Tell Congress: Restore the DOE's Office of Civil Rights

The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has been decimated by mass terminations and the closure of seven regional offices, leaving more than 12,000 open civil rights investigations in limbo. This systematic dismantling has left OCR unable to fulfill its statutory obligations to protect students' civil rights.


The impact on students and families has been immediate and devastating. OCR instructed its remaining staff to freeze all investigations, cancel scheduled meetings and mediations, and stop communicating with students, families, and schools involved in their cases. 

Investigators have been barred from using typical investigation processes, including requesting documents, conducting interviews, and issuing findings.


Sign the petition urging Congress to fully restore the Department of Education’s Office of Civic Rights.


These cuts particularly harm the most vulnerable students who depend on federal civil rights protections. Students with disabilities, those facing racial discrimination, and victims of sex-based harassment have been abandoned by the very office created to protect them. 

Parents of elementary school students from Michigan and Nebraska, along with advocacy groups, have been forced to go to federal court just to restore basic civil rights enforcement that should be guaranteed by law.


Every day these cuts remain in place, students across America are denied the civil rights protections they deserve. Congress must act now to ensure that OCR can fulfill its mission of protecting all students from discrimination and harassment in our nation's schools.

Add your name to demand Congress immediately restore full funding to the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, reopen all seven closed regional offices, and reinstate the staff necessary to handle the thousands of pending civil rights investigations.