Title II of the ADA of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on disability by public entities. It applies to any public educational institution. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing the ADA provisions with respect to public educational entities and public libraries. OCR also enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as it applies to educational institutions. Section 504 provides protection against discrimination on the basis of a disability in any programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. For information on these laws, please visit the Disability Discrimination section of the OCR website. Additional information on ADA is provided by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a biennial (i.e., every other school year) survey of public schools required by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) since 1968.
The CRDC collects data on leading civil rights indicators related to access and barriers to educational opportunity at the early childhood through grade 12 levels.
The CRDC collects data from public local educational agencies (LEA) and schools, including juvenile justice facilities, charter schools, alternative schools, and schools serving only students with disabilities.
Data from the 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2017-18 CRDC surveys are available in the CRDC reporting tool at http://ocrdata.ed.gov.
Information about collecting and reporting data for the CRDC is available at 1-855-255-6901.
The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces several federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from ED. These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. These laws extend to state education agencies, elementary and secondary school systems, colleges and universities, vocational schools, proprietary schools, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, libraries, and museums that receive ED funds. Complaints of discrimination on the basis of any of the referenced categories may be filed with OCR using the online complaint form, or by contacting the OCR enforcement office that serves your state.
If you believe you have been discriminated against due to your religious preference, please contact the U.S. Department of Justice Educational Opportunities Section.
The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) publishes as a public service, this list of elementary-secondary and post-secondary institutions under investigation. The list is a snapshot of data on aspects of law that OCR enforces as it existed at a particular point in time (i.e., the last Friday of each month). It is not real-time data. OCR will replace the list with a new data snapshot on the first Wednesday of each month.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination based on disability in any program or activity operated by recipients of federal funds. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination based on disability by public entities, regardless of whether they receive federal financial assistance.
Examples of the types of discrimination prohibited include inequitable access to educational programs and facilities, denial of a free appropriate public education for elementary and secondary students, and refusal to implement or inappropriate implementation of academic adjustments in higher education. A fuller list of Section 504 and Title II issues OCR addresses appears on the Disability Discrimination page. The regulations for Section 504 and Title II are enforced by OCR and appear in the Code of Federal Regulations here: Section 504 and Title II of the ADA.
Section 504 and Title II also prohibit employment discrimination; complainants may choose whether to pursue such complaints with OCR or with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Title VI is a federal law that prohibits any entity that receives federal financial assistance (such as grants or student loans) from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin includes discrimination based on a person's actual or perceived race, color, national origin, ethnicity, or ancestry. This includes discrimination based on the country, world region, or place where a person or his or her ancestors come from; a person's limited English proficiency or English learner status; or a person's shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
The U.S. Department of Education's (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) implements Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. Title IX applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance from ED, including state and local educational agencies.