OCR Is MIA
Bianca Quilantan at Politico Weekly Education:The Education Department’s civil rights arm is dismissing complaints at a rapid clip, prompting concern from former officials and advocates about its function amid staffing cuts.
— In court documents filed last week, the department disclosed that its Office for Civil Rights dismissed 3,424 complaints between March 11 and June 27 “consistent with OCR’s Case Processing Manual.” The documents state that 96 complaints were “resolved” because of insufficient evidence during an investigation — and another 290 complaints with voluntary agreements, settlements or technical assistance.
— OCR also received 4,833 complaints, opened 309 for investigation and opened 26 directed investigations, according to a court declaration filed by department chief of staff Rachel Oglesby as part of a case that challenged the agency’s decision to conduct a sweeping reduction in force.
— This all comes as seven of the department’s 12 regional civil rights offices across the country were eliminated during the massive reduction in force in March. A federal judge in Massachusetts, however, ordered those workers be called back, saying the mass layoffs “leaves OCR with the capacity to address only a small fraction of the complaints that it receives.”
