Department of Education to reinvigorate its Office for Civil Rights

Lexology.com
Franczek Radelet PC
Dana Fattore Crumley and Jacqueline F. Wernz USA April 5 2010

The U.S. Department of Education recently indicated plans to intensify civil rights oversight and enforcement efforts by its Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR division of the Department of Education enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination against students based on sex, race, national origin and disability status in schools, colleges and universities. On March 8, 2010, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced plans to “reinvigorate” OCR, including a new focus on enforcement of relevant federal laws, the release of new policy guidance to educational institutions and the provision of technical assistance to schools, parents and students. The announcement was made in Selma, Alabama, on the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” an incident during which peaceful civil rights protesters were battered by state troopers, and which ultimately led to the passage of the 1965 Voting Right Act.
In the area of enforcement, Secretary Duncan indicated that the Department plans to conduct 38 investigations, or “compliance reviews,” addressing approximately 40 issues over the coming year. On March 10, two days after Secretary Duncan’s speech in Selma, the Department announced the first of these compliance reviews, which will investigate access to educational opportunities for English Learner (EL) students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). If OCR finds that an educational institution is not compliant with federal law, the educational institution must become compliant or face the potential loss of federal funding.

Full Story: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=3f723a54-4836-41e8-b606-36f017505e58&utm_source=Lexology%20Daily%20Newsfeed&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Lexology%20subscriber%20daily%20feed&utm_content=Lexology%20Daily%20Newsfeed%202010-04-14&utm_term=