Department of Education

As the Trump administration dismantles the Education Department, the agency is pulling back on its role policing discrimination in America’s schools. In its place, some are pushing states to step up. In Pennsylvania and elsewhere, Democrats are proposing new state agencies to investigate schools and uphold students’ civil rights. More immediately, some are also urging existing state offices to step in when students face discrimination based on race, disability or sex at school. Pushing the work to states could create a patchwork of systems with uneven protections. But proponents say it offers a backstop for families with nowhere else to turn.