WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is bringing back dozens of Department of Education staffers who were slated for layoffs. They say their help is needed to address a problem. increasing backlog of discrimination complaints from students and families.
The staffers had been on administrative leave while the department faced challenging lawsuits fired from the agency’s Office of Civil Rightsthat investigates possible discrimination in the country’s schools and universities. But in a letter Friday, department officials ordered workers back to work starting Dec. 15 to help resolve civil rights cases.A department spokesperson confirmed the move and said the government still hoped to lay off staffers to reduce the size of the department.
“The Department will continue to appeal the ongoing and ongoing litigation over workforce reductions, but in the meantime, it will utilize all employees currently being compensated by American taxpayers,” Julie Hartman said in a statement.
In the letter to employees, obtained by The Associated Press, officials said the department “requires all OCR personnel to prioritize OCR’s existing complaint flow.” The office handles everything from complaints about potential violations of disability rights to racial discrimination.
More than 200 employees of the Office of Civil Rights were targeted in mass layoffs across the department, but the layoffs have been embroiled in legal battles since March. An appeals court cleared the way for the cuts in September, but they have been put on hold again due to a separate lawsuit. Overall, the Department of Education’s workforce has shrunk from 4,100 when President Donald Trump took office to about half that number now, as the president vows to phase out the agency.
The ministry has not said how many employees will return to work. Some who had been on administrative leave for months have since left.
The Office for Civil Rights had a backlog of about 20,000 discrimination cases when Trump took office in January. Since then, with a significantly reduced workforce, the backlog has grown to more than 25,000. AP reporting has shown use department data.
Trump officials have defended the firings even as complaints piled up, saying the office was not operating efficiently even with a full staff.
The Office for Civil Rights enforces many of the nation’s laws governing civil rights in education, including those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, sex, race, and religion. It investigates complaints from students across the country and has the power to cut funding to schools and colleges that break the law, although most cases are resolved in voluntary agreements.
Some former staffers have said there is no way the office can eliminate the current backlog of staff remaining after the layoffs. Families who have filed discrimination complaints against their schools say they have noticed the department’s staffing shortages, waiting months and hearing nothing.
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