Trump Trashes the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights

Secretary McMahon trashes Civil Rights protections in public schools

What a difference 20 months can make! During the first 20 months of the Trump administration the priorities and regulations of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) changed so dramatically that it doesn’t seem to be the same agency.* Nowhere are the changes more evident than in their Office of Civil Rights (OCR). 

Historically, the OCR was the place where students, families and organizations lodged complaints about discrimination, harassment and unfair treatment related to public education. In the past, thousands of complaints were made to the ED each year. 

In fiscal year 2024, the OCR received 22,687 complaints, the highest number on record, and the office also resolved a record number of complaints that year. Most cases that were in progress or pending at the time of the 2025 inauguration involved diversity, equity and inclusion programs, disability complaints and policies that helped transgender students. Those cases were quickly frozen and there is no telling when, or even if, those cases will be addressed during the tenure of this administration. 

Prior to the 2025 Trump inauguration, ED priorities were aligned with those of most educators and families, including: 

• Providing an excellent and equitable education to help each student achieve academic success;

• Closing the gap from pandemic learning loss, with the academic, social, emotional and mental health resources needed to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic; 

• Providing educators and schools with the tools and resources to ensure students most impacted by the pandemic make strong academic progress and are able to succeed; 

• Prioritizing equity and belonging by supporting students and educators in communities most in need; 

• Strengthening the continuum from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and beyond, including career pathways, higher education, and the workforce; 

• Supporting educators to accelerate students’ learning; and, 

• Providing equitable access to high-quality programs and resources to ensure students thrive, no matter their zip code. 

Broadly speaking, the Trump Administration ED priorities are now:

1. Closing the ED;

2. Expanding use of public funds for private schools;

3. Dismantling “DEI” and “Gender Ideology” policies at state and local levels;

4. Reversing the last five decades of civil rights advancements in public schools;

5. Increasing artificial intelligence in education; and 

6. Advancing patriotic education.

One would be hard pressed to find an educator, family, or student who would support such priorities for K-12 public schools.

Extreme New Priorities for the Office of Civil Rights

Since January 2025, the focus and priorities of the Trump Administration transformed the OCR. Instead of helping to resolve complaints of discrimination and harassment as was statutorily obligated, enforcement priorities changed for the OCR when the Trump Administration released Executive Order (EO) 14281, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, 90 FR 17537 (Apr. 28, 2025). With those and other new executive orders, priorities, and revised regulations, the Trump administration could now investigate schools that did not follow his new priorities and orders.

Subsequently, the Trump Administration rewrote the ED regulations, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”), to be consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order which meant the removal of ‘disparate impact’ as grounds for enforcing civil rights laws. 

Disparate impact is a “key tool used to assess discrimination" and refers to discriminatory practices that adversely affect one group of people of a protected characteristic more than another group, whether intentional or not. Under the Trump revision, discrimination must be proved to be “intentional” to be considered discrimination, even if data demonstrates that one group is clearly negatively impacted more than another group (e.g., school discipline policies). 

So, as of July 2026, no longer was it the role of the OCR to ensure that students could receive a quality education free of discrimination.

Radical Restructuring of the OCR

In addition to revising the focus and priorities of the OCR, the Trump administration radically changed the structure of the office. A reduction in force removed half of the 520 employees and six of the 12 regional offices. 

But the most troubling structural change is how complaints will be handled: although complaints are still received by the OCR, under the ED-DOJ interagency agreement the complaints are referred to the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights office, where they will be evaluated, investigated, and many if not all of the complaints will be resolved by the DOJ. Historically complaints were evaluated and resolved by the OCR. 

This change in civil rights law enforcement is troubling because the two departments operate in very different ways. The OCR was required to consider every complaint it received, with resolutions often negotiated between parties by the OCR. In contrast, the DOJ tends to pursue litigation. Also, the transfer of responsibility to the DOJ may provide more power and effective legal options to the Trump administration to investigate and prosecute schools and districts that are not following the administration’s policies on DEI and transgender students. 

In 2025 the Trump administration withheld billions of dollars from public schools while the administration determined whether those school programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities. For example, investigations were initiated into 43 school districts in three states to determine how they taught about sexuality and gender identity, and whether parents are given the opportunity to opt their children out of lessons that conflict with religious beliefs. Already more than half (27) of the states in the nation have agreed to restrict transgender girls from participating in girls' athletics. 

As of September 17, 2026, the OCR has initiated at least 211 investigations of schools based on revised priorities by the Trump administration rather than actual complaints from students, families or organizations. Recently the administration threatened the tax-exempt status of private schools that give race-based preference in admissions.

Source: https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/see-which-schools-trumps-education-department-is-investigating-and-why/2025/03

More Cuts Expected at the OCR

There is no indication that the radical changes to the ED are over. The President’s budget submitted to Congress last spring calls for continued cuts to the OCR as part of an overall 35 percent cut to civil rights office funding for FY2027. Meanwhile the enhanced power of the Trump Administration to investigate and litigate can financially burden, and possibly break, school districts that want to challenge the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws. 

Due to the abdication of OCR responsibilities by the Trump Administration, students and their families are being left vulnerable to discrimination and harassment because the OCR cannot support them as it once did. This will have the greatest effect on students of color and other marginalized students who tend to face higher rates of discrimination and harassment. 

The guardrails once in place have been removed and the new system limits the ability of the federal government to protect students from harm as they pursue their education. 

* The federal government’s role in public education is to provide targeted funding, enforce civil rights, set national standards in specific areas, and support innovation and equity, while leaving core governance to states and localities. The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants the states authority over education.