Families of students with disabilities rely on federal civil rights protections—enforced by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR)—when serious issues arise at school, such as the use of restraint or seclusion, denial of services in an Individualized Education Program (IEP), or exclusion from the classroom. These are not requests for special treatment; they are rights guaranteed under laws like Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Disabled students account for the largest share of OCR complaints, and in 2025, OCR reached nearly 79% fewer resolution agreements on their behalf. The current administration attempted to lay off nearly half of OCR’s workforce and sidelined civil rights investigators for months. Confronted with nearly 12,000 pending cases, OCR secured relief through resolution agreements in just 1% of them. At the same time, roughly 90% of new discrimination complaints, including disability complaints, were dismissed without review. Regardless of shifting priorities, the legal obligations to protect students with disabilities remain unchanged.
We urge Congress to hold education leadership accountable for failing to uphold congressionally-mandated disability and civil rights laws for disabled students, and to block and reverse any effort to transfer funding and responsibilities out of the Department of Education, including those administered by OSERS and OCR. The time to act is now: strengthen civil rights protections, invest in enforcement, and make sure every student’s educational rights are upheld in practice—not just promised on paper. &nbsp;

Protect Disabled Students: Call on Congress to Restore Office for Civil Rights 

Students with disabilities rely on federal civil rights protections—enforced by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR)—to address serious issues at school, including restraint or seclusion, denial of IEP services, and exclusion from the classroom. These are not special requests—they are rights guaranteed under Section 504 and the ADA.

Yet enforcement has declined sharply. Disabled students file the largest share of OCR complaints, but in 2025, resolution agreements dropped by nearly 79%. At the same time, about 90% of complaints were dismissed without review, and only a small fraction of cases resulted in relief, leaving thousands of cases backlogged and families without meaningful recourse.
OCR has long served as a critical safeguard when local systems fail. Weakening enforcement shifts the burden onto families and risks unequal access to education.

Please hold education leadership accountable for failing to uphold congressionally-mandated disability and civil rights laws for disabled students, and to block and reverse any effort to transfer funding and responsibilities out of the Department of Education, including those administered by OSERS and OCR. Congress must act now to uphold civil rights protections, strengthen enforcement, and ensure every student’s educational rights are consistently honored in practice.