Franczek P.C.

It was another big week for the Department of Education, with President Trump signing an Executive Order on Thursday instructing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to take actions to “close” the Department. President Trump’s Executive Order came one week after the Department announced that it would lay off approximately 50% of its staff members and close seven regional offices of the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”). Relatedly, a group of parents have filed suit against the Trump Administration related to the OCR closings, alleging that the administration’s actions exceeded the President’s authority and violated a myriad of laws. In other notable news from the week, we continued to see enforcement actions from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Justice, and OCR against educational institutions and private employers alike related to DEI initiatives. As always, this Week in Review alert first summarizes the headlines of the week. We then provide detailed insights regarding the impact of these actions. We encourage you to reach out to your?Franczek attorney?should you have any questions or wish to discuss these developments further. https://lnkd.in/gkEEDw2v

Headlines this week largely focused on the Department of Education, and rightfully so. As announced on Tuesday, President Trump’s administration terminated over 1,300 Department of Education employees this week – nearly 50% of the Department’s total workforce. As described in greater detail, below, this “reduction in force” will likely greatly impede the Department’s ability to carry out several of its operations, including investigations into alleged violations of civil rights laws. However, the Trump administration took several other notable actions this week that may have gotten lost in light of the Department of Education’s announcement. For example, we saw the first instance of threatened loss of federal funding due to Title IX violations for failure to comply with the Trump administration’s definition of “sex.” Additionally, there was a flurry of action related to President Trump’s DEI Executive Orders. As with our previous Week in Review alerts, below, we summarize and provide our insights into the major activity from this week. https://lnkd.in/gi3AGDtH

As we previously reported, the 2020 Title IX Regulations are currently in effect. Franczek P.C. offers everything a new date for refresher training to reinstate the 2020 requirements.? ·????K-12 Coordinator Refresher Training, Tuesday, March 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ·????K-12 Investigator Refresher Training, Tuesday, March 18 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. ·????K-12 Decision Maker Training, Tuesday, March 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The links for the new date of available training are on our website; https://lnkd.in/gt2cS7Cz

Jim Franczek was recently featured by University of Chicago as a Fellow in the University’s Leadership and Society Initiative "LSI". A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and University of Notre Dame, Jim was chosen as an LSI Fellow in 2024 and selected from a global pool of over 350 candidates. LSI Fellows are exceptional individuals who are committed to discerning and activating meaningful next chapters for society. In featuring Jim’s recognition as a Fellow, the University highlighted Jim’s representation of the Obama Presidential Center and his services as chief labor counsel to six Chicago mayors, among many other clients. The University also recognized Jim’s service on the advocacy boards of Advance Illinois and G-PAC. University of Chicago LSI Fellows are brought together by their shared history of successful leadership and determination to accomplish even more. For more information about University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative "LSI". Congratulations to Jim!

We reported last week that the pace of executive orders coming from the new presidential administration had begun to slow. While, overall, the rate does still appear to be slowing, this week has been a notable one. First, the Department of Education had a particularly busy week. Most significantly, although this has been widely anticipated for weeks now, the Trump administration seems to be on the verge of overhauling (and likely partially dismantling) the Department in the coming days. The Department further released statements regarding Title IX and Title VI. Second, this week saw a flurry of activity related to President Trump’s anti-DEI initiatives and agency leadership changes. Legal challenges were filed against President Trump’s Anti-DEI Executive Orders, as well as the Department of Education’s recently released “Dear Colleague Letter.” And, on March 6, 2025, a DC Court ordered that formerly-removed National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) member, Gwynne Wilcox, be reinstated. Keep reading for more highlights from this past week and our detailed analysis of those events. https://lnkd.in/gSArZhzv

As we previously reported, the 2020 Title IX Regulations are currently in effect. Franczek P.C. offers everything your institution needs to reinstate the 2020 requirements.? ?·???Posted Training: The 2020 Title IX regulations require institutions to train all members of their Title IX team (Title IX Coordinators, Investigators, Informal Resolution Facilitators, and Decision Makers). The materials utilized in these trainings must be made publicly available on the District’s website. We offer trainings in a variety of modalities to best suit your institution, with live-in-person, live-virtual, and asynchronous-virtual options. ?·???Toolkit: We offer a comprehensive toolkit that includes all required and recommended notices and forms, as well as guidance documents helpful to support your team in following the 2020 requirements. For more information regarding training or to schedule a customized training for your Title IX team, please visit our website; https://lnkd.in/gG_qMjhV

Our “Week in Review” alerts seek to highlight the important activity related to labor, employment, and education each week from the new presidential administration. The pace at which President Trump issued executive orders and implemented changes across federal agencies in his first weeks in office was, at times, dizzying. While the pace has somewhat slowed, important changes continue to occur within the federal government, federal agencies, and courts that have the potential to impact employers and educational institutions. We highlight the important actions from last week below. https://lnkd.in/gVgkyRMu

As corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (“DEI”) face increasing legal and political scrutiny, a deep divide is emerging among states on how they view these initiatives. Some states are doubling down on their commitments through actions that encourage diversity in hiring, professional development, and corporate governance. Other states are actively restricting or even banning race- and gender-based programs, citing concerns over discrimination and compliance with recent court rulings and President Trump’s Executive Order that purports to target “illegal DEI and DEIA policies.” This growing patchwork of state-level and federal guidance and legal action is forcing businesses and other organizations to navigate a complex legal landscape, where diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies that are encouraged in one state may be legally challenged in another. Below we provide an overview of the differing approaches states are currently taking related to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in corporate America. https://lnkd.in/g2WUKN9W

Each week as the new presidential administration takes shape, we get a clearer picture of how its priorities will affect federal agencies, and how those changes will affect the employers and educational institutions that interact with those agencies. Last week, we also published alerts regarding the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights “Dear Colleague” letter,?advising schools that they may risk losing federal funding if they continue to pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives; the?Department of Education’s Title IX investigations?into alleged violations of the President’s?“Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order; and?changes at the Department of Education To read our week in review: https://lnkd.in/gVMWEqr6

The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” on Friday, February 14, in which it set out the new administration’s interpretation of nondiscrimination obligations for educational institutions that receive federal funding. The Letter warns schools that treating students differently based on race to achieve goals including diversity, racial balancing, social justice, and equity, is in OCR’s opinion, illegal. While this guidance does not have the force or effect of law, the Letter provides notice for schools of OCR’s interpretation of federal law and instructs schools to take steps that ensure compliance with its directives within two weeks or risk OCR bringing an enforcement action with a further risk of losing federal funding. These are highly sensitive matters and Franczek P.C. stands ready to assist your school in evaluating next steps, if any, considering the directives issued by OCR in its Dear Colleague Letter. If you have any questions regarding the Dear Colleague Letter or need assistance in addressing reports of discrimination, including training on schools’ obligations under Title VI, please contact a Franczek attorney. ?