The U.S. Department of Education released a broad collection of civil rights information drawn from nearly all public schools this week. The material covers bullying incidents, access to advanced classes, and services for students with disabilities, along with patterns of unequal treatment tied to race, ethnicity, sex and disability status.

Officials had set an earlier target for the release, yet the information appeared later than planned. The department has gathered comparable figures for more than five decades to support enforcement of student protections and to inform educators and families.

Staff reductions at the Office for Civil Rights, which manages the effort, reached half its prior size after the current administration began. The agency has also signaled plans to transfer that office to the Justice Department, while directing more attention toward diversity initiatives and policies on transgender participation in sports.

Unlike earlier editions, the current release contains no summary overview report. Only detailed raw data files are provided, limiting quick review by parents or local advocates seeking comparisons across districts or states.

Catherine Lhamon, who previously led the office, noted that the data remain available for specialists but said the absence of simplified presentations reduces their value for community-level advocacy. Researcher Maithreyi Gopalan observed that new elements on teacher retention and preschool evaluations appear in the files, though she requires additional analysis time.

Information on nonbinary students was removed from all 37 files before publication, following an executive order that recognizes only male and female categories. The department has also dropped related questions from future collections, a step critics described as eliminating a nationwide view of those students' experiences.

A department spokesperson confirmed that collection for the next three cycles has already started, even as the format and emphasis of the survey continue to evolve.

This report is based on coverage by LAist: https://laist.com/news/education/federal-civil-rights-data-about-students-is-finally-out-its-different-under-trump