A Government Accountability Office report found the U.S. Department of Education paid up to $38 million to Office for Civil Rights (OCR) employees placed on administrative leave during 2025 while the office dismissed about 90% of the more than 9,000 complaints it handled between March and September. GAO said the department could not demonstrate that the reductions in force achieved the stated goal of workforce reform and noted the agency failed to document analyses of RIF costs and savings as required. The report underscores a sharp drop in OCR capacity after layoffs and raises questions about enforcement of federal civil‑rights law at schools and colleges. With OCR staffing cut dramatically from 575 employees in 2024 toward much lower levels, advocates and institutions worry that backlog, dismissals and lack of documented decision‑making have left students and campuses without reliable federal oversight.