The Forgotten Learners

A big reason the United States Department of Education was opened in the 1980’s was to insure that public education students received the proper civil rights while attending school. Many states, mainly in the South, had a dismal record of protecting students’ civil rights prior to the federal government becoming involved through our Department of Education.

Now it seems the pendulum has swung back in the direction of states being responsible for their students’ civil rights while the U.S. Department of Education divests its responsibility in that area.

Recently, EducationWeek (11/7/25) reported on how this transfer of power is playing out in our states and Washington D.C.:

“When the U.S. Department of Education closed the office for civil rights’ regional outpost in Philadelphia, the complaints investigators there would have handled from school in Pennsylvania and four neighboring states were instead shuffled to one of five remaining offices – in Georgia.”

“The Philadelphia office was among seven that were shuttered when nearly half the Education Department’s civil rights investigation staff was laid off in March. Since then, the federal agency has announced 137 more layoffs from the civil rights office, which investigates discrimination complaints at schools and colleges and works to bring them into compliance with federal civil rights laws.”

“Though the latest layoffs are on hold, an enforcement staff that had 560 members spread across 12 offices when Donald Trump took office will shrink by more than 70% if they go through.”

“In Pennsylvania, state Senator Lindsey Williams, a Democrat from the Pittsburgh area, said her office has heard from families with complaints pending before the Education Department, and school districts in the middle of OCR investigations, that haven’t been able to get answers from the agency since the downsizing. Parents and advocates have said largely the same thing in court filings: that investigations in response to complaints they filed have simply stopped.”

“’I think one thing that people underestimate in the education space is that the remedies are pretty unique from case to case, and are very specialized,’ Williams said. ‘There’s a lot of expertise that helps school districts and universities navigate a complex remedy for a student that is also missing right now.’”

…

“Experts worry that without federal enforcement, a fractured interpretation of civil rights laws and protections could take shape across the country – leading to conflicting and politicized handling of cases depending on where students live and what laws are on the books. They worry students in one state might not have the same protections at school as students in another.”

States applying protection differently to public school students is one concern. The other concern is the on-going equity struggles within the public school system for black, brown, and poor kids (and their families) to receive a fair shake when it comes to achieving academic excellence. The lack of equitable academic opportunity is still a big concern when it comes to America’s K-12 education system. The fact that states continue to struggle with providing equal access, fair treatment, due process, and support for students with disabilities suggests that transferring power from the federal government to a state like Alabama, for example, might not be in the best interest of children who need support the most.

Others say that we live in different times. They say, “This isn’t the 1950’s or 1960’s anymore.” Black, brown, and poor kids are offered the same opportunity as whites in our public school system. Black, brown, and poor kids are treated fairly, like whites are. Black, brown, and poor kids are given the same due process as white students are. Black, brown, and poor special education students are given the same support as white special needs students.

Time will tell if we do indeed live in different times, but the skeptic in me tells me that, based on performance in reading, writing, and problem-solving by these same black, brown, and poor kids, the potential to treat kids differently, based on the state they live in, has never been more powerful than today – given the transfer of public education decision-making power currently underway between the federal government and the states.

Til tomorrow. SVB