Washington– Before President Donald Trump’s administration began to dismantle Education managementThe agency acted as a strong enforcer in cases of sexual violence in schools and universities. This has increased the government’s hand against schools that have mishandled sexual assault complaints involving students.
This business is fading fast.
Section Office for Civil Rights Trump was gutted Mass layoffs Last year, half the number of attorneys left to investigate complaints of discrimination based on race, gender or disability in schools. Those who remain face a backlog of more than 25,000 cases.
Investigations have dwindled. Before the layoffs last March, the office opened dozens of sexual violence investigations a year. Since then, fewer than 10 centers have opened nationwide, according to internal data obtained by The Associated Press.
However, the Republican Trump administration has redoubled its efforts on sex discrimination cases of a different kind. Trump officials have used Title IX, the 1972 gender equality law, against schools that provide accommodations to them Transgender students and athletes. The Office for Civil Rights has opened nearly 50 such investigations since Trump took office a year ago.
Even before the layoffs, critics said the office was understaffed and moving too slowly. Now, many companies handling Title IX cases have stopped filing complaints, calling it a dead end.
“It’s like you’re standing up against a void,” said Katie McKay, an attorney at a New York firm that represents victims.
“It seems like a big question mark right now,” she said. “How are we supposed to hold the school accountable after it messed up?”
An Education Department spokesperson said the office is working to resolve its backlog, and blamed President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration for abandoning the backlog and rewriting Title IX rules to protect LGBTQ+ students. Trump officials rolled back those rules.
“The Trump administration has restored common-sense safeguards against sexual violence by reinstating sex segregation in intimate facilities,” White House spokeswoman Julie Hartman said. “OCR is and will continue to protect the dignity and safety of our nation’s students.”
The layoffs have slowed work at the Office for Civil Rights across the board, but have had a significant impact on cases Sexual violence. Students who are abused by their schools — including both victims and accused students — have few other places to seek justice.
Many now have two choices: file a lawsuit or walk away.
One woman said she was losing hope in her complaint in 2024. She alleged that her graduate school failed to follow its own policies when it suspended but did not expel another student who the school found had sexually assaulted her. No one has contacted her about the complaint since 2024.
The woman recently filed a lawsuit against her school as a last resort. She said it seemed like a mismatch between David and Goliath.
“They have all the power, because there is no big organization holding them accountable,” the woman said. “It’s just me, this is the only person who filed this simple lawsuit.” The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they give permission to do so.
The Office for Civil Rights is supposed to provide a free alternative to litigation. Anyone can file a complaint, which could lead to an investigation and sanctions for schools that violate federal law.
In 2024, the authority received more than 1,000 complaints related to sexual violence or harassment, according to an annual report.
It’s unclear how many complaints have been filed recently. The Trump administration did not announce new numbers. In conversations with the AP, some employees said cases are piling up so quickly that they cannot track the number of cases involving sexual violence.
In December, the department acknowledged the civil rights backlog and announced that dozens of workers would be downsized I was sent back to the office Amid a legal challenge to dismiss them from work. The return of the workers offers some hope for those with pending civil rights complaints. Ministry officials pledged to continue pressing for layoffs.
Before Trump was elected to a second term, the office had more than 300 pending sexual assault investigations, according to a public database. Most of these cases are believed to remain dormant, with investigators prioritizing easier complaints, according to employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.
Details of past cases underscore the urgency of the work.
In 2024, the office took action against a Pennsylvania school system after a girl with a disability told staff that she had been sexually harassed by a bus driver. It was returned to the driver’s bus later that afternoon, as well as the next two days. The district was required to appoint a Title IX coordinator for its schools, review past complaints and consider redress for the girl’s family.
That year, the office called for changes at a Montana school where a boy was pinned down by other students and assaulted after wrestling practice. The students were suspended for three days after school officials treated the matter as a case of hazing rather than a sexual assault.
In another case, the office sided with a University of Notre Dame student who was expelled over allegations of sexual misconduct. The student said the college never told him what he was accused of and refused to interview the witnesses he provided.
Cases that come to the attention of the Federal Office are dealt with in accordance with… Federal rules They were created during Trump’s first term. These rules are designed to strengthen the rights of students accused of sexual misconduct.
Lawyers who work with accused students see little improvement.
Justin Dillon, a lawyer in Washington, said some of his recent complaints have been opened for investigation. He tells clients not to hold their breath. Even before layoffs, the issues could continue for years, he said.
Others gave up the office years ago. National law firm LLF said it stopped filing complaints in 2021 in favor of suing schools directly. Lawyers at the company said the office had become unable to provide results in a timely manner, which was exacerbated by layoffs.
Complaints can be resolved in several ways. They can be fired if they do not pass legal muster. Many go to mediation, similar to settlement. Some end in voluntary agreements from schools, with plans to correct past mistakes and prevent future ones.
In 2024, under Biden, the office obtained 23 voluntary agreements from schools and colleges in cases involving sexual violence, according to a public database. In 2018, during Trump’s first term, there were 58. Since Trump took office again last year, there have been none.
The dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights comes as a blow to Laura Dunn, the civil rights lawyer who was influential in persuading President Barack Obama’s Democratic administration to make sexual assault on college campuses a priority. As the issue gained public attention, the office began receiving hundreds of complaints annually.
“All the progress survivors have made by sharing their story is being lost,” said Dunn, now a Democratic congressional candidate in New York. “We are effectively losing the progress that civil rights has made in the United States, which is setting us back more than 50 years.”
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