Education Department Layoffs Backfire
Summary
The U.S. Department of Education faced a large backlog of civil rights complaints after cutting more than half the staff in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in 2025. Secretary Linda McMahon said the department is now hiring staff again to clear the backlog and process cases faster.Key Facts
- The Office for Civil Rights had around 12,000 unresolved discrimination complaints nationwide in 2025.
- The department resolved about 30% fewer complaints in 2025 compared to the year before.
- Less than 1% of investigations led to a resolution agreement in 2025.
- Over half of the OCR workforce and half of its field offices were cut in 2025, as part of the Trump administration’s plan to reduce the department’s size.
- A federal judge blocked the planned mass layoffs, so some employees were put on paid leave instead.
- The department spent up to $38 million paying employees who were on administrative leave.
- Secretary McMahon said the backlog was partly inherited from the previous administration but acknowledged the cuts slowed processing.
- The department is now hiring back laid-off workers who didn’t retire and recruiting more civil rights attorneys.
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