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Civil Rights Cases Slow at Education Dept. Amid Trump’s Overhaul

The official said it was unfair to compare the number of resolved cases in the first year of one... up with what’s coming in now with a reduced staff because we’re doing it efficiently.”

NYTIMES 입력 2026.04.28 22:56 0

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Civil Rights Cases Slow at Education Dept. Amid Trump’s Overhaul

Data obtained by The New York Times shows that the Education Department resolved 30 percent fewer discrimination complaints in 2025 compared with the previous year.

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Linda McMahon, the education secretary, is scheduled to testify on Tuesday to a Senate appropriations subcommittee that controls her department’s budget.

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Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Michael C. Bender

Michael C. Bender has been covering the Trump administration’s efforts to bring cultural changes to the American education system. He reported from Washington

April 28, 2026,

9:55 a.m. ET

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The Education Department resolved roughly 30 percent fewer complaints of discrimination in American schools last year than in 2024 amid a Trump administration overhaul of civil rights enforcement, the sharpest year-to-year decline in more than three decades, according to government data obtained by The New York Times.

The drop came despite a record number of students seeking help from Washington to confront claims of prejudice, bias and bigotry in schools, according to the 2025 budget request from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.

The slowdown has left about 20,000 students awaiting word from the government about the status of their claims, according to the data, which is maintained by the Education Department. The slower pace raises questions about whether the Trump administration’s pursuit of severe cuts to the department’s civil rights staff has hampered its ability to enforce anti-discrimination laws.

Education Department officials blamed the slowdown, in part, on what they described as a significant backlog of unresolved cases left by the Biden administration. Attempts to clear those cases last year were also partially slowed by a 43-day government shutdown, administration officials said.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon may provide more insight on Tuesday, when she is scheduled to testify to a Senate appropriations subcommittee that controls her department’s budget. The White House has proposed a 35 percent cut for the Education Department’s civil rights office next year, including a 49 percent reduction in staff, from 530 workers to 271. Ms. McMahon has said a more efficient staff could meet the department’s statutory duties.

Some of Ms. McMahon’s testimony on Tuesday may detail a recent restructuring of the civil rights office. The changes, overseen by Kimberly M. Richey, the department’s assistant secretary for civil rights, were meant to increase efficiency by creating investigative teams dedicated solely to disability- and race-based complaints, instead of relying solely on a regional approach, a senior official at the Education Department said.

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