights is absolutely critical to addressing barriers and accessing opportunities for those with dyslexia.鈥�

Lhamon said the length of the comment period has not yet been determined, but it could be 2023 before new regulations are released.

鈥淭hey wanted more evidence that she had gone,鈥� said the trans student鈥檚 father, Jeff Walker. 鈥淚 said, 鈥業鈥檒l send you media, pictures, an invitation from the White House.鈥� They still did not excuse the absence.鈥�

The episode would certainly be in keeping with the spirit of laws signed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, that restrict trans students鈥� lives in and out of school. , similar to legislation in Texas and Arkansas, targets doctors who provide trans health services, like the prescription of puberty blockers, to minors. keeps trans students out of bathrooms and locker room facilities that match their gender identity. Like Florida鈥檚 so-called 鈥渄on鈥檛 say gay鈥� legislation, it also prohibits discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in the elementary grades.

Such legislation might soon be on a collision course with federal law, as the U.S. Department of Education puts the finishing touches on a long-awaited rewrite of Title IX. That update is widely expected to codify the rights of trans students for the first time. Department officials have already said that Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination and harassment in programs receiving federal funds, will echo the in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, which extended protections against sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace to LGBTQ employees.

A department spokesperson said Tuesday that it expects to release the new rule in May. 

Alabama is among 15 Republican-led states it. In the last year, a dozen states have passed bills prohibiting trans females from competing in girls鈥� and women鈥檚 sports. But the wave of legislation targeting LGBTQ students has since spread to encompass 鈥渏ust about every moment of their daily lives,鈥� Sam Ames, director of advocacy and government affairs for the nonprofit Trevor Project, said earlier this month during a .

Experts expect the rule to put school districts in the center of what will likely be a long legal battle.

Max Eden, a research fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, called it 鈥渁 very unenviable place.鈥�

鈥淚t sets up a big showdown between states and the federal government,鈥� he said during a , 鈥渁nd schools will be caught in between the two forces.鈥� 

Parents Defending Education, a nonprofit leading the campaign against what it calls districts鈥� 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� of students on issues of race and gender, organized the event to inform parents about the upcoming rule. Eden also warned of an unpleasant tug-of-war between schools that teach gender as a 鈥渇luid construct鈥� and parents who oppose references to gender identity in the classroom.

鈥淚t gets to a fundamental question of what is a human being,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f a school says one thing and Mommy and Daddy say another thing, a kid has to pick, and that’s not a fun place to put an 8-year-old.鈥� 

The public is clearly divided over such policies. A from the University of Chicago and the AP-NORC Center showed that allowing trans students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity receives the most support from Democrats (52%) Hispanic adults (35%) and those with a college degree (45%). Nine percent of Republicans supported such policies. Forty-seven percent of those who voted in a recent school board election and follow news about their local board were opposed, compared to 35% who don鈥檛 follow such issues.

The tension is already on display in Oklahoma, where Attorney General John O鈥機onnor told the that it鈥檚 illegal to let a trans girl use the girls鈥� restroom, while state education officials say it鈥檚 a matter for the district to decide. 

For districts that could face similar directives in the future, 鈥渇ederal law always wins,鈥� said W. Scott Lewis, co-founder of the Association of Title IX Administrators. 鈥淭he writing is on the wall. This is a protected class.鈥� 

That might change if federal courts weigh in against the department. Two current federal cases involving trans athletes 鈥� one in and another in 鈥� could work their way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite Republicans鈥� questioning, newly confirmed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson declined to comment on the issue during recent confirmation hearings.

While the education department鈥檚 interpretation of the Bostock ruling doesn鈥檛 mention sports, the Biden administration made its position known in filed last year in a West Virginia case. The plaintiff, a transgender girl who wants to compete with girls on her middle school cross country team, is challenging the state鈥檚 2021 law banning students born as male from participating in girls鈥� sports. 

鈥淎lthough the regulations allow recipients to operate or sponsor separate teams based on sex, the regulations do not define 鈥榮ex鈥� or address how students who are transgender should be assigned to such teams,鈥� the brief said. 鈥淲hen assigning students to single-sex sports teams, a recipient must still comply with the statutory prohibition against discrimination based on sex in Title IX itself.鈥�

In a year marking Title IX鈥檚 50th anniversary, some experts say the administration鈥檚 position could undermine years of work toward achieving equity in women鈥檚 sports. 

鈥淚magine you go to a meet to watch an event called 鈥榯he Girls鈥� 100,鈥� which includes both males and females 鈥� some of whom identify as girls, some as boys, some as nonbinary. Specifically, what is it that makes the assembled individuals all 鈥榞irls鈥� so that having them compete in a separate event from the 鈥榖oys鈥� is defensible?鈥� asked Doriane Lambelet Coleman, a Duke University law professor and co-director of the Center for Sports Law and Policy.

Some of the males could be on testosterone suppression, while some of the females are taking testosterone, she explained, adding that 鈥渟uch a field would only rarely allow a female who is not taking testosterone to win in a category that was originally designed for her, to secure her equal access to the social goods that flow from competitive sport.鈥�

Lewis, with the Title IX administrators organization, predicted the issue will reach the court during its next term.

鈥淭hey can鈥檛 let it sit any longer,鈥� he said. 

The issue could also play out in Congress if Republicans regain control during upcoming midterm elections. But any legislation aimed at Title IX 鈥渨ill be entirely symbolic,鈥� because it would need 60 votes in the Senate to pass initially and President Joe Biden would veto it, said R. Shep Melnick, a political science professor at Boston College.

鈥淐ongress has rarely amended Title IX, and never on a major substantive issue,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he conflict will play out in the administrative and judicial arenas.鈥�  

鈥楤reaking a confidentiality鈥�

Even before Biden took office, he pledged to revise the Trump administration鈥檚 Title IX rule, which increased protections for those unfairly accused of sexual misconduct. Once in office, he ordered the department to begin the lengthy process of rescinding the rule and restoring elements of Obama-era guidance that directed schools and colleges to address sexual assault.鈥�

Those changes, already controversial, were quickly overshadowed by the administration鈥檚 efforts to incorporate the rights of LGBTQ students into Title IX. During a weeklong public hearing last year, the department invited comment from those experiencing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, further signaling that the rule 鈥� which will be put out for public comment upon its release 鈥� would address those issues.

It鈥檚 unclear whether the regulation will include detailed guidance about issues like preferred names and pronouns or sex-specific school uniforms, but advocates for trans students hope the department will supplement the rule with examples of how districts can address those issues. 

Schools should 鈥渕ake it clear what nondiscrimination looks like鈥� said Asaf Orr, senior staff attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. 鈥淒ictating that teachers can’t discuss anything related to gender identity is fostering a school environment that is not welcoming to LGBTQ students.鈥�

Walker, who described his daughter Harleigh as 鈥�100% girl,鈥� is a plaintiff in challenging Alabama鈥檚 new Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which criminalizes transgender health services for children. He鈥檚 also concerned that requiring Harleigh to use the boys鈥� restroom will 鈥渙pen her up to assault.鈥�

鈥淢y fear is some administrator at her school will try to make an example out of her,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey say this is going to protect my child. It鈥檚 not going to protect anyone.鈥�

While the Alabama provision, which only applies to K-5, doesn鈥檛 affect Magic City Acceptance Academy, a Birmingham-area charter school that serves many LGBTQ students, Principal Michael Wilson said he鈥檚 concerned about a requirement for school officials to inform parents if students question their gender identity.听

鈥淵ou鈥檙e breaking a confidentiality, a relationship that you have formed with kids,鈥� he said, noting recent data showing increases in LGBTQ students seriously considering or attempting suicide.

The education department鈥檚 webinar highlighted what some schools are already doing to support trans students.

Sam Long, a trans biology teacher at Denver South High School in Colorado, talked about working with two other LGBTQ educators to 鈥渃lean up鈥� teaching materials on reproduction. 

鈥淲e can be more accurate and be more inclusive,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 ovaries that produce eggs. We鈥檙e acknowledging that not all women produce eggs, and also not all egg producers are women.鈥�

Rebekah Bruesehoff, a trans student and activist from New Jersey, said she鈥檚 always 鈥渓ooking for clues鈥� throughout her school 鈥� like preferred pronouns on a teacher鈥檚 ID badge 鈥� to see which educators are more accepting.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 just walk into class at the beginning of the year and announce that I鈥檓 transgender,鈥� said the ninth grader, who described herself as a 鈥渢otal nerd鈥� who loves school, plays field hockey and participates in musical theater. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one tiny part of who I am, but there’s so much more to me.鈥�

It isn鈥檛 true. 

In fact, county juvenile court data tell a completely different story 鈥� one in which police actually carried out nearly 500 arrests in Pittsburgh schools that year, disproportionately against Black students and children with disabilities, often for minor offenses. That鈥檚 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which found that school districts in Allegheny County had dramatically underreported interactions between kids and cops to the U.S. Department of Education. Student arrest rates in the county exceeded the state average, the ACLU analysis found, and among the county鈥檚 43 districts, Pittsburgh Public Schools played an outsized role in shuffling children from campuses into the criminal justice system. 

The underreporting combined with the high student arrest rates, the report argues, raise serious questions about whether Black students and those with disabilities, who are disproportionately subjected to school-based arrests in Pennsylvania and nationally, receive 鈥渢he protections from discrimination guaranteed by law.鈥� 

School leaders 鈥渉ave to realize that connecting young people to the justice system is harmful鈥� and understand that 鈥渉ow educators choose to deal with students is a responsibility that they have,鈥� said report co-author Harold Jordan, the nationwide education equity coordinator at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. 

鈥淭he conversation is really about the harms to Black children鈥� Jordan said, and while the Pittsburgh district 鈥渄oes not want to be seen as anti-Black or insensitive to the concerns of Black parents,鈥� leaders have failed to adopt sufficient student interventions that don鈥檛 involve the criminal justice system, he said. 

The Pittsburgh district attributed the underreporting of its data to the federal government to an error. After taking heat for racial disparities in arrests, school leaders in 2020 to study arrest data and created a task force focused on improving school safety. 

The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Outside southwest Pennsylvania, federal education data suggest the issue of underreporting student arrests is widespread nationally. The Education Department鈥檚 is key to enforcing federal civil rights laws, but advocacy groups say inconsistencies and underreporting by local districts could weaken its utility.

School policing has become increasingly fraught in recent years, and dozens of districts cut ties with local law enforcement after a Minneapolis cop murdered George Floyd in 2020. Yet in the wake of destabilizing pandemic-induced campus closures, schools across the country have in student misbehavior, including fights and weapons possession, and some districts have beefed up campus police to combat the mayhem.

By underreporting campus arrests, however, districts could give parents an inaccurate picture of campus safety and the effects of school-based police on the young people who interact with them. 

鈥淭he harms of having police in schools are much more widespread than districts report,鈥� said Jordan, who called Allegheny County a 鈥渉ot spot鈥� nationally for youth arrests. During the 2018-19 school year, Pittsburgh students were arrested at nearly eight times the state rate, the ACLU found. 

Black and disabled youth face the brunt of arrests

Attorney Kara Dempsey, who represents children in education and juvenile delinquency matters, knows firsthand the long-lasting effects of school-based police on Allegheny County youth 鈥� especially Black girls. 

In one instance, a middle school girl who said she took her teacher鈥檚 credit card as a joke ended up getting arrested, Dempsey said. Due to probation violations, she wound up in a secure detention facility. Youth often struggle to comply with probation guidelines, Dempsey said, and school-based arrests can then grow into a yearslong cycle of juvenile justice involvement.

鈥淏ecause she has trauma, she runs from these facilities,鈥� said Dempsey, a supervising attorney at the . 鈥淭hat just continues this cycle. It鈥檚 just really insane.鈥�

Local activists have been sounding the alarm for several years. In a 2020 report, the local Black Girls Equity Alliance found Pittsburgh school district police were the for Black girls, accounting for a third of all referrals countywide. Black girls in Allegheny County were referred to the juvenile justice system at a rate 10 times higher than white girls, researchers found. 

In response, a consultant group, RMC Research Corporation, to study the drivers of school-based arrests. Black students accounted for about 80 percent of district arrests, RMC found in its report, but just 53 percent of the student population. 

Part of the problem can be explained by in which adults view them 鈥渁s more culpable, less innocent and less in need of help and support鈥� than their white classmates, said Sara Goodkind, an associate professor of social work at the University of Pittsburgh who helps lead the equity alliance鈥檚 juvenile justice work. 

鈥淭hese really high rates of referrals of Black youth are not because there鈥檚 a problem with young people. It鈥檚 that there鈥檚 a problem with the adults who are responding to them and with the systems we have in place,鈥� she said. 

The number of police officers stationed inside public schools has grown exponentially in the last few decades, and research suggests their presence precedes an increase in student arrests. More than two-thirds of public middle and high schools had at least one school-based officer during the 2017-18 school year, according to the most recent federal data, and while suspensions and expulsions have declined in recent years, arrests have grown. 

Police presence has long been bolstered by high-profile yet statistically rare mass school shootings, yet research is mixed on their ability to improve campus safety and civil rights groups have often warned their presence could do more harm than good. 

To better understand student arrests in Pittsburgh, ACLU researchers analyzed data reported to the federal and state government, as well as internal district figures obtained through public records requests and those produced by the RMC Research Corporation. The results were perplexing, Jordan said, because each source produced different numbers. 

During the 2017-18 school year, the Pittsburgh district reported 86 arrests and 395 law enforcement referrals to the state education department. That same school year, the district reported zero arrests to the U.S. Department of Education while the county juvenile court tallied 499 school-related arrests. 

鈥淔or a district in which the arrest rates have been high for a very long time, why should they be so inaccurate,鈥� Jordan asked. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 speak to intentionality, but they are in the position to know that what they have put out to the public is inaccurate. They are well aware of that.鈥�

During the 2017-18 school year, Black children made up 15 percent of the country鈥檚 students but 31.6 percent of those reportedly arrested at school, according to the most recent federal data. Black students with disabilities accounted for just 2.3 percent of the total student population but 9.1 percent of those subjected to arrests. 

In Allegheny County, the racial disparities were far starker: During the 2018-19 school year, Black students were arrested nearly nine times more often than their white classmates, according to juvenile court records. That year, 1 in 51 Black boys and 1 in 69 Black girls were arrested at school compared to 1 in 316 white boys and 1 in 894 white girls. Black girls were the only demographic group where more than half of juvenile arrests stemmed from school incidents. 

鈥淭he numbers speak from themselves,鈥� Dempsey said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 obviously bias in decision-making from people in power who have the ability to decide whether to either charge these individuals or not.鈥�

Racial disparities were most severe in the 1,500-student South Allegheny School District, where a quarter of Black middle and high school students were arrested during the 2017-18 school year. 

ACLU researchers found about half of arrests countywide were for simple assault or for drug charges, primarily involving small amounts of marijuana. 

The drivers of racial disparities in student arrests and other forms of discipline, including suspensions and expulsions, have long been the subject of research and passionate debate. One study, , attributed nearly half of the discipline gap between Black and white students to actions by teachers, suggesting that the 鈥渄ifferences in punishment may be due to racial bias.鈥� Just 9 percent of the disparities could be explained by differences in behaviors between Black and white children, researchers found. 

Ted Dwyer, the Pittsburgh district鈥檚 chief accountability officer, said in a statement the arrest data it reported to the Education Department was inaccurate 鈥渄ue to an employee illness鈥� that hindered fact-checking but didn鈥檛 learn about the problem until it was too late to submit a correction. He said the district has worked to improve data reporting processes, including those related to student arrests.

Dwyer said school police 鈥渉ave demonstrated their commitment to working with the school staff to curtail arresting students,鈥� and noted that arrest rates have dropped in the last several years. However, he said arrest rates have decreased more quickly for white students than their Black classmates, therefore making the disparities even larger.

鈥淭he district has convened a task force to conduct deep listening sessions, review of the School Safety Manual and evaluate the effectiveness of current school safety and well-being,鈥� he said in the statement. 鈥淭he group continues its work.鈥� 

Questionable zeros reported nationally 

By matching education data to juvenile court records, Jordan and his co-author Ghadah Makoshi, a community advocate at the civil rights group, took an unconventional and labor-intensive approach to expose the extent of school-based arrests across Allegheny County. School districts don鈥檛 generally compare their data against the figures collected by juvenile courts, Jordan said. 

On a few occasions, journalists have done similar investigations. In , The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, found that the local school district failed to report hundreds of arrests to the state. In 2020, Illinois Public Media reporters found that had underreported student arrests to the U.S. Department of Education for years. 

The issue plagues districts across the country. reported zero school-related arrests during the 2015-16 year, according to a report released in 2020 by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, a figure that suggested 鈥渁 widespread failure by districts to report data on school policing despite the requirements of federal law.鈥�

Three of the country鈥檚 10 largest school districts 鈥� including those in New York City and Chicago, , according to a recent analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit news outlet. Yet in New York City, for example, police department records that year.

For years, the federal Civil Rights Data Collection has faced scrutiny for offering incomplete data on highly sensitive topics other than school-based police, including on instances of sexual misconduct and educators鈥� use of physical restraints. In , the Government Accountability Office found that 70 percent of school districts reported zero seclusion and restraint incidents during the 2015-16 school year but the U.S. Department of Education lacked tools to fact-check the data鈥檚 accuracy. The department鈥檚 quality control processes, the government watchdog found, were 鈥渓argely ineffective or do not exist.鈥�

Advocates combating sex-based discrimiation have long accused districts of underreporting campus misconduct. In an analysis of federal civil rights data from the 2015-16 school year, the nonprofit American Association of University Women found that serving students in grades 7 to 12 reported zero incidents of sex-based harassment or bullying. 

Given the data鈥檚 role in enforcing civil rights laws, Jordan said the U.S. Department of Education should be more aggressive in ensuring the numbers are reliable. With better data, he said, researchers can better understand the impact of police in schools. 

鈥淭he data doesn鈥檛 answer the whole question,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut it gives you the opportunity to drill down, to see what can be changed to improve the overall school environment without involving police and the criminal justice system.鈥�

Lhamon, who faced steep opposition from Republicans, will lead the Education Department office in charge of enforcing federal civil rights laws in schools, including rules that prohibit discrimination based on race and sex. She secured the post after a combative confirmation hearing in July, followed by a partisan 11-11 vote a month later in which members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee deadlocked on her nomination. Lawmakers voted earlier this month to discharge her nomination from committee and bring it before the full Senate.听

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Harris鈥檚 vote, which broke a 50-50 tie, followed an effort by Republican lawmakers to block her return to a position she held from 2013 to 2017. She was unanimously confirmed in 2013, but became a lightning rod in several key education debates, including one that looked to hold K-12 schools and universities more accountable for sexual misconduct on campus.听

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said that Lhamon鈥檚 confirmation will help ensure that schools are 鈥渇airer and more just.鈥�

鈥淪he will lead the Department鈥檚 vital efforts to ensure our schools and college campuses are free from discrimination on the basis of race, sex and disability and to protect all students鈥� rights in education,鈥� Cardona said in a media release. 鈥淐atherine is one of the strongest civil rights leaders in America and has a robust record of fighting for communities that are historically and presently underserved.鈥澛�

In 2011, before Lhamon became assistant secretary, the Obama administration released a that instructed educators to investigate sexual misconduct allegations 鈥渞egardless of where the conduct occurred,鈥� and to use a less-strict 鈥減reponderance of the evidence鈥� standard when determining guilt. Eight months into her tenure under former President Trump, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whose confirmation was secured by a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence, rescinded the guidance and replaced it with new Title IX regulations in 2020. The Biden administration the Obama-era guidance.

Civil rights groups have praised Lhamon as a champion for student equity, but her conservative critics have accused her of being an overzealous bureaucrat who went beyond her legal authority during her previous stint on the job.听

In 2014, the civil rights office to warn school districts that discipline policies could constitute 鈥渦nlawful discrimination鈥� if they didn鈥檛 mention race but had a 鈥渄isproportionate and unjustified effect on students of a particular race.鈥� In June, the to revisit how the Education Department can ensure racial equity in school discipline.听

While Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress, Lhamon will be taking up her job at a time when battles over race and gender in schools have become even more divisive, as seen in several states recently moving to bar transgender students from playing sports.听

Catherine Lhamon is one step closer to being confirmed for the second time as the Education Department鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights. In a 50-49 vote along party lines, the Senate voted Oct. 7 to discharge her nomination from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The move gives the full Senate an opportunity to weigh her nomination after the HELP committee deadlocked with an 11-11 vote along party lines in August. A date for the full Senate vote on Lhamon’s nomination has not been set.听

From racial discrimination to transgender students in sports, some of the country鈥檚 most politically fraught education debates coalesced in a single Senate hearing Tuesday as lawmakers weighed Catherine Lhamon鈥檚 nomination to become the Education Department鈥檚 top civil rights boss.

Democratic lawmakers portrayed Lhamon, who previously served as the Education Department鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights during the Obama administration, as a staunch champion of students. Republicans, meanwhile, grilled her with tough questions and accused her of being an overzealous bureaucrat with a habit of exceeding her legal authority. An ongoing debate over how schools should respond to campus sexual misconduct complaints became the leading point of conflict during Lhamon鈥檚 hearing.

The Senate education committee hearing, held to consider Lhamon鈥檚 likely return to her old job, was divisive from the onset. In his opening remarks, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the committee鈥檚 ranking Republican, said he鈥檚 not convinced that Lhamon 鈥渦nderstands, or at least appreciates, the limits of her authority鈥� and lamented that she would unravel a Trump-era regulation that bolstered the due-process rights of students accused of sexual misconduct.

Though Lhamon maintained a measured posture that leaned heavily on existing law, Burr pressed her on the due process question, including whether students should have the right to see the evidence used against them in misconduct allegations and whether she believes in the 鈥減resumption of innocence.鈥� Ultimately, Barr argued that Lhamon鈥檚 record on holding schools accountable for students鈥� sexual misconduct 鈥渋s deeply troubling if not outright disqualifying.鈥�

In response to question from Sen. Burr, Lhamon again won’t say that she endorses the presumption of innocence; will only say that in “civil rights investigations,” TIX adjudicators “should be open to the possibility” that acc’d students aren’t guilty.

鈥� KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9)

After accusing former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of rolling back civil rights enforcement for years, Lhamon said on Tuesday that it鈥檚 critical for the Office for Civil Rights to return 鈥渢o even-handed enforcement that is consistent with the law.鈥� In 2011, before Lhamon became assistant secretary, the Obama administration released a that instructed educators to investigate sexual misconduct allegations 鈥渞egardless of where the conduct occurred,鈥� and to use a 鈥減reponderance of the evidence鈥� standard when determining guilt. Eight months into her tenure, DeVos rescinded the guidance and replaced it with new Title IX regulations in 2020. The Biden administration the Obama-era guidance.

Lhamon avoided a direct response to Burr鈥檚 questioning, arguing instead that she ultimately 鈥渨on’t be in control of what change does or does not happen with respect to the Title IX regulation,鈥� as the Biden administration鈥檚 work on that issue has already begun. But she did hold that Title IX has long failed to protect students from campus sexual misconduct, and that the Trump-era regulations weakened enforcement.

That acknowledgement came after Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, in which she argued the Trump-era regulations would move the country 鈥渂ack to the bad old days,鈥� when it was 鈥減ermissible to rape and sexually harass students with impunity.鈥� In defending the tweet, Lhamon noted that the Trump-era regulations narrowed which school officials are required to respond to sexual misconduct allegations. That group includes Title IX coordinators, school officials with 鈥渁uthority to institute corrective measures,鈥� and K-12 teachers in cases of student-on-student misconduct.

鈥淎mong the resolutions that I oversaw when I led the Office for Civil Rights included resolutions where, for example, at Michigan State, a student reported that she鈥檇 been sexually harassed by a counselor in the counseling office when she went for counseling about sexual harassment,鈥� Lhamon said. 鈥淪he reported it to the counseling office. Under the current regulation, there would be no responsibility for the school to investigate.鈥�

Lhamon鈥檚 nomination hearing also highlighted another Title IX issue that鈥檚 been central to recent partisan feuds: The rights of transgender students to participate in school athletics. Under Lhamon鈥檚 lead in 2016, the Education Department released a 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter notifying schools that transgender students must be permitted to use restroom facilities that align with their gender identities. The Trump administration in 2017.

In a series of questions, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, asked Lhamon whether transgender girls should be permitted to compete in women鈥檚 athletics or if such a policy discriminates against cisgender females. Tuberville, who was the head football coach at Auburn University before joining the Senate, suggested that transgender students could instead be relegated to their own athletic teams.

In response, Lhamon said that Title IX aims to ensure that nobody faces sex-based discrimination in public schools, including any student who wishes to participate in school athletics.

As Republicans probed Lhamon on her policy record, Democrats consistently rallied to support her. In defending the Obama-era guidance on transgender student rights, Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, accused Republicans of waging a 鈥減ublic relations campaign鈥� that isn’t about protecting female athletes but is rather 鈥渦nfortunately about trying to marginalize these kids and make people fear them and make people see them as a threat.鈥�

鈥淣othing could be, frankly, further from the truth,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese are kids who, just like all of our kids, want to participate in athletics, an experience that is central to coming of age for millions of kids all across this country. An idea that we would deny that to anyone in this nation simply because of their [gender identity], I think, is deeply unAmerican.鈥�

Along with the guidance on transgender students鈥� rights, Lhamon鈥檚 tenure with the Obama administration included a 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter from 2014 which warned schools that racial disparities in school discipline could violate federal civil rights laws. The Trump administration did away with that guidance, too, but Lhamon said on Tuesday that it鈥檚 鈥渃rucial鈥� for the Biden administration to reinstate it. In fact, she noted that when the civil rights office was created in 1979 partly to enforce federal school desegregation orders, racially disparate school discipline rates were among the first issues that investigators confronted.

That racial disparities in school discipline persist to this day 鈥渕eans that we have not gotten our arms around it as a country and we are not doing enough right by our kids,鈥� she said, adding that racial disparities are not always a form of discrimination. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 crucial to reinstate guidance on the topic and I think it鈥檚 crucial to be clear with school communities about what the civil rights obligations are and how best to do the work in their classrooms.鈥�

Though Tuesday鈥檚 hearing centered primarily on Lhamon, lawmakers also considered the nominations of Lisa Brown as the Education Department鈥檚 general counsel and Roberto Rodriguez as its assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development. Brown is currently the general counsel of Georgetown University and Rodriguez is the president and CEO of the nonprofit Teach Plus. On average, takes 68 days between their nomination and a final Senate vote, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

The U.S. Department of Education will hold a virtual summit on June 22 鈥� the first in a series of events focused on addressing the inequitable impact of the pandemic on students of color and other high-need groups.

Setting the stage for the conversation, the department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights released a report Wednesday, summarizing what it calls a 鈥渄eveloping story鈥� of how the shift to remote learning and the public health crisis widened disparities in students鈥� access to a quality education.

Drawing on existing surveys, research and assessment data, the report recapped how vulnerable groups, including English learners, students with disabilities and LGBTQ students, faced significant barriers to learning before the pandemic, only to be further cut off from the support they needed during school closures. The report comes the same week as a public hearing on Title IX and follows last week鈥檚 that the Office for Civil Rights will accept public comments on discrimination in school discipline, offering further evidence that an arm of the department that was downsized during the previous administration is leading much of the agenda so far under Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

The department also released for how states and districts can implement the 鈥渕aintenance of equity鈥� provision of the American Rescue Plan, which is intended to prevent budget and staffing cuts at high-poverty schools.

The upcoming summit, guidance and report comply with an President Joe Biden issued when he took office, directing federal agencies to examine the challenges facing underserved communities.

Offering 11 observations of the pandemic鈥檚 impact on students, the report noted 鈥渨orrisome signs鈥� that academic performance has fallen below per-pandemic levels, that nearly all students have experienced mental health challenges and that gay, lesbian and transgender students have been at increased risk of isolation, harassment or abuse.

鈥淭hose who went into the pandemic with the fewest opportunities are at risk of leaving with even less,鈥� the report said.

The event later this month will focus on how students can influence the schools they attend, continuing Cardona鈥檚 emphasis on student voice. He鈥檚 met with students during school visits, featured students during his school reopening summit in March and held a roundtable discussion with homeless youth in April.

Other speakers at the summit will include Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten, Pedro Noguera, dean of education at the University of Southern California, and Olivia Carter, the 2021 School Counselor of the Year.

The report out Wednesday stressed the role of civil rights protections for students as they recover from the pandemic. Schools, for example, must enroll homeless students without requiring proof of residency documents and ensure English learners receive language instruction and support.

The report noted that prior to the pandemic, students of color and students with disabilities were more likely to face suspension, expulsion and other harsh discipline practices. Now, the hardship, grief and loss some students have experienced may contribute to behavior challenges once they return to school full time. Schools, as a result, will have a greater need for educators and other specialists who understand how to work with students who have experienced trauma, according to the report.

The pandemic revealed 鈥渄eep cracks in the foundation鈥� of the nation鈥檚 schools, the report said. 鈥淲e have an extraordinary opportunity to move forward with full awareness of these cracks and recognition of the essential need to address and repair them.鈥�