Civil rights work is slowing as Trump dismantles the Education Department, agency data shows

By COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press Training Writer WASHINGTON AP The Trump administration insists it hasn t wavered in its duty to protect the civil rights of America s children even as it dismantles the Guidance Department Yet its own statistics shows the agency has resolved far fewer civil rights cases than in past years despite families filing more complaints The Mentoring Department s civil rights branch lost nearly half its staff amid mass layoffs in March raising questions about its ability to address a deep backlog of complaints from students alleging discrimination based on disability sex or race Pressed on the issue in June Development Secretary Linda McMahon denied a slowdown Related Articles Searching for pennies With the cut in federal funding general broadcasters are looking to cope Federal Reserve says building renovation complies with law defends costs Attorneys sue to restore deportation protections for abused and neglected migrant children Trump says Coke will shift to cane sugar But increasingly shoppers want no sugar in their sodas US says it destroyed metric tons of expired food aid but it won t affect future distribution Not only are we reducing the backlog but we are keeping up with the current amount with a reduced staff because we are doing it efficiently McMahon disclosed at a Senate budget hearing By several measures however the output of the Office for Civil Rights appears to have fallen sharply in comparison with previous years A inhabitants database of the office s resolution agreements cases in which schools or universities voluntarily agreed to address civil rights concerns suggests the office s work has slowed The database lists just resolutions so far this year on pace to fall far below previous years totals Last year the office logged resolutions in total following in During President Donald Trump s first term the office averaged more than resolutions a year including during his first year in office Other internal figures obtained by The Associated Press show a similar trend Since Trump took office the total number of resolved cases is down about from the same time frame last year including cases that were dismissed mediated or reached a voluntary resolution Compared with last year there also has been a decrease in the number of cases resolved through resolution agreements or action taken by a school to comply with federal law the internal records shows Meanwhile new complaints have increased The total number of cases has now climbed beyond An Training Department spokesperson noted the Trump administration is fixing a broken system When staff levels were at their peak OCR s processes still proved to be ineffective as evidenced by the chronic backlog of tens of thousands of cases that left students discrimination suggests languishing over countless presidential administrations spokesperson Julie Hartman disclosed A multitude of families are waiting for US intervention to address complaints Parents and advocates say they ve noticed a difference Adrienne Hazel filed a complaint in April after her -year-old son Ricky who has autism was placed in a constituents school venture without a certified trainer and was not given an individual learning plan Hazel of Southfield Michigan has not heard from the federal office after receiving an automatic reply when she filed the complaint Things moved faster last year when Hazel filed a separate complaint for her son The office notified Ricky s school which Hazel says spurred the district to reach an agreement with her within about three months This time she reported it feels like she s on her own Adrienne Hazel right hugs her son Ricky on Thursday July in Southfield Mich AP Photo Sylvia Jarrus There has been zero response to this she explained He s basically going into a babysitting situation He s not getting the things that he necessities to grow into independence And he ll just be aging without getting an mentoring Marcie Lipsitt a special guidance advocate in Michigan who worked with Hazel commented such stories are common She helps families file complaints but warns it could take at least a year before an examination opens Particular schools have backtracked on previous agreements she commented yet parents can t get a response from the federal office It s horrible I m watching children suffer like they ve never suffered she reported There is no accountability The fate of the Learning Department itself is in question as the Trump administration moves ahead with a plan to wind down the agency A Supreme Court decision Monday cleared the way for the agency to continue mass layoffs and outsource various functions to other agencies McMahon previously suggested the civil rights work could be managed by the Justice Department Still McMahon reported in June that the office was making headway after inheriting a backlog of cases from the Biden administration She communicated senators the office was catching up on the backlog and keeping up with new complaints With half the staff several question how that s doable In a June court order pausing the termination of Office for Civil Rights employees a federal judge in Boston mentioned the branch is now incapable of addressing the vast majority of complaints More than of the office s employees remain on leave while that episode is decided Caseloads have grown for remaining Office for Civil Rights staffers The Office for Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing civil rights laws across the nation s schools and is often a last resort for parents and students facing discrimination from schools The office reviews complaints and for those that meet certain criteria opens investigations Others are dismissed or move to a mediation process Of the resolution agreements broadcasted this year were signed after Trump took office Of those the vast majority involve complaints of discrimination based on disability with smaller numbers based on sex or race The greater part of the sex discrimination findings deal with keeping transgender athletes out of women s sports one of Trump s campaign promises OCR will continue to meet its statutory responsibilities while driving to improve efficiency and resolve the longstanding backlog Hartman revealed Multiple workers in the office who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation noted caseloads have grown too big to manage In last year s budget request the office revealed it was becoming tough to keep up when investigative staff averaged cases per person Specific estimates put the current caseload beyond The employees noted it means more cases will languish Another parent in Michigan Casie Clouse hasn t heard from the department since she filed a complaint in May Her son Brady who is blind in one eye and has a learning disability wasn t getting the type of help his school promised including access to teachers notes and reduced coursework Brady made no academic progress in eighth grade and he s now heading to high school without the promotion he requirements his mother disclosed It s been so frustrating not to even have an update at all mentioned Clouse of Ann Arbor He is going to go to high school and fail I feel like my child will not get a high school diploma if he stays in Ann Arbor General Schools The Associated Press schooling coverage receives financial patronage from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org