The U.S. Department of Education has emerged as an aggressive enforcer of President Donald Trump’s social agenda, moving quickly and publicly to investigate school districts, colleges and universities, state education departments, and athletic associations and threaten their federal funding.
As of Dec. 23, the Education Department has opened at least 131 investigations aligned with core Trump policy objectives since the president took office, according to an Education Week analysis of department announcements and local news reports.
The Trump administration has initiated most of these investigations on its own, rather than in response to complaints it’s received. Most of the investigations announced have targeted universities’ diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has cracked down on through executive action. The Education Department issued a February memo in which it told schools to end any race-based programming or risk losing federal funds.
School district, university, and state policies on transgender students—including their ability to play on athletic teams and access bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity—have been the second most common subject of Education Department investigations. Trump has threatened to pull federal dollars from schools that don’t comply with his executive order barring transgender girls from girls’ sports teams, and he has also made it official U.S. policy to recognize only two sexes.
Antisemitic harassment has been the third most common subject of Trump administration investigations.
Meanwhile, as the Education Department’s main investigative arm, its office for civil rights, ramps up enforcement of the president’s agenda, it has faced deep cuts in the department’s downsizing.
Seven of its 12 regional offices were shuttered in March, and more than 40 percent of its staff were cut either through layoffs or buyout offers. Experts have said this will increase the remaining investigators’ caseloads, likely leading to an uneven focus on cases that align with the president’s agenda.
The office for civil rights is responsible for investigating discrimination claims and working with schools to comply with federal civil rights laws. The office typically opens investigations in response to claims it receives from students, parents, school staff, and community members. OCR has always been able to open investigations on its own—known as directed investigations—but previous administrations have used this tactic less often than the Trump administration appears to be using it, experts have told Education Week.
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