The Nation - News from March 30, 1987

Officials at Department of Education regional offices falsely dated documents to make it appear they were complying with a federal court order for swift review of civil rights complaints, a department spokesman said. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett learned of the practice, which was most common at the Boston office, last June and called on the department’s inspector general to investigate, the spokesman said. The subsequent report was forwarded to a federal judge. The court order stems from a 17-year-old lawsuit against the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare.