20-03-2025, 08:43 AM
Nearly 600 workers have since chosen to leave, by resigning or retiring. And this week, more than 1,300 workers were told they're losing their jobs in a Tuesday purge.
That leaves 2,183 remaining department staff, according to the administration. Which means the Education Department will soon be roughly half the size it was just a few weeks ago.
Civil rights enforcement has been dramatically cut
In the department's own language, its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the attorneys who work there are tasked with "preventing, identifying, ending, and remedying discrimination against America's students" based on race, national origin, sex, age and disability.
Still, the Trump administration clearly plans to utilize this office: The day before the layoffs were announced, OCR sent letters to 60 colleges and universities, threatening to withhold federal funding if they do not protect Jewish students on their campuses.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-532...dent-loans
That leaves 2,183 remaining department staff, according to the administration. Which means the Education Department will soon be roughly half the size it was just a few weeks ago.
Civil rights enforcement has been dramatically cut
In the department's own language, its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the attorneys who work there are tasked with "preventing, identifying, ending, and remedying discrimination against America's students" based on race, national origin, sex, age and disability.
Still, the Trump administration clearly plans to utilize this office: The day before the layoffs were announced, OCR sent letters to 60 colleges and universities, threatening to withhold federal funding if they do not protect Jewish students on their campuses.
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-532...dent-loans
