In March 2025, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Youth Law and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates filed suit on behalf of the students and parents in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March. The lawsuit asked for a permanent reversal of the department’s cuts to its Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Subsequently, on May 5, 2025 the groups filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against OCR over its reduced enforcement capacity, asking that it be temporarily restored while the lawsuit is pending. The motion cites the U.S. Department of Education’s (USDE) decision to cut OCR by half and says the agency has “functionally ended the processing of scores of complaints.” Plaintiffs are asking the courts to block current USDE civil rights investigation and enforcement policies that they say are allowing racial harassment, restraint and seclusion of students with disabilities, and other kinds of harassment and discrimination to go unchecked.

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