The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights have just released new guidance on how educators can lawfully pursue voluntary policies to achieve diversity or avoid racial isolation.
The Dear Colleague letter can be reached at: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201111.html. As Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez stated, "Diversity is a remarkable source of strength."
A copy of the joint guidance follows.
Dear Colleague Letter
OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
U.S. Department of JusticeCivil Rights Division
U.S. Department of EducationOffice for Civil Rights
More Resources
Dear Colleague LetterPDF (136K)
Guidance ESEPDF (290K)
Guidance PSEPDF (124K)
December 2, 2011
Dear Colleague:
Today, the United States Department of Education (ED) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are jointly issuing guidance that explains how educational institutions can lawfully pursue voluntary policies to achieve diversity or avoid racial isolation within the framework of Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and current case law. The guidance is presented in two documents, one for elementary and secondary schools and the other for postsecondary institutions. This guidance replaces August 2008 letters titled “The Use of Race in Assigning Students to Elementary and Secondary Schools” and “The Use of Race in Postsecondary Student Admissions” issued by ED’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Concurrent with the issuance of this guidance, the August 2008 letters are withdrawn.
The new guidance documents review three key Supreme Court rulings on the use of race by educational institutions, and provide examples of options that schools and postsecondary institutions may wish to consider in structuring programs that lawfully further diversity or reduce racial isolation. Both guidance documents provide examples of different educational contexts within which institutions may permissibly consider race to pursue their compelling objectives. For example, the elementary and secondary guidance discusses school districts’ options in areas such as student assignment, student transfers, school siting, feeder patterns, and school zoning. Similarly, the postsecondary guidance provides examples of how colleges and universities can further diversity in contexts including admissions, pipeline programs, recruitment and outreach, and mentoring, tutoring, retention, and support programs.
OCR and DOJ are available to provide technical assistance, and welcome questions about the application of this guidance to educational institutions. To submit questions or receive technical assistance, please contact the OCR regional office for your state or territory at http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OCR/contactus.cfm. To contact DOJ for assistance, please contact the Educational Opportunities Section at (202) 514-4092, (877) 292-3804, or education@usdoj.gov.
Sincerely,
/S/
/S/
Russlynn Ali
Assistant Secretary
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
Thomas E. Perez Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division U.S. Department of Justice
Attachments
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201111.html
Showing posts with label Russlynn Ali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russlynn Ali. Show all posts
Friday, December 2, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Commentary: In Making Campuses Safe for Women, a Travesty of Justice for Men
The Chronicle of Higher Education
June 5, 2011
By Christina Hoff Sommers
American courts take exacting precautions to avoid convicting an innocent person of a crime. It was therefore startling to read the April 4, 2011, directive on sexual violence sent by the U.S. Department of Education's assistant secretary for civil rights, Russlynn H. Ali, to college officials across the country. In an effort to make campuses safe and equitable for women, Ali, with the full support of her department, advocates procedures that are unjust to men.
She begins by describing the "deeply troubling" state of the American campus, where "one in five women are victims of completed or attempted sexual assault." The Title IX equity statute, she says, guarantees students a right to an education free of discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual assault and harassment violate this right; therefore, colleges that fail to pursue offenders aggressively can be found in violation of Title IX and lose federal government funds. No matter what the local police choose to do, says Ali, colleges are obligated to carry out their own investigation of all complaints.
Full Commentary: http://chronicle.com/article/In-Making-Campuses-Safe-for/127766/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
June 5, 2011
By Christina Hoff Sommers
American courts take exacting precautions to avoid convicting an innocent person of a crime. It was therefore startling to read the April 4, 2011, directive on sexual violence sent by the U.S. Department of Education's assistant secretary for civil rights, Russlynn H. Ali, to college officials across the country. In an effort to make campuses safe and equitable for women, Ali, with the full support of her department, advocates procedures that are unjust to men.
She begins by describing the "deeply troubling" state of the American campus, where "one in five women are victims of completed or attempted sexual assault." The Title IX equity statute, she says, guarantees students a right to an education free of discrimination on the basis of sex. Sexual assault and harassment violate this right; therefore, colleges that fail to pursue offenders aggressively can be found in violation of Title IX and lose federal government funds. No matter what the local police choose to do, says Ali, colleges are obligated to carry out their own investigation of all complaints.
Full Commentary: http://chronicle.com/article/In-Making-Campuses-Safe-for/127766/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Monday, March 8, 2010
US education secretary to visit 2nd Ala. school
Associated Press
Posted on Mon, Mar. 8, 2010
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided to visit a second Montgomery school after a complaint by a veteran black legislator.
Officials with Duncan's office in Washington confirmed that Monday's visit to Montgomery would include a stop at King Elementary.
Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery had complained that Duncan had chosen to visit Robert E. Lee High School. Holmes said that in 1965, the school and its then-principal publicly opposed the Rev. Martin Luther King and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.
Duncan still plans to visit Lee high school. Officials in Duncan's office said the school is now majority black and the current principal was 2 years old at the time of the march.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
The federal Department of Education plans to intensify its civil rights enforcement efforts in schools around the country, including a deeper look at issues ranging from programs for immigrant students learning English to equal access to a college preparatory courses.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to outline the department's plans in a speech delivered Monday in Alabama to commemorate the 45th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," in which several hundred civil rights protesters were beaten by state troopers on Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge during a voting rights march in 1965.
"For us, this is very much about working to meet the president's goal, that by 2020 we will regain our status in the world as the number one producer of college graduates," Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department, told The Associated Press.
The department is expecting to conduct 38 compliance reviews around 40 different issues this year, she said.
Though the investigations have been conducted before, the department's Office of Civil Rights is looking to do more complicated and broad reviews that will look not just at whether procedures are in place, but at the impact district practices have on students of one race or another, and if student needs are being met.
Full Story: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation/20100308_ap_useducationsecretarytovisit2ndalaschool.html
Posted on Mon, Mar. 8, 2010
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided to visit a second Montgomery school after a complaint by a veteran black legislator.
Officials with Duncan's office in Washington confirmed that Monday's visit to Montgomery would include a stop at King Elementary.
Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery had complained that Duncan had chosen to visit Robert E. Lee High School. Holmes said that in 1965, the school and its then-principal publicly opposed the Rev. Martin Luther King and the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march.
Duncan still plans to visit Lee high school. Officials in Duncan's office said the school is now majority black and the current principal was 2 years old at the time of the march.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
The federal Department of Education plans to intensify its civil rights enforcement efforts in schools around the country, including a deeper look at issues ranging from programs for immigrant students learning English to equal access to a college preparatory courses.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan plans to outline the department's plans in a speech delivered Monday in Alabama to commemorate the 45th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," in which several hundred civil rights protesters were beaten by state troopers on Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge during a voting rights march in 1965.
"For us, this is very much about working to meet the president's goal, that by 2020 we will regain our status in the world as the number one producer of college graduates," Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights in the Education Department, told The Associated Press.
The department is expecting to conduct 38 compliance reviews around 40 different issues this year, she said.
Though the investigations have been conducted before, the department's Office of Civil Rights is looking to do more complicated and broad reviews that will look not just at whether procedures are in place, but at the impact district practices have on students of one race or another, and if student needs are being met.
Full Story: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation/20100308_ap_useducationsecretarytovisit2ndalaschool.html
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Education Secretary Announces Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
FOR RELEASE:
WASHINGTON-Education Secretary Arne Duncan today praised President Barack Obama's intent to nominate Russlynn Ali as the assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education.
Duncan said, "Russlynn brings passion for, expertise in and dedication to equality and fairness in education, and her tireless work and commitment have changed the lives of low-income students from across the nation. I very much look forward to working with her."
Russlynn Ali is vice president of the Education Trust and founding director of the Education Trust-West, the West Coast partner of EdTrust. The Education Trust organizations work to promote high academic achievement for all students at all levels, with an emphasis on serving Latino, African American, Native American and low-income students. Ali has held senior positions at several other education-related organizations, including liaison to the president of the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, D.C.; chief of staff to the president of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education; and deputy co-director of Advancement Project. Ali attended Spelman College and graduated from American University with a bachelor's degree in law and society. She also holds a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. Ali practiced corporate and civil rights law and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California School of Law prior to her career in the non-profit sector.
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Duncan said, "Russlynn brings passion for, expertise in and dedication to equality and fairness in education, and her tireless work and commitment have changed the lives of low-income students from across the nation. I very much look forward to working with her."
Russlynn Ali is vice president of the Education Trust and founding director of the Education Trust-West, the West Coast partner of EdTrust. The Education Trust organizations work to promote high academic achievement for all students at all levels, with an emphasis on serving Latino, African American, Native American and low-income students. Ali has held senior positions at several other education-related organizations, including liaison to the president of the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, D.C.; chief of staff to the president of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education; and deputy co-director of Advancement Project. Ali attended Spelman College and graduated from American University with a bachelor's degree in law and society. She also holds a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. Ali practiced corporate and civil rights law and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California School of Law prior to her career in the non-profit sector.
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