Category Archives: Office for Civil Rights

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights

OCR

Date: November 21st, 2019 in OCR Policy Guidance
Date Title Statute 12/21/2018 Updates to Department of Education and Department of Justice Guidance on Title VI
  • “Dear Colleague” letter PDF (134K)
  • Questions & Answers on Racial Discrimination and School Discipline PDF (147K)
Title VI 07/03/2018 Updates to Department of Education and Department of Justice Guidance on Title VI
  • “Dear Colleague” letter PDF (335K)
Title VI 09/22/2017 Office for Civil Rights Withdraws Guidance on Sexual Violence and Issues Q&A on Campus Sexual Misconduct
  • “Dear Colleague” Letter PDF (314K)
  • Q&A on Campus Sexual Misconduct PDF (149K)
Title IX 02/22/2017 Office for Civil Rights Withdraws Title IX Guidance on Transgender Students
  • “Dear Colleague” Letter PDF (386.47K)
 … Read the rest

Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

Date: December 29th, 2016 in 504, Office for Civil Rights
(ORIGINAL PDF FILE, CLICK HERE)
Parent and Educator Resource Guide to Section 504 in
Public Elementary and
Secondary Schools   U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights December 2016 400 MARYLAND AVE. S.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20202-1100 www.ed.gov The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. … Read the rest

Ensuring Equity and Providing Behavioral Supports to Students with Disabilities

Date: August 4th, 2016 in Other Dear Colleague Letters

U.S. Department of Education Releases Guidance to Schools on Ensuring Equity and Providing Behavioral Supports to Students with Disabilities

AUGUST 4, 2016
Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) today issued guidance in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) that emphasizes the requirement that schools provide positive behavioral supports to students with disabilities who need them.
 … Read the rest

Office for Civil Rights Releases ADHD Guidance

Date: July 26th, 2016 in Disability Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights(OCR) today issued guidance clarifying the obligation of schools to provide students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504).  The guidance—in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter and accompanying Resource Guide—provides a broad overview of Section 504 and school districts’ obligations to students with ADHD, including appropriately evaluating and providing services to such students, and ensuring due process. … Read the rest

Guidance on Gender Equity in Career and Technical Education

Date: June 15th, 2016 in Sex Discrimination
The “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education explains that all students, regardless of their sex, must have equal access to the full range of career and technical education (CTE) programs offered. The Dear Colleague Letter includes an overview of the legal requirements most relevant to ensuring gender equity in CTE programs and provides examples of ways schools can prevent or remedy inequity. … Read the rest

U.S. Department of Education Release Joint Fact Sheet about Combatting Discrimination against Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian (MASSA) students

Date: June 6th, 2016 in Race and National Origin
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Educational Opportunities Section, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders issued a fact sheet that includes examples of forms of discrimination that members of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian (MASSA) communities commonly face. … Read the rest

Guidance on Rights of Transgender Students

Date: May 13th, 2016 in Sex Discrimination
The “Dear Colleague” Letter from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice summarizes a school’s Title IX obligations regarding transgender students and explains how the Departments evaluate a school’s compliance with these obligations. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a companion document, Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students, which summarizes key components of policies on transgender students from school districts and state education agencies across the country. … Read the rest

Guidance on Obligation of Schools to Designate a Title IX Coordinator

Date: April 24th, 2015 in Sex Discrimination
The “Dear Colleague” letter is accompanied by a letter to Title IX coordinators that provides them with more information about their role and a Title IX resource guide that includes an overview of Title IX’s requirements with respect to several key issues. The “Dear Colleague” letter, the letter to Title IX coordinators and the Title IX Resource Guide are available on the Title IX Coordinators page. … Read the rest

Guidance Addressing the Risk of Measles in Schools while Protecting the Civil Rights of Students with Disabilities

Date: March 18th, 2015 in Disability Discrimination
The Fact Sheet addresses how school officials can implement recommendations and resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  related to protecting children and their families from measles without discriminating on the basis of disability, particularly in the case of students who are medically unable to receive a vaccine because of a disability, and explains what school officials must do to ensure continuity of learning if a student is legitimately excluded from school.  … Read the rest