WHATSUPWEDNESDAY - The Politico article, `Education Department Dismisses Thousands of Civil Rights Complaints at an "Unheard Of" Pace,` documents the Trump administration`s systematic dismantling of civil rights protections, with complaint dismissals at an unprecedented rate that threatens federal enforcement in schools nationwide.
Link: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/08/education-departments-civil-rights-com

📍 The Numbers: Between March 11 and June 27, 2025, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) dismissed 3,424 complaints out of 4,833 received—a dismissal rate of roughly 71%. Only 309 cases were opened for investigation. By contrast, during the final three months of the Biden administration, OCR dismissed 2,527 cases while securing 449 resolution agreements and 146 successful mediations.
📍 Structural Decimation: The mass dismissals followed severe staffing cuts that eliminated seven of OCR`s 12 regional offices (Boston, Dallas, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Philadelphia). A federal judge later ordered workers reinstated, ruling the cuts left OCR able to handle only "a small fraction" of complaints.
📍 Policy Shift: Under Education Secretary Linda McMahon, OCR has redirected its focus to:
➡️ Combating campus antisemitism
➡️ Ending protections for transgender student athletes
➡️ Eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs
➡️ Narrowing definitions of discrimination to exclude gender identity and
➡️ LGBTQ+ issues
📍 Expert Concerns: A former OCR official with 20 years of experience called the dismissal rate "unheard of," suggesting that the agency is abandoning proper procedures and dismissing cases it doesn`t want to investigate. Catherine Lhamon, who led OCR under Obama and Biden, characterized the data as showing a "shocking diminution of work output."

The Bottom Line: This represents a deliberate dismantling of civil rights protections that leaves students vulnerable to discrimination without federal recourse. The Trump administration is systematically abandoning its legal obligation to protect students, prioritizing a narrow ideological agenda over the safety and rights of children.

Join me at the 2025 Neurodiversity Resource Fair!

I`ll be on hand to answer your IEP and 504 questions throughout the event. This is an excellent chance for parents, educators, and professionals who support neurodivergent children to discover local resources, collect valuable tools, and connect with our community.

When: Saturday, June 21st, 10:00am – 2:00pm
Where: Accelerated Schools – 2160 S. Cook St., Denver, CO

Special Offer: The first 30 people to sign up for a 30-minute free consultation will receive a unique sensory kit!

Come with your questions and leave with practical support, new connections, and valuable resources.

FEATUREFRIDAY - Kids 1st Advocacy is celebrating a significant victory following a unanimous Supreme Court decision that makes it easier for students with disabilities to pursue civil rights claims against school districts.

👉 The Ruling: On June 12, 2025, the Supreme Court decided 9-0 in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools that disability discrimination claims in educational settings should follow the same legal standards used in other areas of disability law. The Court ruled that students and families no longer need to prove school officials acted in "bad faith" or with "gross misjudgment" - a particularly difficult standard that some federal appeals courts had required for decades.

👉 Legal Impact: The Court emphasized that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) explicitly states it should not limit rights available under other federal disability laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. By requiring a higher burden of proof for educational cases, lower courts had effectively made it harder for students with disabilities to enforce their civil rights compared to disability discrimination in other contexts.

👉 New Standards Going Forward: Under the Court`s guidance, families seeking court orders to stop discriminatory practices (injunctive relief) won`t need to prove intentional discrimination. However, those seeking monetary compensation will typically need to demonstrate "deliberate indifference" - showing the school district ignored a strong likelihood their actions would violate federal disability rights.

This decision removes a significant barrier that had made it uniquely challenging for students with disabilities to pursue civil rights protections in educational settings.

#Bigwin #VICTORY #Kids1stAdvocacy #EndDiscrimination #WinforDisabilityRights

TEACHMETUESDAY: School`s out for the summer, and while our kiddos are relishing in a much-deserved break, what is happening to the knowledge they worked so hard to learn during the school year? Meet Summer Slide.

Summer Slide Defined: Summer slide (also called summer learning loss) is the decline in academic skills and knowledge that occurs when students are out of school during extended breaks, particularly summer vacation. Neurotypical students typically lose 1-3 months of learning during these periods without structured educational activities, while neurodiverse students can lose double that amount.

The Core Issue: While the summer slide affects all students, students with disabilities experience more severe regression due to their reliance on structured supports, less consolidated skills, executive functioning challenges, slower learning rates, and the severity of their disabilities.

School Responsibility: Preventing the summer slide shouldn`t fall solely on parents. School districts can utilize outside community programs, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs` Summer Brain Gain, to provide crucial support through structured, engaging programming that maintains academic and social skills.

ESY Legal Requirements: Extended School Year services must be individualized based on each student`s specific IEP goals and regression patterns - not generic "one-size-fits-all" programming. IEP teams must determine ESY needs on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as the rate of regression, recovery time, and vulnerable emerging skills.

Outside Program Funding: Districts are required to fund appropriate outside ESY services when their own programming doesn`t meet a student`s individualized needs. If an outside program better addresses specific IEP goals and prevents regression, the district must provide that placement under IDEA`s requirement for Free Appropriate Public Education.

Bottom Line: Summer Slide is a systemic issue that requires systemic solutions - from community programming for all students to truly individualized ESY services for students with disabilities. Districts are responsible for funding the services that actually meet each child`s needs.

🎉 We’re just around the corner from the 2025 Neurodiversity Resource Fair and I’m thrilled to announce that Kids 1st Advocacy is a proud sponsor of this FREE event hosted by Guiding Bright Minds.

🧠 Whether you’re a parent, educator, or professional supporting neurodivergent kids, this is a fantastic opportunity to connect with local resources, gather helpful tools, and build community.

📅 Saturday, June 21st
🕙 10:00am – 2:00pm
📍 Accelerated Schools – 2160 S. Cook St.

✅ Scan the QR code in the image to learn more
Hope to see you this weekend!

WHATSUPWEDNESDAY - A federal court in Massachusetts delivered a decisive ruling on May 22, 2025, temporarily blocking President Trump`s efforts to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued a preliminary injunction in New York v. McMahon, halting the administration`s dismantling of the agency while litigation proceeds.

➡️ Legal Foundation and Court Reasoning -
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun determined that dismantling federal departments requires Congressional authorization, which the Executive Branch lacks. The controversy began when Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced plans in March to reduce the agency`s workforce by approximately half, describing it as an initial step toward abolishing the department entirely. Trump subsequently issued executive orders on March 20 and March 21, 2025, directing the complete elimination of the agency and transferring special education responsibilities elsewhere.
While the Trump administration claimed these actions were designed to enhance "efficiency" and "accountability," Judge Joun found otherwise. The court concluded that "the record abundantly reveals that [the administration`s] true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department" without proper legislative approval. The judge emphasized that "a department without enough employees to perform statutorily mandated functions is not a department at all," refusing to "cover its eyes while the Department`s employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the Department becomes a shell of itself."

➡️ Prohibited Actions -
The injunction blocks the planned workforce reduction, Trump`s closure directive, and special education transfers. The court mandated that all terminated federal employees be reinstated and that normal departmental operations resume.

➡️ Service Disruptions -
Mass layoffs had eliminated all attorneys handling K-12 grants and special education funding, dismantled civil rights enforcement, and disrupted Federal Student Aid programs serving 12.9 million students across 6,100 institutions. See the complaint for further details.