Senator Bernie Sanders has released a report highlighting concerns about civil rights protections for students following actions by the Trump administration. According to the report, over 46 million students in 27 states and territories are without dedicated investigators for their educational civil rights due to President Trump’s move to abolish the Department of Education and reduce its workforce by half.
The firings, which have affected 43% of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) staff, have left thousands of pending civil rights cases unresolved. The report states, “The department has not communicated any plan to schools, students, or families to ensure continued civil rights enforcement.”
“If we are serious about reducing the unacceptable rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, and racism on college campuses, we should not be defunding and dismantling the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights,” Sanders commented. He added that “46 million students in 27 states and territories have been left without dedicated staff to investigate their discrimination complaints.”
The report also notes that staff who were fired were handling 74% of the nation’s open cases concerning national origin discrimination involving religion, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. As a result, OCR investigators’ caseloads may increase significantly, from 42 to 86 cases per investigator, which may hinder the department’s ability to protect students from harassment and discrimination.
Sanders emphasized the importance of the Department of Education’s role, saying, “We are the wealthiest country in the history of the world. We should have the best education system of any country in the world and ensure all of our kids can get a decent education no matter what their race, creed, color or gender may be.”
No further plan from the department has been communicated to continue civil rights enforcement, which remains a critical concern. The report calls for reconsideration of the personnel reductions to ensure students’ civil rights in educational settings are protected.
