Report: Civil Rights office retreats from sexual harassment complaints

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights didn’t resolve any K-12 sexual harassment or assault complaints last year, according to an analysis by industry website K-12 Dive. That “coincides with a broader slowdown,” K-12 notes, adding that the office entered resolution agreements in just 177 cases, the lowest since 2017 and down 66% from 2024. The report notes the rollback comes amid executive orders banning transgender athletes from competition and a rollback in DEI initiatives in federally funded programs, calling the lack of enforcement for Title IX agreements “to protect women and girls from sexual harassment and assault is a departure from the norm practiced by both Republican and Democratic administrations.” The Education Department defended its actions.