The 74

After a campus police officer grabbed student Ja’Liyah Celestine by the hair and kneed her in the face, she filed a federal civil rights complaint that alleged persistent racial discrimination against Black teens at her Texas high school. But the complaint, brought by the 18-year-old in late October with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, may never get investigated. That’s because it’s one of thousands of federal civil rights complaints and investigations against school districts nationally — particularly those alleging sexual misconduct or racism — that advocates say have been left to languish by the Trump administration with little hope for resolution. As the president and Secretary Linda McMahon seek to dismantle the Education Department — with its civil rights office among the hardest hit by layoffs — attorneys say students like Celestine have lost one of their few avenues for relief. 

(NOTE: COPAA’s recent lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education is referenced in this article.)