Civil Rights

Read more about civil rights and schools, enforcement by the Education Department's office for civil rights, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, and more

Explainer

The U.S. Department of Education, in Washington, D.C., pictured on February 21, 2021.
How a Federal Office Investigates and Resolves Discrimination Complaints Against Schools
What is OCR, how do you file a complaint, and what relief can it offer for students or staff whose civil rights may have been violated?
View Explainer
Large hand making pressure over group of small, silhouetted figures. Oppressions, manipulation. Contemporary art collage. Photocopy effect. Concept of world crisis, business, economy, control
Education Week + iStock
Federal Opinion We Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Federal Overreach and Abandonment in K-12
Why is federal power being used to occupy our cities but not protect our students’ civil rights?
Sally Iverson, March 4, 2026
•
4 min read
Image of students in isolation in artistic manner with red evocative color and shadows.
Laura Baker/Education Week & Getty
Special Education Investigation Finds 'Shocking Overuse' of Seclusion and Restraint in This District
Restraint and seclusion should not be used in routine school discipline, the Justice Department says.
Evie Blad, February 24, 2026
•
5 min read
- Coretta Scott King holds hands while singing with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Christine Farris, the sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as they parade on Peachtree Street in Atlanta on Monday, Jan. 19, 1987 to honor King's birthday. At left in Mrs. Alveda king Beall and at right is Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara.
Coretta Scott King, left, walks with Jesse Jackson and Christine Farris, the sister of Martin Luther King, Jr., during a 1987 parade in Atlanta to honor King's birthday. Jackson's work for poor and marginalized communities also included a focus on educational opportunities.
Charles Kelly/AP
Equity & Diversity Obituary Jesse Jackson, Advocate for Equitable K-12 Funding and Curbing Youth Violence, Has Died at 84
The reverend and long-time civil rights advocate was a two-time presidential candidate.
The Associated Press & Sean Cavanagh, February 17, 2026
•
5 min read
Commuters walk past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Eduction, which were ordered closed for the day for what officials described as security reasons amid large-scale layoffs, on March 12, 2025, in Washington.
The U.S. Department of Education spent up to $38 million last year to pay civil rights staffers who remained on administrative leave while the agency tried to lay them off.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Federal Ed. Dept. Paid Civil Rights Staffers Up to $38 Million as It Tried to Lay Them Off
A report from Congress' watchdog looks into the Trump Admin.'s efforts to downsize the Education Department.
Alyson Klein, February 3, 2026
•
5 min read
Image of a hand raising a red flag.
DigitalVision Vectors
Special Education Parents Should Continue to File Disability Rights Complaints, Say Special Ed. Advocates
Continuing to file them puts pressure on the Ed. Dept. to enforce special ed. laws.
Evie Blad, November 21, 2025
•
4 min read
Pennsylvania Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny, is pictured during a confirmation hearing for acting
Pennsylvania state Sen. Lindsey Williams, a Democrat, is pictured during an education committee hearing on Aug. 12, 2025. Williams is preparing legislation that would create a state-level office of civil rights to investigate potential civil rights violations in schools. Williams is introducing the measure in response to the U.S. Department of Education's slashing of its own office for civil rights.
Courtesy of Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus
Federal Trump’s Ed. Dept. Slashed Civil Rights Enforcement. How States Are Responding
Could a shift in civil rights enforcement be the next example of "returning education to the states?"
Brooke Schultz, November 7, 2025
•
6 min read
The exterior of the U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 11, 2025, in Washington.
The exterior of the U.S. Department of Education building is pictured on Oct. 11, 2025, in Washington. The agency on Tuesday told more than 250 office for civil rights employees they've been laid off, just days after starting another round of layoffs during the federal government shutdown.
Aaron M. Sprecher via AP
Federal Ed. Dept. Tells More Than 250 Civil Rights Staff They've Been Laid Off
The layoffs come just days after the agency began a new round of staff reductions during the shutdown.
Brooke Schultz, October 14, 2025
•
4 min read
Itinerant teacher April Wilson works with Zion Stewart at Bond County Early Childhood Center in Greenville, Ill., on Sept. 29, 2025.
Teacher April Wilson, who works with visually impaired students, works with a student at Bond County Early Childhood Center in Greenville, Ill., on Sept. 29, 2025. The latest round of layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education will leave the federal office of special education programs with few staffers.
Michael B. Thomas for Education Week
Federal Ed. Dept. Offices Will Be Virtually Wiped Out in Latest Layoffs
The U.S. Department of Education is losing about a fifth of its already diminished workforce.
Mark Lieberman & Brooke Schultz, October 13, 2025
•
9 min read
A commuter walks past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education on March 12, 2025, in Washington.
A commuter walks past the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Education in Washington on March 12, 2025. A federal court sided with the Trump administration this week, allowing it to proceeds with laying off half of the department's office for civil rights.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Law & Courts Appeals Court Says Ed. Dept. Can Fire Civil Rights Staff
Office for civil rights employees had already begun returning to work under a court order
Brooke Schultz, September 30, 2025
•
4 min read
A teacher helps two engineering students build a butterfly house.
The Trump administration has sued the Rhode Island Department of Education and the public school district in Providence, saying a program that provides loan forgiveness to teachers of color discriminates against white teachers.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Equity & Diversity Loan Forgiveness for Teachers of Color Is Discriminatory, Trump Admin. Says
The U.S. Department of Justice says the program meant to boost the ranks of minority teachers discriminates against white educators.
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2025
•
3 min read
Vivien Henshall, a long-term substitute special education teacher, talks with Scarlett Rasmussen, 8, during recess at Parkside Elementary School on May 17, 2023, in Grants Pass, Ore. Scarlett is nonverbal and uses an electronic device and online videos to communicate, but reads at her grade level. She was born with a genetic condition that causes her to have seizures and makes it hard for her to eat and digest food, requiring her to need a resident nurse at school.
A long-term substitute special education teacher at Parkside Elementary School in Grants Pass, Ore., speaks with a student during recess on May 17, 2023. The Trump administration has canceled more than $30 million in special education grants, including some aimed at training special education teachers.
Lindsey Wasson/AP
Special Education Trump Canceled Millions for Special Education Teacher Training. What's Next?
More than $30 million for teacher training and parent resources will no longer flow as scheduled.
Mark Lieberman, September 8, 2025
•
9 min read
The Department of Education logo with the central tree split open revealing infinity.
Islenia Mil for Education Week
Federal Reported Essay How Trump Is Changing the Federal Government’s Role in Schools
When Donald Trump waded into the fight over a high school mascot, it revealed a lot about his true education agenda.
Matthew Stone & Brooke Schultz, September 8, 2025
•
10 min read
A newly-constructed gender neutral bathroom is seen at Shawnee Mission East High School, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Prairie Village, Kan.
A newly-constructed gender-neutral bathroom is seen at Shawnee Mission East High School, Friday, June 16, 2023, in Prairie Village, Kan. The Shawnee Mission school district is one of four in Kansas that the Trump administration has started investigating at the urging of the state's Republican attorney general, Kris Kobach.
Charlie Riedel/AP
States Some State Leaders Cheer as Trump's Ed. Dept. Investigates Their Schools
The use of the office for civil rights for political purposes has been dialed up in the second Trump administration, experts say.
Brooke Schultz, August 25, 2025
•
6 min read
Photo of Dear Colleague letter.
The 2015 Dear Colleague letter outlining the rights of English learners has been rescinded, now with a notice at the top.
Education Week + Getty
English Learners Trump Admin. Quietly Rescinds Guidance on English Learners’ Rights
The 2015 Dear Colleague letter detailed how schools and districts can comply with federal requirements in English-learner education.
Ileana Najarro, August 20, 2025
•
4 min read
Load More ▼