On June 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs in Victim Rights Law Center, et al. v. United States Department of Education, ordering that the Executive Branch Defendants cannot carry out the reduction-in-force (“RIF”) announced in March 2025 for employees of the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) and must return to duty all employees who were set to be terminated, with the goal of restoring the OCR to its previous state so it can carry out its statutory duties. OCR must continue investigating all complaints alleging violation of federal civil rights laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The court explained that it is “abundantly clear that because of the RIF, OCR will likely be unable to resolve student discrimination complaints in a timely and meaningful fashion, absent an injunction.” The court noted that the plaintiff students “have already seen their investigations stall; they no longer have access to OCR’s support through investigations, enforcement actions, technical assistance and free mediation options,” and because of this, their “access to education has been significantly impeded.”

This case is related to New York v. McMahon, which was brought by several states, school districts, and educational organizations, for which the same court granted a preliminary injunction on May 22, 2025. The US Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a “stay” pending their appeal to the First Circuit.