WASHINGTON — The Education Department resolved roughly 30% fewer complaints of discrimination in U.S. schools last year than in 2024, the sharpest year-to-year decline in more than three decades amid a Trump administration overhaul of civil rights enforcement, according to government data obtained by The New York Times.

The drop came despite a record number of students seeking help from Washington to confront claims of prejudice, bias and bigotry in schools, according to the 2025 budget request from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.

The slowdown has left about 20,000 students awaiting word from the government about the status of their claims, according to the data, which is maintained by the Education Department.…