Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is reversing a controversial decision on how the federal government manages its massive backlog of civil rights complaints by students and their families, agreeing to no longer dismiss cases that are filed en masse and restoring its appeals process. The move, announced by the Education Department this week, could impact hundreds of cases involving children with special needs whose families believe their schools aren’t providing adequate accommodations. The decision is a temporary victory for a coalition of civil rights groups – the NAACP, the National Federation of the Blind and the Council for Parent Advocates and Attorneys – that sued the government this summer.