New lawsuit alleges Education Department's Office for Civil Rights cannot fulfill responsibilities after cuts

A lawsuit filed Friday alleges the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is unable to fulfill its mandated obligations due to the Trump administration's changes as it seeks to wind down the entire department.

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates and two parents filed the federal suit with the District of Columbia days after the Education Department announced Tuesday it is slashing its workforce in half, with layoffs affecting the civil rights office.

The lawsuit alleges Education Secretary Linda McMahon and acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor are violating the Fifth Amendment, and it seeks injunctive relief “to restore the investigation and processing capacity of OCR and to process complaints from the public promptly and equitably in accordance with OCR’s statutory and regulatory obligations.”

The lawsuit alleges the office does not have the staffing needed to fulfill its complaint and investigative functions.

“OCR has abdicated its responsibility to enforce civil rights protections, leaving students who should be able to trust and rely on their government to protect and defend their rights to instead endure discriminatory and unsafe learning environments without recourse,” the lawsuit said.

A senior department official had said earlier this week that congressionally mandated programs, such as the Office for Civil Rights, would not see their functions affected by the massive layoffs.

The lawsuit highlights the pause in all OCR investigations after President Trump’s inauguration. While that pause is over, the plaintiffs argue McMahon “stymied the prompt processing of their complaints in a new way: by decimating OCR’s workforce, including by eliminating seven of twelve regional offices and leaving skeleton staffing at the remaining offices.”

The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for comment.

This isn’t the first lawsuit against the department since the Tuesday firings.

Multiple Democratic states sued the federal agency for laying off the more than 1,300 employees.

While the department says the layoffs will not affect core functions, Trump allies are encouraging McMahon to take the next step of moving mandated programs to other federal agencies before terminating the Education Department entirely.

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