The U.S. Department of Education has entered one of its most active regulatory periods in recent memory. Since early 2025, the agency has moved to rescind longstanding civil rights enforcement tools, reorganize key program functions across federal agencies and signal further rulemaking through its 2026 unified regulatory agenda. The pace and scope of these changes are prompting institutions, advocates and compliance professionals to take stock of what the department’s policy reset means in practice.
Disparate-Impact Standard Removed from Title VI
On July 23, 2026, the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) finalized a rule rescinding disparate-impact provisions from its Title VI regulations. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance.
The disparate-impact standard is a legal framework that allows statistical evidence of unequal outcomes to establish a civil rights violation, even without proof of discriminatory intent, and had been part of the department’s enforcement toolkit for decades. Its removal aligns with Executive Order 14281, signed in April 2025, which directed federal agencies to eliminate disparate-impact liability. The Department of Justice made a parallel change to its own Title VI regulations in December 2025.
Key elements of the July 23 action include:
- Scope of change: Provisions removed from Title 34, Part 100 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which governs Title VI enforcement for federally funded educational programs.
- Enforcement continuity: The department stated that OCR will continue to investigate and act on complaints of intentional discrimination. Students and families may still file complaints electronically through OCR.
- Institutional impact: Schools that previously structured discipline, admissions or program access policies around disparate-impact compliance may need to reassess their frameworks.
Program Functions Shift to HHS and DOJ
Separately, on June 16, 2026, the department signed four interagency agreements transferring operational support for two major program areas to other federal agencies:
- Special Education to HHS: The Department of Health and Human Services will support the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), which administers the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The underlying law and students’ legal rights remain unchanged.
- Civil Rights to DOJ: The Department of Justice takes on a coordinating role in civil rights enforcement, student privacy under FERPA, and desegregation training. The agreements are authorized under the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535) and do not alter existing statutory duties.
More Regulatory Action on the Horizon
According to the department’s July 2026 regulatory agenda, additional rulemaking is expected in the coming months, including proposed changes to accreditation oversight, the 90/10 rule for for-profit colleges, Title VI guidance on DEI programs, college merger and closure processes and foreign gift reporting under Section 117. Institutions should anticipate a continued cycle of regulatory activity through the end of the year.
FOCUS will continue to monitor developments on U.S. Department of Education regulatory activity.
by Tom O’Connor 8/3/2026
