Senator Bernie Sanders, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), released a report on April 28 detailing how layoffs and office closures at the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights during the Trump administration affected students facing discrimination or harassment.
The report states that these actions left many students without access to help they are entitled to under federal law. The findings highlight that in 2025, the department reached its lowest number of resolution agreements in over a decade. No resolution agreements were made for cases involving sexual harassment, sexual violence, seclusion, restraint, racial harassment or discriminatory school discipline. Resolution agreements are legally binding commitments between OCR and schools to address violations of students’ civil rights.
"Every child in America should be able to go to school safely and be treated with dignity. Unfortunately, this report makes clear that the Trump administration’s illegal efforts to dismantle the Education Department have been a disaster for students and families across this country," Sanders said. "When a child with a disability is denied the education they are entitled to, when a student faces racial or sexual harassment — they turn to the Office for Civil Rights for help. Yet the Trump administration has decimated this office. As a result, tens of thousands of students facing discrimination have been left with no recourse. That is beyond unacceptable."
According to Sanders' report, after layoffs at OCR and investigators being barred from their duties in March 2025—an action which cost taxpayers up to $38 million—the agency reached zero resolution agreements involving major types of discrimination despite more than 2,700 pending cases. The total number of resolution agreements dropped by nearly four-fifths compared with previous years; there were also no new protections secured for girls or women facing sexual violence or harassment.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee works on public health legislation as well as education policy and workforce issues according to its official website. Bill Cassidy served as chair during the 119th Congress according to committee records. The committee oversees federal regulations affecting health and education nationwide as reported by its official site and provides oversight over key agencies such as FDA and NIH according to its website.
The broader implications include ongoing concerns about enforcement of civil rights laws in schools nationwide when agency staffing is reduced or offices closed.
