Enforcement Responsibilities

• The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education is charged with enforcing all of the federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the bases of age, race, color, national origin, disability and sex. The self-stated mission of the OCR is "ensuring equal access to education and promoting educational excellence throughout the nation."

• OCR receives complaints directly from students, their parents, and faculty. In addition, OCR performs compliance reviews to assure that all students are receiving fair treatment. For example, OCR may conduct a compliance review by tracking the demographics of students in special education courses in order to determine whether an inappropriate number of English-as-a-second language students are on the attendance rolls for those courses.

• In an effort to dissuade future acts of discrimination, OCR also sponsors or holds a wide variety of workshops, refresher courses, and other educational seminars on education discrimination.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• This portion of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in educational institutions that receive federal financial grants or assistance.

• Complaints received by OCR dealing with this law may involve ability grouping, disciplinary practices invoked by schools, the prevalence or acceptance of inter-district student transfers, school desegregation, housing concerns, and racial harassment, among many others.

• According to the Department of Education, the introduction of Title VI is beginning to appear to be having a positive effect.

  • In 1976, the dropout rate of African American students ages sixteen to twenty-four was 20.5 percent. In 1990, that number had declined to 13.0 percent.

  • Another statistic reveals that in 1982, minorities comprised only 11 percent of the students in advanced placement courses. In 1997, that number had risen to 29 percent.

  • In a final statistic, a study revealed that since 1990, the number of Latino students enrolled in higher education facilities has increased by 47 percent. African American student enrollment increased by 20 percent. The number of American Indian enrollment increased by 30 percent.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

• This federal law prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal financial grants or assistance. Violations of this law may include such issues as treatment of pregnant students, equal opportunity to participate in athletic programs, and sexual harassment, among others.

• As with Title VI, the introduction of Title IX is appearing to have a positive effect on eradicating sex discrimination in education:

  • According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the number of females participating in high school sports programs increased from 294,000 students in 1971 to over 2.4 million in the 1996-97 school year.

  • The Census Bureau has reported that by 1997, 29 percent of young women had earned at least a bachelor's degree. In 1970, by comparison, only 13 percent of young women had reached that educational goal.

  • According to this same source, when Title IX was enacted in 1972, 9 percent of the professional degrees awarded in medicine were given to women. In 1996, 41 percent of the medical degree recipients were women.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person's disability in the provision of educational services and opportunities in educational institutions that receive federal financial grants or assistance.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

• This is a far-reaching federal law that prohibits disability discrimination by public entities, including public school districts, public colleges and universities, public vocational schools, and public libraries whether or not they receive federal financial grants or assistance.

• Complaints handled by OCR involving either or both Section 504 and Title II may include, but are not limited to, issues such as the appropriate screening for and provision of special education services, the accessibility of school facilities, the availability of auxiliary aids for impaired students and the inter-school discipline of students with disabilities.