For parents of children with disabilities, advocating for their child’s education needs can be a difficult, time-consuming, and costly task.
Recent changes at the U.S. Department of Education are expected to make this process even harder, according to advocates for children with disabilities.
When parents believe their child is not receiving the appropriate services or accommodations for their disability, they can seek help from their school district. They can file complaints with the state, claiming their child’s rights have been violated, or even pursue legal action in state or federal courts.
These legal processes often involve multiple hearings with officers who may not be experts in disability law. Legal fees can add up to tens of thousands of dollars for a single case. Many legal aid organizations and advocacy groups offer free assistance, but they are often overwhelmed with demand.
For families who cannot afford a lawyer, filing a complaint with the Education Department has been a long-standing option. The process begins with filling out an online form through the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which documents the alleged discrimination. From there, the agency is expected to investigate the complaint, interviewing school district employees and reviewing district policies for possible violations.
“It’s known and has the weight of the federal government behind it,” said Dan Stewart, managing attorney for education and employment at the National Disability Rights Network. “The process, the complaint portal, and the processing manual are all public, and it typically does not require lawyers.”
However, advocates say this option is increasingly difficult to access.
During the administration of President Donald Trump, the Education Department’s staff was cut by nearly half, including staff in the Office for Civil Rights, which handles discrimination complaints against children with disabilities. The department was directed to focus on antisemitism cases. As a result, over 20,000 pending cases — many involving children with disabilities, historically the office’s largest caseload — were left inactive for weeks after Trump took office. Though a freeze on case processing was lifted earlier this month, advocates are concerned whether the department can keep up with the backlog given the smaller staff.
“The reduction in force is essentially an elimination of the Office for Civil Rights’ investigatory power,” Stewart said. “I don’t see how OCR can manage the backlog or handle incoming complaints.”
A federal lawsuit filed last Friday challenges the layoffs at the Office for Civil Rights, claiming the cuts severely impaired the office’s ability to process and investigate complaints.
While the OCR process was not perfect, cutting investigative staff will only make it harder for families seeking help for their children, said Nikki Carter, an advocate for children with disabilities and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“It makes them feel hopeless and helpless,” Carter said. “By reducing the number of employees to handle cases and placing restrictions on certain cases, it only intensifies the frustration.”
Education Department officials insist that the staff reductions will not affect civil rights investigations and that the layoffs were part of “strategic decisions.”
For many families, even if they can afford the high costs of legal fees, there are few attorneys with the expertise to handle disability discrimination cases. Programs offering free legal representation often have limited resources.
If the backlog of cases at the federal Office for Civil Rights grows, families may lose confidence in how quickly their complaints will be addressed, Stewart said. This may lead them to seek help from state agencies.
However, state and local agencies often lack the resources and understanding needed to handle education-related disability complaints, as these cases typically went to the U.S. Department of Education.
“They may not have the infrastructure or knowledge to deal with the increasing number of cases,” Stewart said.
In a separate federal lawsuit filed Thursday, Democratic attorneys general argued that the staff cuts at the Education Department might encourage school districts to ignore discrimination or harassment complaints.
“Students with ongoing complaints are unlikely to see any meaningful resolution, as cases remain backlogged due to a shortage of staff,” the lawsuit stated. “Students facing discrimination, sexual harassment, or sexual assault will lose a critical avenue to report their cases.”
