OCR Dismisses Hundreds of Cases as a Result of New Policy (April 23, 2018)

The US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has begun to dismiss hundreds of civil rights complaints in accordance with a new procedure that allows investigators to disregard cases which are either part of serial filings or which they deem burdensome to OCR.
The new procedure is supposed to mitigate the burden on OCR that occurs when advocates flood the office with thousands of complaints for similar violations, which the office asserts hinders its ability to investigate other cases. However, there are many who see this as proof of a more “hands-off” approach to investigating civil rights claims and enforcing civil rights laws, which could result in discriminatory behavior being allowed in public schools and institutions across the country.
A new policy provision allows the OCR to dismiss cases that reflect “a pattern of complaints previously filed with OCR by an individual or a group against multiple recipients,” or complaints “filed for the first time against multiple recipients that” place “an unreasonable burden on OCR’s resources.” The new provision has already resulted in the dismissal of more than 500 disability rights complaints.