For Immediate Release

OAKLAND, Calif. — The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) condemns the Trump Administration’s plan, announced today, to transfer the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to the Department of Justice and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) to the Department of Health and Human Services through interagency agreements.

The proposal would remove the federal offices responsible for enforcing students’ civil rights and disability protections from the Department of Education, where Congress specifically placed them, and threatens to further erode access to educational opportunity for millions of students across the country. NCYL implores Congress to reject any effort to move core education functions out of the Department of Education without congressional authorization.

“Dismantling the agencies responsible for protecting students from discrimination and ensuring the rights of students with disabilities is unjust and reckless,” said Shakti Belway, NCYL Executive Director. “Congress assigned these responsibilities to the Department of Education because protecting students requires educational expertise and a deep understanding of what discrimination looks like in schools. Those responsibilities were designed to help the students who are most vulnerable and ensure they have access to educational opportunities. Reassigning those duties does not take seriously the dire situations these students are facing.” 

Congress charged OCR with enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act in educational settings. Likewise, Congress placed responsibility for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) within the Department of Education. These laws require specialized expertise and systems capable of handling thousands of complaints from students and families each year.

OCR serves as the federal backstop for students experiencing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, shared ancestry, or disability. For many students and families, filing a complaint with OCR is their last and only avenue for seeking accountability when local systems fail to protect their rights. 

Last year, NCYL sued to stop the administration’s teardown of the Department of Education and its weakening of OCR’s enforcement capacity. Recent federal findings have documented a sharp decline in the office’s ability to protect students. The Government Accountability Office reported that OCR dismissed more than 90 percent of complaints received in 2025 without a full investigation, while a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee report found the office reached a 12-year low in protecting students from discrimination.

“Moving OCR to the Department of Justice will fail students,” Belway said. “It creates uncertainty for the thousands of children and families who depend on a functioning civil rights enforcement system.”

While the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division plays a vital role in enforcing federal civil rights laws, it is not structured to administer the high-volume, complaint-based enforcement system that OCR operates. OCR has received more than 20,000 complaints annually in recent years, reflecting an ongoing prevalence of discrimination in schools and the continued need for accessible federal oversight.

“This administration’s decision to abandon our most vulnerable students is particularly troubling,” Belway said. “Public education is central to our democracy and the Department of Education is vital to ensuring democratic institutions succeed. The federal government has a legal and moral obligation to protect student access to public education, and this is core to our nation’s future.”

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The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves.