Civil Rights

Read more about civil rights and schools, enforcement by the Education Department's office for civil rights, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Title IX, and more

Explainer

The U.S. Department of Education, in Washington, D.C., pictured on February 21, 2021.
How a Federal Office Investigates and Resolves Discrimination Complaints Against Schools
What is OCR, how do you file a complaint, and what relief can it offer for students or staff whose civil rights may have been violated?
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Equity & Diversity Special Education Parents File Complaint Against New York City Charter Network
The Success Academies, a network that educates 11,000 children, is the subject of a complaint over its disciplinary practices, which some allege unfairly target students with disabilities.
Christina A. Samuels, January 28, 2016
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3 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion ESSA Helps Realize Dr. King's Dream of Deeper Learning for All
A provision in the newly enacted Every Student Succeeds Act can make it possible for districts to pursue integration strategies.
Contributing Blogger, January 18, 2016
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6 min read
Equity & Diversity The Year in District and Leadership News
Race, education disparities, school-leader standards, and criminal proceedings (in Atlanta and Chicago) were among the top stories on the District Dossier blog.
Denisa R. Superville, December 30, 2015
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6 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Merry Christmas, Ramone. You Represent Hope in a Seriously Messed-Up Education Nation.
How can we live in a nation where someone like Ramone Williams doesn't want to be a "distraction" to his fellow scholars? It's gratifying to read about all the families who offered Ramone a safe, warm place to stay over the holidays--and to think that, temporarily, he has enough money to finish a college degree and launch his adult life. But what about the other 56,000 students patching together their holiday "vacation" around donated food and temporary shelters--are they also trying to avoid being a distraction to the American academic conscience? Aren't we supposed to be Education Nation?
Nancy Flanagan, December 23, 2015
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2 min read
Equity & Diversity Feds, Newark, N.J., Schools Reach Agreement Over Civil Rights Complaints
Newark, N.J., schools have agreed to take a series of steps by the end of February to halt an ongoing federal investigation of possible civil rights violations in the district.
Corey Mitchell, December 14, 2015
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3 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
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Equity & Diversity Opinion How Woodrow Wilson Denied African-Americans an Academic Education
Woodrow Wilson's administration backed the effort to promote vocational-only education for African-American students, writes Williamson M. Evers.
Williamson M. Evers, December 8, 2015
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6 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Civil Rights, Disability, Education Groups Give Lukewarm Nod to ESEA Rewrite
Thirty-six disability, civil rights, education, and other organizations—including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights—offered a measured endorsement of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Alyson Klein, December 1, 2015
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4 min read
Lila Perry, second from left, a senior transgender student at Hillsboro High School in St. Louis, speaks with friends Gianna Warfel, left, Skyla Thompson and Hayley Reeves following a student walkout at the school held in both support and opposition to Perry’s request to use the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
Lila Perry, second from left, a senior transgender student at Hillsboro High School in St. Louis, speaks with friends Gianna Warfel, left, Skyla Thompson and Hayley Reeves following a student walkout at the school held in both support and opposition to Perry’s request to use the girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/AP-File
Law & Courts School Districts Confront Transgender Student Policies
Recent disputes over schools' treatment of transgender students present complicated questions for educators.
Evie Blad, November 10, 2015
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7 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion Deeper Learning and Equity: Two New Resources
New papers by Linda Darling-Hammond and Patricia Gandara discuss how deeper learning can support a more equitable education system.
Contributing Blogger, November 6, 2015
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3 min read
Equity & Diversity Buffalo Struggles to Respond to Feds Over Access to Best Schools
The federal government is demanding more answers from school officials about how they plan to resolve allegations of discriminatory admissions practices at their better schools.
Jay Rey, The Buffalo News (N.Y.), November 3, 2015
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4 min read
Special Education Special Education Directors Brace for Fresh Guidance
The wave of federal documents is likely to continue in the coming months, lawyers who work on special education issues told those attending a conference in Baltimore.
Christina A. Samuels, October 13, 2015
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4 min read
Federal Opinion The Upside of Arne Duncan
So what are we to make of Arne Duncan's surprise departure from his cabinet position, where he dutifully played POTUS Basketball Bud and less-than-articulate mouthpiece for the extremely well-heeled Democrats for Education Reform? Does anyone else wonder about the timing of this? Why was John B. King waiting in the wings? What's the policy-making strategy here--and who's calling the shots?
Nancy Flanagan, October 5, 2015
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3 min read
Equity & Diversity Buffalo Parents Slam School District's Response to Civil Rights Complaint
A group of parents charge that the Buffalo School District's response to civil rights complaints does not adequately address admissions to the district's top schools and teacher hiring practices.
Denisa R. Superville, October 1, 2015
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2 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion Students as Change Agents in a Burning Baltimore
In the wake of the riots that erupted after Freddie Gray's death in police custody, students in Baltimore continue to learn from and about race and civil rights.
Contributing Blogger, September 23, 2015
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4 min read
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