Big Cuts at the Education Department’s Civil Rights Office will Affect Vulnerable Students for Years to Come
Erica Frankenberg and Maithreyi Gopalan | 14 March 2025 | The Conversation
The U.S. Department of Education cut its workforce by nearly 50% on March 11, 2025, when it laid off about 1,315 employees. The move follows several recent directives targeting the Cabinet-level agency. Within the department, the Office for Civil Rights – which already experienced layoffs in February – was especially hard hit by cuts.
The details remain unclear, but reports suggest that staffs at six of the 12 regional OCR offices were laid off. Because of the office’s role in enforcing civil rights laws in schools and universities, the cuts will affect students across the country…