Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) member Maxine Dexter (OR-03), DWC member Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) and Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39) led a letter to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Education. The letter urges the Acting Inspector General to open an investigation into the Department’s gutting of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Title IX rollbacks and its impact on the Department’s ability to enforce Title IX protections for student survivors of sexual assault and harassment. 99 House Democrats joined the effort.

he call for the investigation comes after Jane Doe’s story from Cornell University and Kendall Francis’ story from Louisiana State University (LSU) sparked a national outcry about the high rate of sexual violence on college campuses. Additionally the survivors’ stories have renewed scrutiny of how colleges and universities respond, and how the Department of Education enforces Title IX protections for survivors.

One in four undergraduate women experience sexual assault or rape while in college. Sexual violence against women on college campuses is a public health crisis, yet significant barriers remain that block accountability and protections for students. Changes in staffing, resources, case-processing, and enforcement priorities under the Trump administration have only made that worse and have undermined the Department’s ability to properly investigate complaints and enforce Title IX protections. 

As of January 2025, OCR reportedly faced a backlog of nearly 12,000 civil rights cases, while the administration reduced OCR’s workforce by nearly half. The Department has closed zero college sexual harassment or sexual violence cases. The Department also formalized weaker protections and processes for student survivors: narrowing the definition of sexual harassment, reducing school liability, and implementing intimidating investigative and hearing procedures that are retraumatizing to survivors.

Without proper federal enforcement and institutional accountability, Title IX protections become just words on a page. The Department of Education is failing student survivors. Protections for survivors are not partisan and should always be a priority, however the Department’s rollback of vital protections creates additional barriers for survivors and is leaving them to fend for themselves in their most vulnerable moments. 

In their letter, the members explained how the Department’s changes will leave student survivors vulnerable and why an investigation is necessary: 

“We urge the Office of Inspector General to immediately open an investigation into the Department’s failure to adequately enforce Title IX protections for survivors of sexual harassment and assault, including whether changes in staffing, resources, case-processing, and enforcement priorities have undermined the Department’s ability to protect students, investigate complaints in a timely manner, and hold institutions accountable.”

The members outlined the Department’s policies that have weakened protections for student survivors: 

“At the same time that OCR’s staff and regional capacity were substantially reduced, the Department announced and pursued Title IX enforcement priorities concerning transgender students’ participation in athletics and access to sex-separated facilities, and also dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. These reprioritizations do nothing to address the backlog of sexual violence cases.”

The letter also explains how reprioritizations and restructuring by the Department have decreased OCR’s capacity to investigate cases of sexual violence on campus:

“This restructuring threatens to further delay investigations, erode OCR’s institutional expertise, and create additional barriers for survivors seeking accountability. These reprioritizations, staff reductions, and the interagency agreement raise significant questions about whether OCR has sufficient capacity to investigate Title IX complaints, communicate with complainants, and fulfill its civil rights enforcement responsibilities in a timely and effective manner.”

The members also outlined what they are urging the Inspector General to investigate: 

1. Examining whether the Department has fulfilled its legal and administrative responsibilities to investigate and resolve Title IX complaints in a timely and effective manner.

2. The causes and consequences of the absence of resolution agreements involving college sexual harassment and assault complaints since January 2025.

3. Whether reductions in OCR staffing, the closure of regional offices, or changes in enforcement priorities have contributed to delays, backlogs, or failures to resolve these complaints.

4. Examining whether OCR has sufficient staffing, resources, policies, and procedures to effectively enforce Title IX and protect students from sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and violence.

5. Identifying how survivors have been harmed by these changes. 

Lastly, the members asked the Inspector General to answer the following questions: 

1. How many Title IX sexual harassment and sexual violence complaints are currently pending before OCR, and how long have they been pending? 

2. How have processing times, case closures, investigations, and resolution agreements changed since January 2025? 

3. Have staffing reductions or office closures affected OCR’s ability to investigate complaints or communicate with survivors? 

4. Have Department officials directed, formally or informally, OCR personnel to deprioritize certain categories of Title IX complaints? 

5. What safeguards are currently in place to ensure Title IX complaints involving sexual violence receive timely and appropriate review? 

6. What corrective actions are necessary to ensure the Department is meeting its obligations to protect students under Title IX? 

Read the full letter here. 

The letter was signed by: Amo, Gabe; Ansari, Yassamin; Balint, Becca; Barragán, Nanette; Beatty, Joyce; Beyer, Donald; Bonamici, Suzanne; Brownley, Julia; Brown, Shontel; Bynum, Janelle; Carter, Troy; Castor, Kathy; Chu, Judy; Clarke, Yvette; Craig, Angie; Crockett, Jasmine; Davids, Sharice; Dean, Madeleine; DeGette, Diana; DeSaulnier, Mark; Dexter, Maxine; Dingell, Debbie; Elfreth, Sarah; Escobar, Veronica; Espaillat, Adriano; Evans, Dwight; Fletcher, Lizzie; Foster, Bill; Foushee, Valerie; Frankel, Lois; Frost, Maxwell; Garamendi, John; Garcia, Sylvia; Goldman, Daniel; Goodlander, Maggie; Grijalva, Adelita; Houlahan, Chrissy; Hoyle, Val; Ivey, Glenn; Jackson, Jonathan; Jayapal, Pramila; Johnson, Julie; Kamlager-Dove, Sydney; Kelly, Robin; Kennedy, Timothy; Khanna, Ro; Landsman, Greg; Latimer, George; Lee, Summer; Leger Fernandez, Teresa; Lynch, Stephen; Magaziner, Seth; Matsui, Doris; McBride, Sarah; McClain Delaney, April; McClellan, Jennifer; McIver, LaMonica; Mejia, Analilia; Menefee, Christian; Meng, Grace; Mfume, Kweisi; Morelle, Joseph; Mullin, Kevin; Nadler, Jerrold; Norton, Eleanor; Omar, Ilhan; Pelosi, Nancy; Pettersen, Brittany; Pingree, Chellie; Quigley, Mike; Ramirez, Delia; Randall, Emily; Raskin, Jamie; Ross, Deborah; Salinas, Andrea; Scanlon, Mary Gay; Schakowsky, Janice; Scholten, Hillary; Sewell, Terri; Simon, Lateefah; Stansbury, Melanie; Stanton, Greg; Stevens, Haley; Strickland, Marilyn; Subramanyam, Suhas; Sykes, Emilia; Takano, Mark; Thompson, Bennie; Thompson, Mike; Titus, Dina; Tlaib, Rashida; Tokuda, Jill; Tonko, Paul; Trahan, Lori; Velázquez, Nydia; Walkinshaw, James; Watson Coleman, Bonnie; Williams, Nikema; Wilson, Frederica.