Duncan Plans to Prod Schools on Civil Rights Laws

On the same day that the Obama administration announced its intentions to beef up the enforcement of civil rights in the nation’s schools, the head of the office for civil rights during the Bush years said its track record isn’t lackluster as claimed.

In a conference call before his speech today, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said: “In the last decade the office for civil rights has not been as vigilant as it should have been in combating gender and racial discrimination and protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities.”

Mr. Duncan delivered a speech on students’ civil rights in Selma, Ala., to mark the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” the day that state troopers responded to peaceful civil rights protesters by beating them with billy clubs and dispersing...