The state announced a new Division on Civil Rights section but disclosed no budget, no start date and no additional staff.
The federal office that handled education discrimination complaints from New Jersey families has effectively stopped resolving cases. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced on July 23 that the state is building a replacement: an education and public accommodations enforcement section in schools and other public accommodations.
Federal enforcement reached its lowest point in at least 12 years
The breakdown did not happen overnight. The Office for Civil Rights has operated under staff reductions since March 2025, part of a broader Trump administration effort to reduce the federal workforce. The Government Accountability Office reported on January 29 that investigators collected paychecks without handling cases. The same report found that from March through September 2025, the office dismissed over 90 percent of complaints without review. The office also placed 247 staff members on administrative leave. It spent between $28.5 million and $38 million on paid leave while cases were dismissed without investigation. Families who filed complaints were left without answers for months.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a minority staff report April 28. The report found that the Office for Civil Rights reached 112 resolution agreements in 2025, down from 507 the year before and the fewest in at least 12 years. By the report's measure, the office reached zero resolution agreements involving sexual harassment, sexual violence, racial harassment or discriminatory discipline. Disability resolutions dropped 78.7 percent.
Black students face suspension at more than three times the rate of white students
The disparities the new section will confront are documented in a 2023 state Division on Civil Rights guidance document. Based on the most recently available data, Black students face suspension at 3.3 times the rate of white students in New Jersey. Black girls comprised 48.4 percent of female out-of-school suspensions in the 2017-2018 school year while representing 6.7 percent of female enrollment. The suspension rate for students with disabilities runs 1.7 times higher than for students without disabilities.
These disparities indicate the scope of the problem the new section will confront. The Division on Civil Rights did not release current complaint volume or prioritization plans with the announcement.
Davenport's announcement named three leaders but disclosed no budget, additional staff or start date. The Jersey Vindicator reported that curriculum disputes and Individualized Education Program (IEP) matters stay with the New Jersey Department of Education, not the new section. The outlet also reported that DCR has not announced when it will open for complaints or how it will share cases with the New Jersey Department of Education. The outlet also noted that lawyers will likely wrestle with overlapping claims when a single incident raises both civil rights and special education issues.
Separate bill would penalize "bias incidents"
In Trenton, the New Jersey School Boards Association has raised concerns about S3715, a bill introduced by Senator Joseph Vitale (D, 19th District) on March 2 and reported by the committee with amendments June 1. The organization told the NJ Senate Education Committee on June 1 that the bill would impose unfunded mandates on districts already struggling to hire mental health professionals.
The bill defines "bias incident" as conduct "motivated by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnicity." The legislation would require districts to notify the Department of Education of any bias incident within 72 hours, mandate weekly meetings with the district's mental health care professional for a minimum of nine months for students who engage in such conduct, and employ a school psychologist with expertise in student counseling. Students who refuse or are repeat offenders would be placed in an alternative education program. The Office of Legislative Services certified a fiscal note, but the bill has not reached the Senate floor.
AG Davenport, others, say state fills federal gap
Davenport cast the new section in her department as a replacement for Washington's vanished enforcement capacity. "As the Trump Administration continues to roll back landmark civil rights protections, students have paid the price for the federal government's irresponsible abdication of its duty. But every student in New Jersey deserves the chance to learn free from discrimination and harassment," she said.
Sundari Melville, director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, said the section will give DCR the tools to enforce civil rights. "At a time when federal protections are being eroded, our new Education and Public Accommodations Civil Rights Enforcement Section will equip DCR to safeguard the civil rights of New Jersey's students," she added.
Johnathan Smith, who leads the National Center for Youth Law, praised state-level action. "DCR's Education and Public Accommodations Enforcement Section is a prime example of what it looks like when states rise to the occasion to meet the needs of their students," he noted.
Deputy Director Michael Campion will lead the new section, with Assistant Deputy Directors Chiqueena Lee and Justin Hoffer. DCR is partnering with the National Center for Youth Law, a nonprofit that has challenged school discipline and special education compliance failures in multiple states. The alliance gives DCR access to litigation strategies the organization developed in states where it pushed districts to change suspension policies and meet individualized education plan requirements.
For now, Campion, Lee and Hoffer have titles but no budget, no start date and no caseload data. The partnership with the National Center for Youth Law gives DCR outside expertise, but parents who were left without answers by the federal office will now wait to see if the state can do what Washington stopped doing.
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Sources
• Jennifer Davenport, Attorney General, "Attorney General Davenport and Division on Civil Rights Announce New Section to Safeguard Civil Rights of Students" (July 23, 2026)
• Jersey Vindicator, "New Jersey creates new unit to investigate discrimination in schools" (July 23, 2026)
• New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, "Guidance on Discrimination in School Discipline" (2023)
• New Jersey School Boards Association, testimony on S3715 before the NJ Senate Education Committee (June 1, 2026)
• NJ Legislature, Bill No. S3715, "Establishes requirements for students engaging in certain bias-related conduct" (introduced March 2, 2026; reported from Senate Education with amendments June 1, 2026)
• U.S. Government Accountability Office, "Department of Education: Full Costs and Savings Estimate Needed for Reduction-in-Force and Restructuring of the Office for Civil Rights," GAO-26-108320 (January 29, 2026)
• U.S. Senate, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, "Justice Denied: How Trump's Office for Civil Rights Reached a 12-Year Low in Protecting Students from Discrimination" (April 28, 2026)