Trump cuts only the school civil rights researcher with the headquarters in Alabama, leaving families in Limbo

A federal researcher who examines civil rights complaints against Alabama schools is the last objective of the Trump administration cuts, one of a series of federal and state actions that could leave families with few options.

Victoria Delano is One of the thousands of federal test employees In recent days for the new efficiency team of the Government Department. At the time of his dismissal, he said that it was the only civil rights investigator office based in Alabama. Your role, Defenders and parents say it was crucial for families who believe that local schools have not managed the disabilities of students fairly.

The Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education did not respond to a request for comments.

“There is no responsibility at the local level. There is no responsibility at the state level, because the State will not get involved. And then there is a limited federal supervision of things, “said Laura Johnson, a Mother of Vestavia who has been fighting for her daughter’s fair treatment, who has a disability.

“If OCR is not there, where does that leave our children who have disabilities?”

Delano took a job with the office in December and was fired last week, She told Al.com in a recent interview. The office has the task of mediating and investigating complaints about discrimination and reprisals in schools. The OCR had around 588 full -time employees in the fiscal year24, according to its Last annual report.

“I am really horrified, because I have seen the lack of supervision we have in our state,” he said.

Delano was a trial employee who said she hoped to improve services for Alabama families in her new role. He is a member of the American Federation of Local Government 252 Union.

On February 12, Delano received an email from his union by urging probation employees to verify if they had been completed. That night, Delano said he could not go up to his work computer, and after consulting with his supervisor, the leadership told him that he had been fired. She said that no written warning of her termination was issued.

According to the latest federal data, published in May 2024, two OCR lawyers were located in Alabama. When he took the job, Delano said he did not know any other civil rights researcher parked in the state.

An advocate for disability rights for a long time, Delano previously worked with the Alabama Disabilities Defense Program, the State Disability Surveillance Group.

The organization was under federal review Last summer after officials received a series of complaints about the group. A report of December 17, 2024 discovered that, although the staff had experience and committed to their work, the reviewers had “significant concerns” about compliance with the requirements of subsidies and quoted high rotations of the staff, communication problems and roles and unclear expectations within the agency.

Adapt Executive Director Shannon Shelley-Tremblay, said the organization is working to address concerns and expand their strengths. She said the staff is still committed to serving people who live with disabilities in the State with the limited resources of the organization.

“This review process, together with the continuous feedback we are looking for from those we already serve our partners throughout the state, helps us improve our work and fulfill our mission,” he said.

Delano said she is worried about who, at the federal level, can intervene while adapting works to address her struggles.

“I am horrified now that not only the supervision at the state level is not non -functional, but that the only person with a place of destination here in Alabama, who has my pulse on what is happening here and has the connection and interest of being A citizen of the State to protect our students, now I have been fired from the civil rights office, ”said Delano.

According to the website of the civil rights office, five of the seven key positions of the staff at the OCR national headquarters are currently vacancies. Last week, Various media They have reported that Employees were instructed Stop the investigations after President Donald Trump took office.

Delano, who informed the department’s Atlanta office, added that the regional center is “unfortunately little personal.” Currently, about 60 employees serve four states throughout the southeast, he said. She said that one of the only two people who make intake in Atlanta was also fired.

Defenders care about shaking, along with other attempts to change disability laws and procedures at the federal and state level, could affect some of Alabama’s most vulnerable children.

Alabama’s attorney general Steve Marshall, is part of a group of 17 states that are part of a lawsuit that could repeal section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Law, which provides some protections and adaptations for certain people with disabilities. State legislators have also recently considered changes in the State Special Education complaint process, which defenders feared that they hinder the rights of due process.

“The consequences could be serious,” said special education lawyer James Gallini, who said that section 504, which is confirmed by the civil rights office, extends to the medical community and requires that schools provide certain adaptations to the Students with disabilities. “The door would open where they could discriminate.”

‘Without responsibility’

The civil rights office is an agency to apply the law, but Delano said that the main objective of the office is to mediate between school districts and families and support.

The department has resolved 121 cases in Alabama since 2012, according to its website. As a result, some local school districts and universities have agreed to enforce stronger policies against harassment, improve services for students with disabilities and make the facilities safer.

But that process can be painfully slow. Up to 285 cases in Alabama are still under federal investigation, some of which have been open for more than a decade.

Delano said in a text message that he had been assigned seven cases before the Trump administration stopped work. She said that workers were told to focus on cases of disability instead of those involving race, gender, national origin, moderation or seclusion.

“We hope you feel for a long time until there is guidance,” Delano said.

However, for many families, presenting a federal complaint is one of the only options for the resource if they cannot reach a resolution with their local district and cannot obtain any other legal help.

Nikki Carter has been waiting for years for the office to investigate a complaint of discrimination and retaliation against schools in the city of Demopolis. After an incident with a school employee in 2022, district officials took What experts called a “hard” and “uncommon” step to ban it from local schools and meeting meetings.

For more than two years, the mother of three children could not attend the school events of their children, deliver medications or pick them up for class during the dangerous climate.

Carter filed a complaint against OCR on September 23, 2022, claiming that he believed that district’s actions were in retaliation for their defense work in the area. For several years, he has been helping families obtain accommodation for students with disabilities and celebrating workshops to educate them about their rights.

The emails reviewed by Al.com show that, while officials finally lifted the orders against her, OCR staff had spent weeks at the same time without communicating, and did not inform Carter about the key decisions that affect their case .

“The reversal of the Trump administration of civil rights protections and the safeguards of due process has made it almost impossible for families such as mine to seek justice through the Office of Civil Rights or the due process system,” said. “These systemic failures, now exacerbated by the weakened federal supervision, mean that my case, and innumerable others, will continue stagnant, dismissed or taken in retaliation, ensuring that those in power are not controlled, while the most vulnerable are denies your rights. “

Laura Johnson’s daughter has a disability that sometimes makes her flee or “fragment.” In 2023, she was alerted to a video that had arrived through school: Officials laughed at surveillance images from his son fleeing.

The district told Johnson that they would investigate the matter, but according to the reports of Al.com, the system had used its own lawyer and decided not to take more measures. Johnson finally had to look for a private lawyer because agencies at the state level would not take measures.

“All the options I had, all of them essentially failed,” he said.

Delano said things were looking at the department when he joined only a few months ago; The Atlanta office had a new leadership and its role would allow you to dedicate more energy to Alabama families. Now, he is concerned that there is no one in his office with the same connections, and who knows the legal and educational panorama of the State.

She plans to fight her termination.

“I do this work because children in the black belt, some who do not have running water at home, their hope is in education,” he said. “I do this for children who reside in Children’s Hospital because they are very sick. They still have the right to education because education is the hope of a better future. And I don’t know what follows. “

John Archibald and Savannah try the reports contributed to the Fornandes.