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Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

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OCR vigilantly enforces federal civil rights laws in schools and other recipients of Department of Education funding throughout the nation, managing and sustaining an expert staff across 12 regional offices.

Welcome to the Office for Civil Rights

OCR’s mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights in our nation’s schools. 

Know Your Rights

OCR enforces Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal funds from ED.

Retaliation Discrimination

The ability of individuals to oppose discriminatory practices is critical to ensuring equal educational opportunities.

File a Civil Rights Complaint

Learn more about where to file at civil rights complaint and our process once the complaint is filed.

Civil Rights Data

Find data on key education and civil rights issues in our schools.

Open Investigations

As a public service, OCR publishes this list of elementary-secondary and post-secondary institutions that are currently under investigation.

Recent Case Resolutions

View resolution documents covering all aspects of the laws OCR enforces.

Below are Frequently Asked Questions on OCR's work, including information related to our areas of enforcement and the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Policy and legal interpretations announced in these materials may have been superseded or modified by federal court decisions or by later interpretations of the legal requirements involved. Placement of the document in the reading room does not reflect its importance relative to other OCR documents or to court decisions. The list of OCR documents currently available is not all-inclusive.

Find reports that summarize OCR's policies and enforcement activities as well as information about how the office accomplishes our objectives.

OCR Policy Guidance

See recent publications, case resolutions, and technical assistance provided by OCR

Fiscal Year Budget Requests

Learn more about how OCR spends the funding requested for our operation.

Annual Reports Regarding OCR Activities

These reports summarize OCR’s policy and enforcement activities for the applicable fiscal years.

See reports of correspondence and testimony received by OCR. 

Stakeholder Correspondence

Correspondence on a variety of topics important to OCR including students at risk for self-harm and Title IX.

Testimony

View testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and other related boards.

Federal Entities Correspondence

Read correspondence between federal entities about topics related to civil rights and civil rights violations.

Congressional Correspondence

View interactions between OCR staff members and member of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Our Locations

The OCR National Headquarters is located at:

U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights
Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Bldg
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-1100

Telephone: 800-421-3481
FAX: 202-453-6012; TDD: 800-877-8339
Email: OCR@ed.gov

Other Locations

To locate the enforcement office serving your area select the state or territory where you live visit https://ocrcas.ed.gov/contact-ocr.

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Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
Page Last Reviewed:
October 11, 2024