U.S. Department of Education Plans Return of Laid-Off 260 OCR Employees

K-12 Dive reports that the U.S. Department of Education announced it will reinstate over 260 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) staffers in biweekly waves beginning September 8 through November 3, following a federal court order in Victim Rights Law Center v. U.S. Department of Education. The order mandates a return to the agency’s pre-layoff status so it can fulfill its statutory civil rights enforcement duties. This move reverses part of a broader March reduction in force that closed seven regional offices and left OCR employees on administrative leave at a cost of $1 million per week. Despite a separate Supreme Court ruling allowing broader departmental layoffs in New York v. McMahon, U.S. District Judge Myong Joun upheld his decision for OCR restoration, citing specific harms faced by students who rely on OCR to address school-based discrimination. The Department’s latest update complies with that directive, but it remains unclear whether it will appeal this ruling to the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Department of Education said it plans to bring back more than 260 Office for Civil Rights staff that it cut as part of its March reduction in force, returning groups of employees to the civil rights enforcement arm in waves every two weeks Sept. 8 through Nov. 3.

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