Earlier this spring, the U.S. Department of Education closed its regional Office for Civil Rights in Chicago. It investigated potential civil rights violations in schools across Illinois, as well other states in the Midwest.
Nina Monfredo is an attorney with the National Center for Youth Law. She’s developed civil rights complaints against Illinois schools. Her organization filed a suit challenging the closure of the offices and cutting of staff.
Monfredo says the office’s goal is to resolve 80 percent of cases within 180 days -- and this won’t help.
“There needs to be more resources and more investigators, so that caseloads are such that the investigators can meet that standard," she said. "They were struggling to meet it before, and now, with their staff numbers totally decimated, it is going to be basically impossible.”
There are 330 active investigations in Illinois ranging from disability cases to racial discrimination, as well as Title IX issues. Of those cases, 320 are running beyond that 180-day goal.
Some investigations take years. The federal website documenting cases shows active investigations going back as far as 2016.
Right now, the Education Department says only disability cases are proceeding.
Monfredo says, in those cases, a quick resolution is particularly crucial.
"They are out of school because of that discrimination," she said. "So, without OCR to come in and remedy that, some of those students are missing out on their education altogether."
Monfredo says the Office for Civil Rights can be a last line of defense for families who have tried to resolve their case at the local and state level first.
The Department of Education's website related to open investigations hasn’t been updated since President Trump took office in January, so it’s unclear if any complaints have been filed since.
