A Government Accountability Office review found the U.S. Department of Education spent an estimated $28 million to $38 million paying Office for Civil Rights (OCR) staff who were placed on administrative leave amid an attempted reduction in force last year. The GAO said the department failed to document analyses of costs and savings tied to the staff cuts and that many civil‑rights complaints were dismissed or delayed while the office’s workforce was disrupted. The report notes that nearly half of OCR’s staff were affected during the RIF and that judges’ orders and litigation later required some employees to be returned to duty. The GAO cautioned that the department cannot demonstrate the layoffs achieved intended efficiency goals, and campus compliance officers warn the pause in OCR activity left many colleges and K‑12 districts without timely oversight on civil‑rights investigations.