The massive shots in the United States Department of Education will severely compromise the ability of families to ensure that the rights of their children with disabilities are confirmed, he warns, he warns.
At least 243 employees, including many researchers, in the Department of Civil Rights of the Department are being completed as part of a «force reduction» throughout the agency announced last week. In addition, the Department of Education is closing seven of the 12 regional branches of the Office of Civil Rights.
The office has long served as a key resource for families that can present complaints if their children with disabilities face discrimination in schools. Researchers with the civil rights office address issues related to everything, from accessibility of buildings, classrooms and playgrounds to exclusive discipline, accommodation tests, harassment and much more.
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«Finishing hundreds of OCR personnel and regional closing offices throughout the country will have devastating impacts on complaints for disability discrimination,» said Jacqueline Rodríguez, CEO of the National Learning Disabilities Center. «The families of children with disabilities now have little or no resource if the rights of their student or students are violated.»
The shooting level has left the civil rights office «effectively a shell of itself,» according to Catherine Lhamon, who led the office under the Biden and Obama administrations.
«When I left on January 20, the staff handled around 50 cases per person and that was unsustainable and the helmet has increased since then,» Lhamon said, predicting that cases could now increase to 120 per person. «There is no civil rights researcher anywhere that can effectively investigate and resolve that high cases.»
Now, the defenders are demanding the Department of Education, accusing the agency to decimate and sabotage the capacity of the civil rights office to investigate and process claims.
«The families who have filed complaints to the reasonable expectation that OCR will follow their legal mandates and the long practice to investigate and process their cases have been left without any information about the state of their complaints or the perspective of obtaining relief,» says the complaint filed in the United States District Court in Washington. «This includes families of students who urgently need accommodation or seek a resolution that allows them to return to the classroom.»
As a result of recent changes, the Office of Civil Rights has postponed scheduled meetings and mediations without explanation and could not provide updates to the plaintiffs, all while prioritizing politically motivated investigations, including those who go to programs that support color students and those who identify as LGBTQ+, the demand indicates.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two parents with pending claims before the Office of Civil Rights and the lawyers and lawyers of the parents, or Copaa, a non -profit organization that advocates the rights of students with disabilities and their families and their members.
«Not investigating civil rights complaints is a betrayal of students and families throughout the country, all of which deserve justice,» said Shakti Belway, executive director of the National Center for Youth Law, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the parents and Copaa. «Abandon thousands of statements, while our schools are seeing greater bullying, bullying and discrimination, not only goes against the mission of the Department of Education, but sends a chilling message that schools do not need to promote an environment in which each student is safe and welcome.
Through the lawsuit, defenders wish to force the Department of Education to restore the capacity of the civil rights office to process complaints and are asking the court to monitor the office of the office.
The spokesman for the Department of Education, Madi Biedermann, did not respond to a request for comments on the demand, but previously indicated that «we trust that OCR dedicated personnel will deliver their legal responsibilities.»
A separate lawsuit filed by a coalition of 21 general prosecutors of the State is also challenging the shots of the Department of Education.
The cuts in the civil rights office were some of the almost 1,400 layoffs announced last week by the Department of Education. Together with the recent resignations and retirement, the agency said it hopes to lose almost half of its staff. In addition to the Office of Civil Rights, the employees of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, the Institute of Education Sciences and other divisions were also dismissed.
The Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, said the endings are a «first step» to close the agency completely, what President Donald Trump has repeatedly committed to do. MCMAHON has suggested the supervision of the Law on Education of Intergies with Disabilities to the Department of Health and Human Services and sending the Office of Civil Rights to the Department of Justice.
In an interview after the cuts were announced, McMahon said that the Department of Education is holding the staff to ensure that programs such as «fall into cracks», but could not say what idea it represents.
Disability defenders, however, are increasingly concerned.
«The actions of the Administration against the Department of Education are an attack against students with disabilities and their families, which depend on federal supervision to ensure that they receive the support and services they need,» said Marlene Sallo, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network. «Without the application of the idea of the Department of Education, students could face inappropriate discrimination, adaptations and services, and a reversal of very close rights that have been in force for decades.»
