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
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?
Equity & Diversity
Groups Urge DeVos to Pause Title IX Rulemaking as Schools Face Coronavirus
Advocacy and education groups urge a pause in efforts to rewrite regulations on responding to sexual harassment and sexual assault in K-12 schools, colleges, and universities as the nation confronts the coronavirus pandemic.
Federal
Democrats Press D.C. Voucher Program for Information on Student Civil Rights
Lawmakers' concerns come as the Trump administration seeks to boost private school choice programs through a federal tax credit.
Equity & Diversity
Q&A
Autistic School Board Member Pushes for Inclusion, Understanding
Schools are "still dealing with the belief that children [with disabilities] can't be educated with their peers," says Nicki Vander Meulen, an autistic school board member in Madison, Wis.
Equity & Diversity
Church-Run Charter Schools? Supreme Court Argument Stirs the Discussion
Could a U.S. Supreme Court case clear the way for charter schools run by religious organizations? Justice Stephen Breyer raised the question this week.
Equity & Diversity
Education Department Launches New Civil Rights Outreach Initiative
While the Education Department has largely focused on investigating complaints that schools have violated civil rights laws, a new center will focus on "proactive compliance" by providing technical assistance to schools and guidance to the public.
Equity & Diversity
What You Should Know About the Supreme Court Case the Education World Is Watching
The U.S. Supreme Court will arguments in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, a case that's been closely watched by both friends and opponent of private school vouchers and tax-credit scholarship programs.
Law & Courts
LGBTQ Teachers Await Decision on Discrimination Protections
LGBTQ teachers are waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether the federal civil rights law guarantees them nationwide protection from workplace discrimination.
Equity & Diversity
2010 to Now: A Turbulent Decade for Schools
Common Core. School shootings. ESSA. Betsy DeVos. The past 10 years have been a whirlwind of policy upheaval, tragedy, and change for K-12 education. Here’s 10 highlights—and a bonus.
Equity & Diversity
What Trump's Order on Responding to Anti-Semitism Means for K-12 Schools
An executive order signed this week is meant to address concerns of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses. But the legal underpinnings of that order apply to elementary and secondary schools, too.
Budget & Finance
Proposed Civil Rights Data Changes Draw Praise, Concern, Paperwork Complaints
Public comments praised and criticized proposed changes to the massive trove of civil rights data the U.S. Department of Education collects from every public school in the country.
Equity & Diversity
Will New Federal Data Quantify Teachers' Sexual Misconduct? This Researcher Is Skeptical
Teachers' sexual assault of students often pops up in headlines, but it's prevalence is difficult to measure. A professor who's studied educator misconduct for decades is skeptical that proposed new federal data collection will help.
Equity & Diversity
DeVos Seeks More Civil Rights Data on Sexual Violence, Religious Harassment
The proposed changes to the Civil Rights Data Collection, which is conducted every two years, also touch on racial disparities in preschool discipline, teacher experience, and advanced coursework.
Federal
Civil Rights Enforcement for LGBTQ Students Scaled Back Under Trump, Analysis Finds
Students' complaints about school discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity were less likely to result in changes under the Trump administration than they did under the Obama administration, an analysis of federal records finds.
Equity & Diversity
Bring Back Anti-Discrimination Guidance on School Discipline, Commission Urges
But the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was not unanimous in its support of the findings that students of color were not more likely to commit discipline-worthy offenses.