Kimberly Richey Confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Office for Civil Rights at U.S. Department of Education
Richey has been involved in some of the most consequential special-education investigations and policy guidance of the last two decades. Will she focus OCR on disability discrimination on day one?
Kimberly Richey is confirmed as the new Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at U.S. Department of Education (USDOE).
In this position, she will lead Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces federal laws protecting students from discrimination, including students who have disabilities.
Richey’s Special Education Track Record
In addition to her state-level work, Richey has held multiple federal roles impacting special education across three administrations—George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and indirectly under Joe Biden:
2004-2009, Counsel to the Assistant Secretary, OCR
2017-2018, Acting Assistant Secretary/Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
2018-2021, Acting Assistant Secretary, OCR
2004–2009: Expanding Access to Advanced Coursework
In 2007, OCR issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” clarifying that schools cannot exclude students who have disabilities from participating in advanced academic programs such as AP, IB, or honors courses. In addition, schools can’t require students to waive supports as prerequisite for participation.
“The practice of denying, on the basis of disability, a qualified student with a disability the opportunity to participate in an accelerated program violates both Section 504 and Title II.”
— U.S. Department of Education, Dear Colleague Letter, Dec. 26, 2007
Richey, then Counsel to the Assistant Secretary for OCR, later said she contributed to the work leading to this guidance. To my knowledge, it is one of the earliest federal clarifications addressing students who are twice exceptional (have both giftedness and disabilities).
2017: Regulatory Reform and Endrew F. Guidance
Under Richey’s leadership, OSERS released the guidance document Questions and Answers (Q&A) on U. S. Supreme Court Case Decision Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. It explained the Supreme Court’s mandate that every IEP be “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances”.
In addition, the document made clear that providing “some” educational benefit is no longer enough.
2018: Texas Special Education Investigation
January 2018, while Richey served as Acting Assistant Secretary for OSERS, OSERS released findings from “what was, at the time, the largest investigation involving a state conducted under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).”
The investigation found Texas Education Agency (TEA) had effectively imposed a statewide cap limiting special-education identification of students, in violation of federal law. According to a 2018 Texas Tribune article, “. . . administrators at multiple districts worked to decrease the percentage of students identified for special education services—even though there was no evidence to indicate those actions were necessary. . . . Texas has a policy to only provide federally funded services to students with dyslexia if those students also have another disability.”
Richey was quoted emphasizing how TEA’s performance indicator “affected district policies and procedures relating to the identification of children with disabilities,” leading to delays and denials of evaluations.
Those findings, issued through OSERS’ Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) program, forced Texas to overhaul how it identified and served student who have disabilities.
For families watching nationwide, the case symbolized long-awaited federal willingness to call out systemic noncompliance within a state that refused to address it itself. Unfortunately, subsequent investigations into TEA resulted in additional findings of noncompliance and failures to come into compliance.
2020: COVID-19 Guidance and Restraint & Seclusion Oversight
March 2020, OCR and OSERS issued two pivotal, back-to-back COVID-19 fact sheets:
Fact Sheet: Addressing the Risk of COVID-19 in Schools While Protecting the Civil Rights of Students
These documents reaffirmed that civil rights and IDEA obligations remained fully in effect during the pandemic.
That October, OCR’s response to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on restraint and seclusion data came from Richey, as Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. In the letter, she detailed efforts to improve Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) accuracy while acknowledging prior underreporting and inconsistencies in how schools document incidents involving students with disabilities.
2021: Directed Investigations into COVID-19 Service Denials
In January 2021, OCR announced directed civil rights investigations into Fairfax County Public Schools (VA), Los Angeles Unified School District (CA), Seattle Public Schools (WA), and Indiana Department of Education.
OCR letters signed by Richey cited disturbing reports that students who have disabilities were denied IEP or 504 services. The investigations led to landmark resolution agreements requiring districts to address denial of FAPE to thousands of students:
April 29, 2022, OCR released the results of its investigation into LAUSD and resolution agreement with LAUSD.
November 30, 2022, OCR released the results of its investigation into FCPS and resolution agreement with FCPS.
In the three years following the findings, OCR has continued to monitor the districts to ensure compliance and full implementation of the corrective action plans created.
Personal Experience and Perspective
During her June 5, 2025, Senate confirmation hearing, Richey shared that she was diagnosed with a brain tumor twenty years earlier, as a young adult, and required accommodations under Section 504 to complete her education. That experience, she said, “most impacts my work.”
“. . . it is my personal experience as a student with a disability—and now an individual with disabilities—that most impacts my work. As a young adult, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor that changed nearly every aspect of my life. Within a matter of months, I was a student who needed the protections and guarantees of Section 504 to fully access my own educational programs and activities. I know first-hand the significance and importance of our civil rights laws and there is no greater work than leading the agency responsible for ensuring that students get the services and support they need.”
—Kimberly Richey, Senate HELP Committee Confirmation Hearing, June 2025
Why It Matters
Discrimination and retaliation occur under every administration. However, disability discrimination has historically ranked highest among the reported types of civil rights violations in education.
Over the past year, USDOE’s “Office for Civil Rights Recent Resolution Search” data shows a shift. While disability cases still make up the largest share of complaints, the percentage of those cases resolved and publicly posted has dropped. That decline raises questions about transparency and enforcement capacity within OCR.
Kimberly Richey has been involved in some of the most consequential special-education investigations and policy guidance of the last two decades. The hope is that she’ll focus OCR on systemic disability rights enforcement on day one.
Families and educators should watch whether OCR under Richey restores the visibility and follow-through that disability cases deserve. Real accountability isn’t measured by press releases. It’s measured by investigations that occur within a reasonable time (not a decade), and resolutions that are both enforced and publicly accessible.