Civil Rights Enforcement in Education Moves From ED to the Justice Department

What changed on June 16 2026

The Department of Education and the Department of Justice signed an interagency agreement shifting how the government investigates education civil rights complaints, including Title IX sex discrimination cases and complaints based on race or disability (Inside Higher Ed ). The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) now refers complaints to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which evaluates, investigates, and proposes findings and resolutions back to OCR (K-12 Dive ).

The same announcement moved special education and rehabilitative services to the Department of Health and Human Services, part of four new interagency agreements the department signed that day, bringing its running total to 14 since the reorganization started (Department of Education ).

What this means if you need to file a complaint

You still file with OCR. Nothing changes about where you start the process.

OCR staff remain available to answer questions about the status of your complaint (K-12 Dive ). Once OCR opens your case, the Justice Department now handles evaluation and investigation, then sends proposed findings back for OCR to act on.

OCR keeps the final decision on your case, along with management of the office, mediation, policy development, and the Civil Rights Data Collection that tracks discrimination trends across schools (K-12 Dive ). What changes is who does the investigating in the middle of that process.

A backlog already in place

OCR received more than 23,000 complaints in fiscal year 2025, while resolution agreements dropped to a 12-year low that same year (K-12 Dive ). The department says pairing OCR with DOJ's investigative capacity speeds up resolutions. Critics question whether an agency built around litigation handles the volume of a complaint-based system that historically worked outside the courtroom.

Title IX complaints make up a large share of that caseload, covering sex discrimination and sexual harassment at federally funded schools and colleges. Disability discrimination complaints under Section 504 also route through this same intake process, even though special education program oversight itself moved to HHS the same day. The two moves are separate: HHS runs special education grants and compliance, while DOJ investigates discrimination complaints of any kind that reach OCR.

Four regional equity assistance centers, which train school staff and give technical help on desegregation and equal access, also moved into the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division as part of the same round of agreements. If your school or district has worked with one of these centers before, expect the same services to run through DOJ contacts going forward rather than ED staff.

Concerns raised

The National Center for Youth Law says DOJ is not structured for high-volume, complaint-based enforcement the way OCR is. Education attorney Nancy Potter points out that DOJ's core function is litigation, while OCR built its reputation on resolving cases without a lawsuit.

Civil rights groups, including the National Women's Law Center, warn the shift risks weakening protections for students over time (Inside Higher Ed ). The department maintains the change will not affect students or families reporting discrimination.

Sources

• Inside Higher Ed
• K-12 Dive, what it means for schools
• K-12 Dive, transfer details
• Department of Education press release