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For nearly a decade, Shaheena Simons led the division that fought for students鈥� civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Her tenure encompassed President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term, a time when staff still addressed the 鈥渇ull range of complaints鈥�  鈥� from racial and gender discrimination to schools denying services to students with disabilities.

But to Simons, the Justice Department鈥檚 recent dismissal of a 鈥� at a time when continues 鈥� is a sign that the current administration has turned its back on students who don鈥檛 receive an equal education. It鈥檚 why she left the Educational Opportunities Section at the DOJ after 14 years  in April. 

鈥淭he administration has been very clear that resources are going to be allocated to certain identified priorities,鈥� she said 鈥� primarily keeping trans students out of women鈥檚 sports and punishing universities it accuses of tolerating anti-semitism. But that agenda, she said, 鈥渋s leaving a lot of parents and kids with nowhere to turn.鈥� 

Now she aims to be part of a solution. She鈥檚 lending her expertise to a new initiative intended to give families another way to resolve their concerns 鈥� the . 

The National Center for Youth Law, a 50-year-old nonprofit, will launch the project on Friday to help families with complaints that the DOJ or the Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department either won鈥檛 acknowledge or no longer has the capacity to investigate. Simons will co-chair the fund鈥檚 advisory council.

Announced in advance of Saturday鈥檚 71st anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision ending segregation, the effort will include a fellowship program for former OCR attorneys who lost their positions when the Trump administration gutted the agency and closed seven regional offices in March. The goal is to capitalize on the 鈥渂rain drain鈥� caused by the elimination of nearly 250 OCR staffers and connect families with pro bono attorneys who can conduct investigations and bring lawsuits to resolve their concerns.

鈥淚 have zero confidence in [the department鈥檚] ability to administer the system effectively,鈥� said Johnathan Smith, chief of staff and general counsel at the center. 鈥淚 think most parents who are looking at what’s happening probably would reach the same conclusion.鈥� 

As it shifts attention away from discrimination against LGBTQ students and racial minorities, OCR has left thousands of complaints untouched and dismissed many others. Trump鈥檚 2026 calls for an additional 35% cut to the office as the administration pushes to eliminate the department.

The center, along with parents and special education advocates, over the firings, and asked the District of Columbia federal court to . A hearing is set for May 20. 

Andy Artz was a supervising attorney in OCR鈥檚 New York City office until March 11, when the department placed him and hundreds of other department staffers on leave and locked them out of their computer systems. He was in the middle of helping a student who had been denied access to a senior trip because of multiple disabilities and close to reaching a resolution for a victim of sexual assault by a classmate. 

鈥淚 found the work really meaningful,鈥� said Artz, who hopes to work with the fund. 鈥淥CR was able to do a great job helping school districts and universities understand their obligations.鈥�

To the new administration, however, OCR perpetuated discrimination by focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion and harmed women by extending Title IX protections to transgender students.

鈥淟et me be clear: it is a new day in America,鈥� Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said when the department announced into a gender-neutral bathroom in Denver schools. 鈥淯nder President Trump, OCR will not tolerate discrimination of any kind.鈥�

Even if the court blocks the job cuts, it鈥檚 unclear whether attorneys would be allowed to return to cases that don鈥檛 align with the administration鈥檚 priorities. Smith still sees a need for the new project.

His team will work with local NAACP chapters, bar associations and other community organizations to get the word out about the OCR alternative, Smith said.

In addition to seeking attorneys who will represent students pro bono, the fund hopes to attract some of the talent forced to leave the federal government by offering four- to six-month fellowships. Attorneys will receive a $12,500 stipend and non-attorneys will receive $9,000. Depending on funding, Smith expects up to 10 fellows in the first round.聽

鈥楾op-performing personnel鈥�

When Trump was inaugurated, OCR had over 12,000 open cases, . But the database hasn鈥檛 been updated since before the new administration took over. According to Julie Hartman, a department spokeswoman, OCR continues to 鈥渆valuate all legitimate complaints鈥� and has initiated over 200 disability-related investigations and dozens related to Title IX and anti-discrimination laws. 

鈥淥CR鈥檚 staff is composed of top-performing personnel with years of experience enforcing federal civil rights laws who work vigorously to protect all Americans鈥� civil rights,鈥� she said. 

She declined to comment on the fund specifically, but said the department 鈥渨elcomes support from 鈥� and has often worked with 鈥� outside groups who want to advocate for students and families and help those who believe that their civil rights have been violated.鈥�

Factoring in staff reductions and those who left voluntarily, Artz estimates that only about a third of OCR鈥檚 staff remains out of the over 560 attorneys, supervisors and other employees who worked there last fall.

As a former deputy assistant attorney general during the Obama administration, Smith doesn鈥檛 solely blame Trump for OCR being 鈥渢erribly backlogged.鈥� 

鈥淚t was a system that often was a black hole for families,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat does it mean to have an Office for Civil Rights that’s actually responsive to families and to young people?鈥�

For Callie Oettinger, a Fairfax County, Virginia, parent and special education advocate, getting OCR to act has yielded mixed results. She has seen complaints linger for years as well as recent steps by the new administration to act on disability cases. 

OCR still hasn鈥檛 completed a probe into her 2019 complaint that the Fairfax district denied transportation to students with disabilities who needed extra time to complete the PSAT. At the same time, she鈥檚 noticed an uptick in OCR investigations on more recent issues. Since early April, officials have responded to two complaints she鈥檚 involved in, one filed in December and another in March.

鈥淚t’s not clear why they’re starting where they鈥檙e starting,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hings are definitely moving forward, but they’re not doing themselves a favor by keeping their website so outdated.鈥� 

Others are looking elsewhere for relief. 

In Delaware鈥檚 Cape Henlopen School District, Louise Michaud Ngido, an English language teacher, said she鈥檚 heard nothing about that schools have failed to provide English learners with adequate support. Students new to the country, she said, don鈥檛 receive specific English development classes and staff members don鈥檛 provide translation services or interpreters for parents. The district denied any discrimination.

Under Cardona, OCR opened an investigation last October, but Ngido has heard nothing since. She said she hopes Delaware will be 鈥渕ore proactive鈥� and investigate complaints that OCR won鈥檛.

Department of Justice priorities

At least to eliminate the education department would shift OCR鈥檚 workload to the DOJ. But the education staff there has always been a fraction of the size of OCR鈥檚. Simon鈥檚 former office once had 40 attorneys. Now, she said, it has six. 

The agency鈥檚 priorities have also changed. 

In with the Epoch Times, a conservative media outlet, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said her agenda includes doing 鈥渟ome law enforcement鈥� against hospitals conducting gender-affirming surgeries, elevating parental rights and dismissing school district consent decrees over desegregation. 

The DOJ said in a that it ended its 鈥減robing federal oversight鈥� of integration efforts in Louisiana鈥檚 Plaquemines Parish schools because the district was spending 鈥減recious local resources鈥� to meet past administration鈥檚 demands for data on issues such as hiring and discipline. 

In the interview, Dhillon said the department wants to 鈥渓et people off the hook鈥� if they corrected past discrimination. Consent decrees, in which a district pays a court-appointed monitor for ongoing oversight, are 鈥渁 powerful tool鈥� and appropriate when there鈥檚 been severe corruption or racism, she said. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 not appropriate is to maintain these rent-seeking financial arrangements 鈥�  beyond their normal life cycle.鈥�

But Simons, the former DOJ section chief, said Black students are still disciplined at higher rates than their white peers and are more likely to attend 鈥渃rumbling鈥� schools. that racial and socioeconomic isolation has steadily increased since the 1980s.

鈥淪egregation persists; inequality persists,鈥� she said. 

Working with universities to collect and preserve existing data is another one of the fund鈥檚 goals. The administration, Smith said, might point to a declining number of OCR complaints as evidence of fewer problems in schools, when, in fact, it鈥檚 a byproduct of fewer investigations. 

鈥淲e want to be able to counter that narrative by showing that just because people aren’t going to OCR doesn’t mean that there aren鈥檛 real concerns and real issues of discrimination in our schools,鈥� he said. 

鈥楾he aid of legal counsel鈥�

Jackie Wernz, a civil rights attorney and consultant who worked at the department during the Obama and first Trump administrations, said it鈥檚 important for nonprofits like the center to 鈥渟tep up,鈥� but cautioned that outside efforts have limitations.

鈥淲ithout a robust federal civil rights arm, civil rights in this country are not going to be enforced,鈥� she said. 

States don鈥檛 have the same expertise and resources, she said, and it鈥檚 unclear who would enforce any changes.

But Smith countered that the bulk of what OCR investigators do is negotiate solutions between families and district staff. 

鈥淗aving parents and children do that with the aid of legal counsel,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ill yield far better results and outcomes than if they try to navigate those systems on their own.鈥�

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