Two developments at the Department of Education have combined to raise alarms about enforcement of campus civil‑rights protections and the agency’s political conduct. A push by some states to create backup enforcement mechanisms follows reports that the department is reducing its civil‑rights staff — a move that lawmakers and advocates say could leave students with fewer federal avenues for complaints. Separately, a federal judge ruled that automated, partisan out‑of‑office messages distributed from Education Department employee accounts violated First Amendment protections and ordered the agency to remove the language. Judge Christopher Cooper said rank‑and‑file civil servants cannot be used as unwilling mouthpieces for partisan messaging. The twin developments underscore governance risks at the agency: fewer investigators to enforce civil‑rights law and a court rebuke over political messaging could accelerate state efforts to fill enforcement gaps and worsen uncertainty for campuses seeking federal guidance.