{"id":217892,"date":"2025-11-18T17:32:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T22:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&p=217892"},"modified":"2025-11-18T17:32:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T22:32:40","slug":"aclu-comment-on-department-of-educations-dismantling-of-core-civil-rights-and-education-offices","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-comment-on-department-of-educations-dismantling-of-core-civil-rights-and-education-offices","title":{"rendered":"ACLU Comment on Department of Education\u2019s Dismantling of Core Civil Rights and Education Offices"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-217892","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"","date_and_time":"2025-11-18 17:32:36","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced <\/a>that it will transfer critical work to other federal agencies \u2014 an unprecedented move that undermines the department\u2019s core mission and threatens students\u2019 civil rights. This action represents a deliberate attempt to dismantle the agency from within, despite the fact that only Congress has authority over the department.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe Trump administration claims core education programs can be carried out elsewhere, yet it has offered no explanation for how agencies like Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, or State will uphold the education access requirements Congress explicitly entrusted to the Department of Education,\u201d said ReNika Moore, director, ACLU Racial Justice Program. <\/b>\u201cFederal law requires these programs to remain within the Department of Education, and transferring them through interagency agreements violates that mandate.\u201d\r\n\r\nThese offices, staffed by career professionals with deep knowledge of how to best serve students and educators, are responsible for administering K-12 and higher education programs, supporting Native students, and safeguarding the rights of students with disabilities. \r\n\r\nAlthough the plan calls for Labor to administer K-12 programs that are \u201cbetter aligned with workforce and college programs,\u201d it is silent concerning the continued administration of congressionally mandated funding programs for school districts to develop high quality curriculum, provide accommodations and services for children with disabilities, help children meet state academic content and performance standards, provide before- and after-school programs, reduce class sizes, improve graduation rates, expand the availability of pre-schools, provide mental health supports, implement language instruction to assist English learners, and provide education to migratory students. \r\n\r\nThe removal of these critical offices from the department guts the structure Congress established in 1979 to guarantee that students, regardless of race, national origin, sex, or disability, receive fair and equitable opportunities to learn.\r\n\r\n\u201cSecretary McMahon is violating laws that only Congress can change. By transferring these offices across agencies that lack the expertise to lead education policy, the administration is breaking the law, eliminating academic supports to close education achievement gaps, deliberately weakening civil rights oversight, and putting millions of students at risk,\u201d said Kimberly Conway, ACLU senior policy counsel and former attorney advisor with Department of Education\u2019s Office for Civil Rights<\/b>. \u201cCongress must immediately intervene to halt this unlawful restructuring, safeguard the integrity of the department\u2019s civil rights and education offices, and demand that the department comply with the law and keep its central role in ensuring equal educational opportunity for every student."}}],"drupal_node_id":"","email":"media@aclu.org","phone":"(212) 549-2666","address":{"address_1":"125 Broad Street","address_2":"18th Floor","city":"New York","state":"NY","zip_code":10004,"country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","issues":[46328,46669,46409,46673,46407],"press_releases_related_to_cases":"","spokesperson":[26678,200829],"related_affiliates":"","related_content_documents":"","related_content_publications":""},"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ACLU Comment on Department of Education\u2019s Dismantling of Core Civil Rights and Education Offices | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-comment-on-department-of-educations-dismantling-of-core-civil-rights-and-education-offices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-comment-on-department-of-educations-dismantling-of-core-civil-rights-and-education-offices\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-comment-on-department-of-educations-dismantling-of-core-civil-rights-and-education-offices\",\"name\":\"ACLU Comment on Department of Education\u2019s Dismantling of Core Civil Rights and Education Offices | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-18T22:32:40+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/aclu-comment-on-department-of-educations-dismantling-of-core-civil-rights-and-education-offices\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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