In many educational institutions, students of color are disciplined more harshly and more frequently than other students, resulting in serious, negative educational consequences, particularly when such students are excluded from school. Common examples of these disciplinary infractions include, but are not limited to, dress code violations, truancy, defiance, disruption, fighting, profanity, etc. The student discipline policies, procedures, and practices of schools that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education must comply with the non-discrimination requirements of Title VI.
OCR has continued its vigorous enforcement activities to ensure that students are not disciplined more frequently or more severely because of their race, color, or national origin.
Policy Guidance
| Date | Title of Document |
|---|---|
| November 19, 2024 | Resource on Avoiding the Discriminatory Use of Artificial Intelligence This resource assists school communities with ensuring that artificial intelligence (AI) is used in a nondiscriminatory manner in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education consistent with federal civil rights laws. The resource makes clear that AI technologies have the potential to enhance opportunities and increase educational equity for all students, but that at the same time, the growing use of AI in schools, including for instructional and school safety purposes, and AI’s ability to operate on a mass scale can create or contribute to discrimination. The resource provides information on the legal analyses that OCR uses to determine whether discrimination exists, and provides examples of conduct that could, depending on facts and circumstances, present OCR with sufficient reason to open an investigation.
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| May 16 2024 | Fact Sheet: Ensuring Educational Opportunities for All Students on Equal Terms 70 Years After Brown v. Board of Education This fact sheet highlights that in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that legally mandated racial segregation of children in public schools is unconstitutional, The fact sheet explains that student access to education and to educational resources, differs by race, color, and national origin in schools across the United States. and summarizes resources describing federal legal obligations to ensure that all students have equal access to education regardless of race, color, or national origin.
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| May 26, 2023 | Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division jointly released a Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline. The resource highlights examples of the Departments' investigations of discrimination in student discipline on the basis of race, color, or national origin under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Departments' Title VI regulations.
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| January 8, 2014 |
The guidance package will assist states, districts and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate, and ensure those policies and practices comply with federal law in light of the difficulty of creating and maintaining safe, positive environments. Included within is the "Dear Colleague" letter: Racial Disparities In The Administration Of School Discipline" from Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon, U.S. Department of Education, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels, U.S. Department of Justice
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Please see our Reading Room for a full list of guidance documents on issues related to Race, Color, or National Origin Discrimination.
Case Resolutions
- Christian County Public Schools (KY) (03-11-5002)
- Christina School District (DE) (03-10-5001)
- Tupelo Public School District (MS): (06-11-5002)
- Read the Press Release
- Read the Resolution Letter PDF (536K)
- Read the Resolution Agreement PDF (260K)
- More Case Resolutions
Publications
- Resource on Confronting Racial Discrimination in Student Discipline PDF (1.06M)
- En español (Spanish) PDF (1.06M)
- CRDC Data Reports and Presentations (exclusionary discipline, etc.)