President Trump overturned a 1965 executive order that mandated federal contractors to take actions to adhere to nondiscrimination laws. Read more here.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is dedicated to safeguarding students by holding schools and colleges that receive federal funding accountable for addressing antisemitism, islamophobia, racism, and discrimination against students with disabilities.
On Tuesday, around 1,300 Department of Education employees were notified of their layoffs. The civil rights office experienced the highest percentage of staff reductions among all affected programs, losing 243 out of 557 employees, according to an analysis by the non-partisan group Ed Reform Now. Read more here.

Yesterday, the United States was added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, a research tool that tracks the state of freedoms and civil liberties worldwide. This decision comes in response to what CIVICUS described as President Donald Trump’s "assault on democratic norms and global cooperation." CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society groups, including Amnesty International, advocates for increased citizen engagement in regions where civil liberties are under threat. The organization also highlighted the Administration’s drastic cut of over 90% in foreign aid contracts and its efforts to curb diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which Trump has referred to as “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” in an executive action. Read more here.