New Jersey is creating a new civil rights enforcement unit to investigate discrimination in schools and other public accommodations, stepping into a void state officials say was created by the Trump administration’s retreat from protecting students at the federal level.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division on Civil Rights announced Thursday that the new Education and Public Accommodations Enforcement Section will investigate allegations involving K-12 schools, colleges, universities and other places covered by the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
The announcement comes after the U.S. Department of Education closed seven of its 12 Office for Civil Rights regional offices, including the one serving New Jersey. Between March and September 2025, the federal agency dismissed more than 90% of the 9,269 complaints it received without review.
“As the Trump Administration continues to roll back landmark civil rights protections, students have paid the price for the federal government’s irresponsible abdication of its duty,” Davenport said. “But every student in New Jersey deserves the chance to learn free from discrimination and harassment.”
Davenport said the state created the new section because New Jersey must intensify its efforts to protect children as the federal government moves in the opposite direction.
The section will investigate allegations of bias-based harassment and bullying, failures to provide disability accommodations, language-access barriers affecting English-language learners, disparate school discipline and discrimination in places of public accommodation.
It will be housed within DCR’s Investigations Unit and led by Deputy Director Michael Campion, Chief Legal Specialist Chiqueena Lee and Chief of Investigations Justin Hoffer. Matters involving curriculum and Individualized Education Programs will remain under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Department of Education.
“Equal access to safe, inclusive, and equitable educational opportunities is a basic right,” DCR Director Yolanda Melville said. “At a time when federal protections are being eroded, our new Education and Public Accommodations Civil Rights Enforcement Section will equip DCR to safeguard the civil rights of New Jersey’s students.”
DCR cited a recent discrimination case involving Ridgewood Public Schools as an example of the enforcement work the new section will support.
Earlier this year, the division found probable cause to believe that a teacher at Ridgewood’s Glen School discriminated against and harassed a four-year-old student with Down syndrome and sensory issues. DCR alleged that the teacher wrapped packing tape around the child’s ankles and shoes to prevent the student from removing them, then mocked the child, who later had difficulty walking.
The agency also alleged that the school district failed to adequately address the teacher’s conduct. According to DCR, the district moved the student to another classroom that was less consistent with the child’s Individualized Education Program and placed the teacher on administrative leave but did not ultimately terminate the teacher’s employment.
A probable-cause finding is not a final determination that discrimination occurred. The parties will first have an opportunity to resolve the case through conciliation. If they cannot reach an agreement, the Attorney General’s Office may prosecute the case in Superior Court or before the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law.
DCR also announced a partnership with the National Center for Youth Law to develop a comprehensive training program for the new section. The organization’s team includes former senior officials from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education with experience in civil rights enforcement.
Jonathan Smith, the center’s managing director of Education and Federal Strategic Advocacy, said the new section shows how states can respond when federal enforcement diminishes.
“We applaud New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General for taking these important and groundbreaking actions,” Smith said. “DCR’s Education and Public Accommodations Enforcement Section is a prime example of what it looks like when states rise to the occasion to meet the needs of their students.”
Smith said the center would work with former Justice and Education Department attorneys and staff to strengthen New Jersey’s ability to identify, investigate and remedy civil rights violations in schools.