1

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

U.S. Department of Education 

Office for Civil Rights

A FIRST LOOK

KEY DATA HIGHLIGHTS ON EQUITY AND 

OPPORTUNITY GAPS IN OUR NATION’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS

U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | Issued: June 7, 2016 | Revised: October 28, 2016 

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

2013-2014 CIVIL RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION

The 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a survey of all public schools and school districts in the United States. The CRDC 

measures student access to courses, programs, instructional and other staff, and resources — as well as school climate factors, such as 

student discipline and bullying and harassment — that impact education equity and opportunity for students. The U.S. Department of 

Education (ED) will release additional data highlights later in 2016 on key topics such as student discipline, early learning access, teacher 

and staffing equity, access to courses and programs that foster college and career readiness, and chronic student absenteeism. The full 

CRDC data file may be downloaded now; please visit crdc.ed.govfor more information. In Fall 2016, the public will be able to look up 

2013-14 CRDC data for individual schools, school districts, and states by visiting the CRDC website at ocrdata.ed.gov. 

Who’s in the 2013-14 CRDC?

Number of school districts: 16,758 (99.2% of all school districts) 

Number of schools: 95,507 (99.5% of all public schools)

Total number of students: 50,035,744 

Nationwide Student Demographics:

Race/Ethnicity: 

Boys: 51.4% Girls: 48.6%

English Learners: 9.9%

Students with Disabilities: 14.0% 

(includes students receiving services under IDEA and/or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) 

Asian 4.8% 

American Indian or 

Alaska Native 1.1% 

Two or More Races 3.1% 

Native Hawaiian 

or Other Pacific Islander 0.4% 

White 50.3% 

Black or African 

American 15.5%

Hispanic or 

Latino of any race 

24.7% 

Newly Published Data

In this document, data highlights marked as NEW

indicate that the CRDC collected new information on 

the topic for the first time in the 2013-14 CRDC.

WHAT’S INSIDE

About the CRDC............................................... 2

School Discipline..........................................3

Restraint and Seclusion............................. 5

Early Learning...............................................5

College and Career Readiness................. 6

Chronic Student Absenteeism................. 7

Education in Justice Facilities..................8

Teacher and Staffing Equity......................9

CRDC Endnotes and Definitions...................10

*UPDATE (as of 10/28/16): 

The state of Florida, on behalf of its 

school districts, corrected data it 

previously submitted to the 2013-

2014 Civil Rights Data Collection. 

Those data are now incorporated in 

this revised document. See page 13 

for details. 
2 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection | A FIRST LOOK 

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016 

The purpose of the CRDC is to obtain data related to the obligation 

of public school districts and of elementary and secondary schools 

to provide equal educational opportunity. Since 1968, the CRDC has 

collected a variety of information, including student enrollment and 

educational programs and services data that are disaggregated by 

race/ethnicity, sex, English learner status, and disability, from public 

schools across the nation. 

The CRDC is a longstanding and important aspect of the Office for 

Civil Rights' overall strategy for administering and enforcing the 

civil rights statutes for which it is responsible. Other ED offices, as 

well as policymakers and researchers outside of ED, also use CRDC 

information. Additionally, the CRDC database, with hundreds of data 

elements, is fully accessible to the public. School districts self-report 

and certify all data presented. 

The CRDC is a mandatory data collection, authorized under the 

statutes and regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 

504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and under the Department 

of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. § 3413). The regulations 

implementing these provisions can be found at 34 CFR 100.6(b); 34 

CFR 106.71; and 34 CFR 104.61.

For more information about the CRDC, please visit crdc.ed.gov.

What’s in the 2013-14 Civil Rights 

Data Collection? 

n The 2013-14 CRDC provides equity and opportunity data on 

a wide array of topics, including:

• Bullying and harassment

• Early learning

• Pathways to college and career readiness (including access to 

math/science and AP courses)

• Restraint and seclusion

• School finance

• Prevalence of and student participation in interscholastic 

athletics 

• Student discipline

• Teachers and other school personnel

n NEW Data topics now available in the 2013–14 CRDC 

include:

• Chronic student absenteeism

• Availability of free or partial-payment preschool in school 

districts

• Educational access in justice (detention, correctional or 

residential) facilities

• Civil rights coordinators in school districts

• Sworn law enforcement/school resource officers in schools

• Access to distance education courses, credit recovery, and 

dual enrollment/dual credit programs

What’s Coming Next In The CRDC?

Topics collected for the first time in the 2013–14 CRDC as 

optional data items, and that will be collected from every 

school in the 2015–16 CRDC, include: 

• Allegations of bullying or harassment on the bases 

of sexual orientation and religion

• Discipline-related transfers to alternative schools

• Number of students participating in education programs in 

justice (detention, correctional or residential) facilities, by 

number of days of participation

• Preschool corporal punishment

• Number of instances of and school days missed due to outof-school suspensions

• Number of criminal acts committed at school that would 

lead to discipline

• Number of preschool children enrolled in district who are 

served in non-district facilities

• Number of students enrolled in distance education, dual 

enrollment/dual credit, and credit recovery programs

• Access to instructional aides, support services staff, 

psychologists, social workers, nurses, and school 

administrators

• Number of security guards and sworn law enforcement/

school resource officers

• Teacher churn/turnover

About the CRDC
U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | ocrdata.ed.gov 3

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

2013-14 CRDC DATA HIGHLIGHTS: A FIRST LOOK †

School Discipline

n Black public preschool children are suspended from school at high 

rates: Black preschool children are 3.6 times as likely to receive one or more 

out-of-school suspensions as white preschool children.

• Black children represent 19% of preschool enrollment, but 47% of 

preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions; 

in comparison, white children represent 41% of preschool enrollment, 

but 28% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school 

suspensions.

• Black boys represent 19% of male preschool enrollment, but 45% of male 

preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions.

• Black girls represent 20% of female preschool enrollment, but 54%

of female preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school 

suspensions.

n Most public preschool children suspended are boys: While boys 

represent 54% of preschool enrollment, they represent 78% of preschool 

children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions.

n Children with disabilities and English learners are not

disproportionately suspended in public preschool:

• Children with disabilities served by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) represent 20% of preschool enrollment, but 

15% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions.

• English learners represent 12% of preschool enrollment, but 7% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school 

suspensions.

n Nationwide, 2.8 million K-12 students received one-or-more out of school suspensions:

• These include approximately 1.1 million black students; 610,000 Latino students; 700,000 students served by IDEA; and 210,000 

English learners.

n Racial disparities in suspensions are also apparent in K-12 schools: While 6% of all K-12 students received one or more out-of-school 

suspensions, the percentage is 18% for black boys; 10% for black girls; 5% for white boys; and 2% for white girls.

• Black K-12 students are 3.8 times as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as white students.

• Black girls are 8% of enrolled students, but 13% of students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Girls of other races did 

not disproportionately receive one or more out-of-school suspensions.

• American Indian or Alaska Native, Latino, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and multiracial boys are also disproportionately 

suspended from school, representing 15% of K-12 students but 19% of K-12 students receiving one or more out-of-school 

suspensions. 

ED Initiative Spotlight

Reforming School Discipline Policy and Practice 

The Department has made school discipline reform a top 

priority. In the 2016 Investing in Innovation (i3) Program, 

the Department seeks to support innovative alternatives to 

suspension. This priority builds on the #RethinkDiscipline

campaign to increase awareness about the detrimental impacts of exclusionary discipline, our investment in School 

Climate Transformation Grants to help states and districts 

strengthen behavioral supports for students, and a School 

Discipline Guidance Package to clarify schools' obligation 

not to discriminate on the basis of race in discipline. 

For more information on the programs and initiatives appearing in 

this document, please visit www.ed.gov.

† Note: Except where the percentage is below 1%, the percentages listed in these data highlights are rounded to the nearest whole number. Numbers in 

phrases such as “__ times more likely” are rounded to nearest tenth (one decimal place). Black refers to persons who are black or African American; Latino

refers to persons who are Hispanic or Latino of any race; and multiracial refers to persons of two or more races. The numbers in these data highlights reflect 

a privacy protection protocol and other methodologies for collecting and preparing the data.1 For additional information on the methodology for collecting 

and preparing the data cited in this document, please visit ocrdata.ed.gov.
4 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection | A FIRST LOOK 

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016 

• 11% of American Indian or Alaska Native boys received one or more out-of-school suspensions, as did 10% of multiracial boys, 8%

of Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander boys, and 7% of Latino boys.

• Asian and white students did not disproportionately receive one or more out-of-school suspensions.

n Students with disabilities in grades K-12 are disproportionately 

suspended from school:

• Students with disabilities served by IDEA (12%) are more than twice as 

likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as students without 

disabilities (5%).

• More than one out of five American Indian or Alaska Native (23%), Native 

Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (23%), black (25%), and multiracial (27%) 

boys with disabilities served by IDEA received one or more out-of-school 

suspensions, compared to one out of ten white (10%) boys with disabilities 

served by IDEA.

• More than one in five multiracial girls with disabilities served by IDEA 

(21%) received one or more out-of-school suspensions, compared to one in 

twenty white girls with disabilities served by IDEA (5%).

n English learners are not disproportionately suspended from school:

• English learners make up 10% of all students, but they are 7% of those who 

received one or more out-of-school suspensions.

n Black students are expelled from school at disproportionately high 

rates: 

• Black students are 1.9 times as likely to be expelled from school without 

educational services as white students.

• Black boys represent 8% of all students, but 19% of students expelled 

without educational services.

• Black girls are 8% of all students, but 9% of students expelled without educational services.

n American Indian or Alaska Native, white, and multiracial boys are also disproportionately expelled from school without 

educational services:

• White boys represent 26% of all students, but 35% of students expelled without educational services.

• American Indian or Alaska Native boys represent 0.6% of all students, but 2% of students expelled without educational services.

• Multiracial boys represent 2% of all students, but 4% of students expelled without educational services.

n Latino and Asian boys and girls, as well as Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and white girls, are not disproportionately 

expelled without educational services from schools. 

• Latino students represent 25% of all students, but 15% of students expelled without educational services.

• Asian students represent 5% of all students, but 1% of students expelled without educational services.

• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander girls represent 0.2% of all students, but 0.1% of students expelled without educational 

services.

• White girls represent 24% of all students, but 12% of students expelled without educational services.

n Black students are more likely to be disciplined through law enforcement: Black students are 2.2 times as likely to receive a referral 

to law enforcement or be subject to a school-related arrest as white students.

ED Initiative Spotlight

Increasing Equity for Students of 

Color in Special Education 

Students of color are more likely to be identified as having 

a disability and face harsher discipline than their white 

classmates. To address these inequities, in February 2016, 

the Department proposed a new rule to improve equity 

in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 

IDEA requires states to identify districts with "significant 

disproportionality" in special education—that is, when 

districts identify, place outside the regular classroom, 

or discipline children from any racial or ethnic group at 

markedly higher rates than their peers. The proposed 

Equity in IDEA rule would, for the first time, require states 

to implement a standard approach to compare racial and 

ethnic groups, with reasonable thresholds for determining when disparities have become significant, and would 

also provide identified districts with new flexibility to 

support student needs.
U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | ocrdata.ed.gov 5

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

n NEW A significant number of schools have sworn law enforcement officers (SLEOs), including school resource officers (SROs):

• 24% of elementary schools (grades K-6, excluding justice facilities) have SLEOs; 42% of high schools (grades 9-12, excluding justice 

facilities) have SLEOs.

• 51% of high schools with high black and Latino student enrollment* have SLEOs.

Restraint and Seclusion

n More than 100,000 students were placed in seclusion or involuntary confinement or were physically restrained at school to 

immobilize them or reduce their ability to move freely — including almost 69,000 students with disabilities served by IDEA:

• Students with disabilities served by IDEA represent 12% of all students, 

but 67% of students subject to restraint or seclusion.

• American Indian or Alaska Native and multiracial boys represent 2% of all 

students, but 5% of students subject to restraint or seclusion.

• Black boys and white boys represent 8% and 26% of all students, 

respectively, but 18% and 43% of students subject to restraint or 

seclusion.

• Asian, Latino, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander boys are not 

disproportionately subject to restraint or seclusion; neither are girls of any 

race or ethnicity.

Early Learning

n More than half of school districts provide public preschool programs 

beyond providing those services required by federal law for children 

with disabilities — but many children are still left without access to early 

learning: 

• By law, all school districts must provide special education and related services for preschool children with disabilities under the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition, 54% of all school districts report providing preschool programs to 

children not served by IDEA. 

n Among school districts that report offering preschool programs for children not served by IDEA, nearly half provide full-day 

preschool:

• 48% of these school districts offer full-day preschool programs.

• 70% of these school districts offer part-day preschool programs.

(Percentages above do not sum to 100% because districts can offer both full-day and part-day programs.)

n Of the school districts that offer preschool programs for children not served by IDEA, 73% extend preschool eligibility to all 

children in the district (but do not necessarily provide preschool programs universally to every child): 

• The remaining 27% of school districts extend preschool eligibility to children from low-income families or children in Title I schools, 

but not to all children.

n NEW Most, but not all, public preschools are free: Of the school districts that provide preschool programs for children not served by 

IDEA, 86% offer part-day or full-day preschool at no cost; the remaining 14% require parents or guardians to pay for part or all of the cost 

to enroll children in preschool.

ED Initiative Spotlight

Supporting Early Learning Educators

In 2014, the U.S. Departments of Education and Health 

and Human Services issued a Policy Statement on Expulsion and Suspension Practices in Early Childhood Settings

to assist states and public and private early childhood 

programs in preventing and severely limiting expulsions 

and suspensions in early learning settings. In 2016, 

through the Departments’ Preschool Development Grants 

Program national activities funds, model sites will be 

developed to implement strategies that improve social, 

emotional, and behavioral outcomes in preschoolers and 

support preschool teachers, administrators and families 

in addressing and reducing disproportionate discipline 

practices in early learning settings. 
6 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection | A FIRST LOOK 

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016 

College and Career Readiness

n High-rigor course access is not a reality across all of our nation's schools: Nationwide, 48% of high schools offer calculus; 60% offer 

physics; 72% offer chemistry; and 78% offer Algebra II.

n Black and Latino students have less access to high-level math and science courses:

• 33% of high schools with high black and Latino student enrollment* offer 

calculus, compared to 56% of high schools with low black and Latino 

student enrollment.

• 48% of high schools with high black and Latino student enrollment* 

offer physics, compared to 67% of high schools with low black and Latino 

student enrollment. 

• 65% of high schools with high black and Latino student enrollment* offer 

chemistry, compared to 78% of high schools with low black and Latino 

student enrollment.

• 71% of high schools with high black and Latino student enrollment* offer 

Algebra II, compared to 84% of high schools with low black and Latino 

student enrollment.

n Course enrollment rates differ by race/ethnicity, and by disability and 

English learner status:

• Black and Latino students are 38% of students in schools that offer Algebra 

II and 37% of students enrolled in Algebra II; they are 36% of students in 

schools that offer calculus and 21% of students enrolled in calculus; and they are 37% of students in schools that offer physics and 

35% of students enrolled in physics.

• White students are 53% of students in schools that offer Algebra II and 53% of students enrolled in Algebra II; they are 55% of 

students in schools that offer calculus and 61% of students enrolled in calculus; and they are 54% of students in schools that offer 

physics and 53% of students enrolled in physics.

• Students with disabilities served by IDEA are 12% of students in schools that offer Algebra II and 6% of students enrolled in Algebra II; 

they are 11% of students in schools that offer calculus and 1% of students enrolled in calculus; and they are 11% of students in schools 

that offer physics and 6% of students enrolled in physics. 

• To close the participation gap in physics, more than 104,000 additional students with disabilities served by IDEA would need to 

participate in physics classes nationwide.

• English learners are 5% of students in schools that offer Algebra II and 4% of students enrolled in Algebra II; they are 5% of students 

in schools that offer calculus and 1% of students enrolled in calculus; and they are 5% of students in schools that offer physics and 4%

of students enrolled in physics. 

• To close the participation gap in physics, more than 16,000 additional English learners would need to participate in physics classes 

nationwide.

n Girls are underrepresented among students enrolled in physics, but not in calculus:

• Girls represent 49% of all students nationwide and 49% of students enrolled in calculus, but 46% of students enrolled in physics.

• To close the participation gap in physics, more than 91,000 additional girls would need to participate in physics classes 

nationwide.

ED Initiative Spotlight

Boosting STEM and Computer Science Education 

The President has proposed a $4.1 billion Computer 

Science for All program that would support states’ and 

school district’s efforts to expand access for all students 

to computer science instruction and programs. And in 

April 2016, the Department issued a Dear Colleague

letter to states, school districts, schools and education 

partners on how to maximize federal funds to support and 

enhance innovative science, technology, engineering and 

math (STEM) education for all students and decrease the 

equity and opportunity gaps for historically underserved 

students in STEM. 
U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | ocrdata.ed.gov 7

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

n Unequal access to accelerated courses or programs: Black and Latino students represent 42% of student enrollment in schools 

offering gifted and talented education (GATE) programs, yet 28% of the students enrolled in GATE programs. 

• White students are 49% of all students in schools offering GATE programs and 57% of students in GATE programs.

• While English learners are 11% of students in schools offering GATE 

programs, fewer than 3% of GATE students nationwide are English 

learners.

• Similarly, students with disabilities served by IDEA are 12% of all students 

in schools offering GATE programs, but represent fewer than 3% of GATE 

students nationwide.

n Student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses is unequal: 

• Black and Latino students represent 38% of students in schools that offer 

AP courses, but 29% of students enrolled in at least one AP course.

• English learners represent 5% of students in schools that offer AP courses, 

but 2% of the students enrolled in at least one AP course.

• Students with disabilities served by IDEA represent 11% of all students in 

schools that offer AP courses, but fewer than 2% of students enrolled in at 

least one AP course.

n English learners, students with disabilities, and students of color are 

more likely to be retained or held back in high school: Students with 

disabilities served by IDEA and English learners are 12% and 5% of high 

school student enrollment , but 22% and 11% of high school students held 

back or retained.

• Black students are 16% of high school students but 30% of high school 

students retained, while white students are 53% of high school students 

but 31% of high school students retained. 

• Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other 

Pacific Islander, and multiracial high school students are also retained at 

disproportionately high rates, representing 27% of high school students 

but 35% of high school students retained.

Chronic Student Absenteeism

n NEW Nationwide, more than 6.8 million students – or 14% of all 

students – are chronically absent (absent 15 or more school days during the school year).

n NEW More than 3 million high school students – or 19% of all high school students – are chronically absent.

• 20% or more of American Indian or Alaska Native (27%), Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (25%), black (23%), multiracial 

(21%), and Latino (21%) high school students are chronically absent.

• High school students with disabilities served by IDEA are 1.4 times as likely to be chronically absent as high school students without 

disabilities.

• 21% of all English learner high school students are chronically absent.

ED Initiative Spotlight

Addressing Chronic Absenteeism in Schools

In 2015, the Obama Administration launched Every 

Student, Every Day: A National Initiative to Address and 

Eliminate Chronic Absenteeism to support coordinated 

community action that addresses the underlying causes 

of local chronic absenteeism affecting millions of children 

each year. A core component of the effort is the MBK 

Success Mentor Initiative — a partnership between the Department and key institutions to match chronically absent 

students with school-linked mentors in 30 communities 

to improve their school attendance and achievement. 

Using Data to Ensure Equity in the 

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 

Under the new law, Congress required that states and 

districts include new information in their annual report 

cards, including data about student discipline, school 

arrests, chronic absenteeism, preschool enrollment, accelerated coursework, and per pupil expenditures. Access 

to this important data is a critical step forward in ensuring 

that school communities are able to have meaningful 

conversations about equity in their communities and may 

help states and districts identify schools and students for 

supports to improve student outcomes. 

*UPDATE (as of 10/28/16): The New York City Department of Education has acknowledged anomalies 

in its chronic student absenteeism data that may affect the numbers reported in this document. 
8 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection | A FIRST LOOK 

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016 

n NEW More than 3.8 million elementary school students – or 11% of all elementary school students – are chronically absent.

• American Indian or Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander elementary school students are 1.9 times as likely to be 

chronically absent as white elementary school students.

• Black elementary school students are 1.4 times as likely to be chronically absent as white elementary school students.

• Elementary school students with disabilities served by IDEA are 1.5 times as likely to be chronically absent as elementary school 

students without disabilities. 

n NEW Chronic student absenteeism where the majority of teachers are also frequently absent:

• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students represent 0.4% of all students, but 2% of chronically absent students who attend 

schools where more than 50% of teachers were absent for more than 10 days.

• Black students represent 16% of all students, but 21% of chronically absent students who attend schools where more than 50% of 

teachers were absent for more than 10 days.

*UPDATE (as of 10/28/16): The New York City Department of Education has acknowledged anomalies in its chronic student 

absenteeism data that may affect the numbers reported in this document. 

Education in Justice Facilities

The 2013-14 CRDC collected, for the first time, the days and hours of educational 

programs – consisting of credit-granting courses and classroom instruction through 

grade 12 – at justice facilities. Justice facilities are short- and long-term public 

or private facilities (including correctional facilities, detention centers, jails, and 

prisons) that confine (before or after adjudication or conviction) juveniles under 18 

years of age, adults who are 18 years of age and older, or both; however, the CRDC 

included data only from justice facilities confining individuals up to 21 years of 

age. 

n NEW On average, justice facilities report offering 26 hours per week of 

educational programming during their regular school year. But more than 

one in seven (15%) offers less than 20 hours per week during the school year 

– which is less than four hours each day in a five-day week.

n NEW While state requirements for public schools vary, the majority of states 

require 180 days of school instruction. More than one in five justice facilities (21%) reports having fewer than 180 days in a regular 

school year, and one in 20 (5%) reports having fewer than 170 days. By contrast, 24% of justice facilities report having more than 230 

days in a regular school year, reflecting the year-round nature of these facilities. 

ED Initiative Spotlight

Promoting Correctional Education and Reentry 

The Department has prioritized access to education as a 

tool and resource for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals through Improved Reentry Education (IRE) 

and Promoting Reentry Success Through the Continuity of 

Educational Opportunities (PRSCEO) grants, Reentry Education Toolkit, and Guidance on Correctional Education 

in Juvenile Justice Facilities. And through the Juvenile 

Justice Reentry Education Program, the Department 

is helping schools provide robust Career and Technical 

Education (CTE) and wraparound reentry supports for 

juveniles involved in the justice system.
U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | ocrdata.ed.gov 9

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

ED Initiative Spotlight 

Focus on Teacher Diversity

In May 2016, the Department released a report titled 

The State of Racial Diversity in the Educator Workforce

in conjunction with the National Summit on Teacher 

Diversity. Using data collected by the Department as well 

as data from public school districts collected by the U.S. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the 

report reviews trends in educator diversity and reveals 

that, while students of color make up 50% of students according to the CRDC, and are expected to make up 56% of 

the student population by 2024, the educator workforce is 

still overwhelmingly white. Other report highlights:

• In school districts with more than 100 employees 

that responded to the EEOC’s survey, black and Latino 

teachers represent 17% of the teacher workforce and 

21% of newly hired teachers. 

• In those same school districts, 27% of principals 

(including assistant principals) and 26% percent of 

new principals are black and Latino.

Teacher and Staffing Equity

n Black, Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native students are more 

likely to attend schools with higher concentrations of inexperienced 

teachers:

• 7% of black students, 6% of Latino students, and 6% of American 

Indian or Alaska Native students attend schools where more than 20% 

of teachers are in their first year of teaching, compared to 3% of white 

students and 3% of Asian students.

• 9% of teachers in schools with high black and Latino student enrollment* 

are in their first year of teaching, compared to 5% of teachers in schools 

with low black and Latino student enrollment.

n Nearly 800,000 students are enrolled in schools where more than

20% of teachers have not met all state certification or licensure 

requirements:

• 3% of black students and 2% of Latino and American Indian or Alaska 

Native students attend these schools, compared to 1% of white students.

n While most teachers are rarely absent, 27% of teachers are absent more 

than 10 school days per year for reasons unrelated to school activities:

• About 6.5 million students attend schools where more than 50% of 

teachers were absent more than 10 days per year.

• 35% of Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students attend schools 

where more than 50% of teachers were absent for more than 10 days, 

compared to 12% of white students.

n Most high school students have access to a school counselor: About 95% of high school students have access to at least one 

school counselor.

• But 21% of high schools and about 850,000 high school students nationwide do not have access to any school counselor.

• 1.6 million students attend a school with an SLEO, but not a school counselor.

• Latino students are 1.4 times as likely to attend a school with an SLEO but not a school counselor as white students; Asian 

students are 1.3 times as likely; black students are 1.2 times as likely.
10 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection | A FIRST LOOK 

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016 

1 The data analyses and highlights presented in this document are based on 

student privacy-protected CRDC data. The CRDC data is privacy-protected 

by rounding student counts in groups of three to prevent the disclosure 

of individual student information. For example, student counts from 1-3 

are rounded to two, and student counts from 4-6 are rounded to five. True 

zeroes are revealed where possible. In general, the distortion of rounding 

one student to two is balanced by the rounding down of three students 

to two. However, this privacy protection method may inflate total counts 

for CRDC data elements in which schools report only one student; for 

example, one student retained or held back a grade in school is rounded 

to two students retained.

For additional information on the methodology for collecting and preparing the data cited in this document, please visit ocrdata.ed.gov.

* "High/low black and Latino enrollment" refers to schools with more than 

75 percent and less than 25 percent black and Latino student enrollment, 

respectively.

Students

English learner (limited English proficient student): In coordination 

with the state’s definition based on Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act, limited English proficient students (referred to in this document as “English Learner”) are students:

(A) who are ages 3 through 21;

(B) who are enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary school or 

secondary school;

(C) (who are i, ii, or iii)

(i) who were not born in the United States or whose native languages 

are languages other than English; 

(ii) (who are I and II)

(I) who are a Native American or Alaska Native, or a native resident of the 

outlying areas; and

(II) who come from an environment where languages other than English 

have a significant impact on their level of language proficiency; or 

(iii) who are migratory, whose native languages are languages other 

than English, and who come from an environment where languages 

other than English are dominant; and 

(D) whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the 

English language may be sufficient to deny the individuals 

(i) the ability to meet the state’s proficient level of achievement on state 

assessments described in section 1111(b)(3)[of ESEA, 20 U.S.C. 6311(b)

(3)]; or

(ii) the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language 

of instruction is English; or 

(iii) the opportunity to participate fully in society.

Note - To be classified as limited English proficient, an individual must be A, 

B, C, and D. For C, an individual can be i, ii, or iii. If C-ii, the individual must be 

I and II. For D, an individual must be denied D-i, D- ii, or D-iii.

Students with disabilities: Unless otherwise indicated, “students with disabilities” refers to students who receive special education and related services 

under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and who receive 

related aids and services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Students with disabilities served by IDEA: Students with intellectual 

disabilities; hearing impairment, including deafness; speech or language 

impairment; visual impairment, including blindness; serious emotional 

disturbance; orthopedic impairment; autism; traumatic brain injury; 

developmental delay; other health impairment; specific learning disability; 

deaf-blindness; or multiple disabilities and who, by reason thereof, receive 

special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act (IDEA) according to an Individualized Education Program, 

Individual Family Service Plan, or service plan. 

Student Discipline 

Out-of-school suspension: For students without disabilities, out-of-school 

suspension is an instance in which a child is temporarily removed from his/

her regular school for at least half a day (but less than the remainder of the 

school year) for disciplinary purposes to another setting (e.g., home, behavior 

center). Out-of-school suspensions include removals in which no educational 

services are provided, and removals in which educational services are provided (e.g., school-provided at home instruction or tutoring). 

• For students with disabilities (served under IDEA): Out-of-school 

suspension is an instance in which a child is temporarily removed from 

his/her regular school for at least half a day for disciplinary purposes to 

another setting (e.g., home, behavior center). Out-of-school suspensions 

include both removals in which no individualized family service plan 

(IFSP) or individualized education plan (IEP) services are provided because the removal is 10 days or less as well as removals in which the child 

continues to receive services according to his/her IFSP or IEP.

Expulsion without educational services refers to an action taken by the 

local educational agency of removing a child from his/her regular school for 

disciplinary purposes, and not providing educational services to the child for 

the remainder of the school year or longer in accordance with local educational agency policy. Expulsion without services also includes removals resulting 

from violations of the Gun Free Schools Act that are modified to less than 365 

days. Note: the CRDC also collects data on expulsion with educational services.

Preschool out-of-school suspension:

• For students with disabilities (served under IDEA): Out-of-school 

suspension is an instance in which a child is temporarily removed from 

his/her regular school for at least half a day for disciplinary purposes to 

another setting (e.g., home, behavior center). Out-of-school suspensions 

include both removals in which no individualized family service plan 

(IFSP) or individualized education plan (IEP) services are provided because the removal is 10 days or less as well as removals in which the child 

continues to receive services according to his/her IFSP or IEP.

• For students without disabilities and students with disabilities served solely under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act:

Out-of-school suspension is an instance in which a child is temporarily 

removed from his/her regular school for at least half a day (but less than 

the remainder of the school year) for disciplinary purposes to another 

setting (e.g., home, behavior center). Out-of-school suspensions include 

removals in which no educational services are provided, and removals in 

CRDC Endnotes and Definitions
U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | ocrdata.ed.gov 11

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which educational services are provided (e.g., school-provided at home 

instruction or tutoring).

Referral to law enforcement is an action by which a student is reported 

to any law enforcement agency or official, including a school police unit, for 

an incident that occurs on school grounds, during school-related events, or 

while taking school transportation, regardless of whether official action is 

taken. Citations, tickets, and court referrals are considered referrals to law 

enforcement.

School-related arrest refers to an arrest of a student for any activity 

conducted on school grounds, during off-campus school activities (including 

while taking school transportation), or due to a referral by any school official.

Restraint and Seclusion 

Restraint refers to both mechanical and physical restraint. 

Mechanical restraint refers to the use of any device or equipment to 

restrict a student’s freedom of movement. The term does not include devices 

implemented by trained school personnel, or utilized by a student that have 

been prescribed by an appropriate medical or related services professional 

and are used for the specific and approved purposes for which such devices 

were designed, such as:

• Adaptive devices or mechanical supports used to achieve proper body 

position, balance, or alignment to allow greater freedom of mobility 

than would be possible without the use of such devices or mechanical 

supports; 

• Vehicle safety restraints when used as intended during the transport of a 

student in a moving vehicle; 

• Restraints for medical immobilization; or

• Orthopedically prescribed devices that permit a student to participate in 

activities without risk of harm.

Physical restraint refers to a personal restriction that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a student to move his or her torso, arms, legs, or head freely. 

The term physical restraint does not include a physical escort. Physical escort 

means a temporary touching or holding of the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder or 

back for the purpose of inducing a student who is acting out to walk to a safe 

location.

Seclusion refers to the involuntary confinement of a student alone in a 

room or area from which the student is physically prevented from leaving. It 

does not include a timeout, which is a behavior management technique that 

is part of an approved program, involves the monitored separation of the student in a non-locked setting, and is implemented for the purpose of calming. 

Early Learning

Preschool refers to preschool programs and services for children ages 3 

through 5. 

Preschool provided by the district: District-provided preschool includes 

preschool services or programs that the district provided by contracting with 

another entity to provide those services or programs; preschool programs or 

services that are operated by a non-district facility (including intermediate 

units, residential facilities, social service agencies, hospitals, and private 

schools) contracted by the district are considered district-provided preschool. 

Also, please note that responses from school districts that serve only vocational or high school students were among the 16,757 districts surveyed as 

to whether they provide preschool programs and services for children ages 3 

through 5. 

Full-day preschool program is a program that a child attends each weekday for approximately six hours or more.

College and Career Readiness 

Advanced Placement (AP) refers to a program, sponsored by the College 

Board, through which students may earn college credit and advanced college 

placement by successfully completing AP courses and standardized AP 

exams.

Advanced Placement (AP) course is an advanced, college-level course 

designed for students who achieve a specified level of academic performance. Upon successful completion of the course and a standardized AP 

exam, a student may be qualified to receive college credit and/or placement 

into advanced college courses. 

Algebra II (college-preparatory) course topics typically include field 

properties and theorems; set theory; operations with rational and irrational 

expressions; factoring of rational expressions; in-depth study of linear equations and inequalities; quadratic equations; solving systems of linear and 

quadratic equations; graphing of constant, linear, and quadratic equations; 

properties of higher degree equations; and operations with rational and 

irrational exponents.

Calculus (college-preparatory) course topics include the study of derivatives, 

differentiation, integration, the definite and indefinite integral, and applications of calculus. Typically, students have previously attained knowledge of 

precalculus topics (some combination of trigonometry, elementary functions, 

analytic geometry, and math analysis).

Chemistry (college-preparatory) courses involve studying the composition, 

properties, and reactions of substances. These courses typically explore 

such concepts as the behaviors of solids, liquids, and gases; acid/base and 

oxidation/reduction reactions; and atomic structure. Chemical formulas and 

equations and nuclear reactions are also studied.

Gifted and talented education (GATE) programs are programs during 

regular school hours that provide special educational opportunities including 

accelerated promotion through grades and classes and an enriched curriculum for students who are endowed with a high degree of mental ability or 

who demonstrate unusual physical coordination, creativity, interest, or talent.

Physics (college-preparatory) courses involve the study of the forces and 

laws of nature affecting matter, such as equilibrium, motion, momentum, and 

the relationships between matter and energy. The study of physics includes 

examination of sound, light, and magnetic and electric phenomena.

Retained: A student is retained if he or she is not promoted to the next 

grade prior to the beginning of the following school year. Students are not 

considered retained if they can proceed to the next grade because they 

successfully completed a summer school program or for a similar reason. At 

the high school level, a student who has not accumulated enough credits to 

be classified as being in the next grade is considered retained.
12 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection | A FIRST LOOK 

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Chronic Student Absenteeism

Chronically absent student: a student who is absent 15 or more school 

days during the school year. A student is absent if he or she is not physically 

on school grounds and is not participating in instruction or instruction-related 

activities at an approved off-grounds location for the school day. Chronically 

absent students include students who are absent for any reason (e.g., illness, 

suspension, the need to care for a family member), regardless of whether 

absences are excused or unexcused. 

Teacher and Staffing Equity and Other Personnel 

Teacher refers to a person who provides instruction, learning experiences, 

and care to students during a particular time period or in a given discipline. 

• Teachers include: Regular Classroom Teachers (teach Chemistry, 

English, mathematics, physical education, history, etc.); Special Education 

Teachers (teach special education classes to students with disabilities); 

General Elementary Teachers [teach self-contained classes in any of 

grades preschool-8 (i.e., teach the same class of students all or most of 

the day); team-teach (i.e., two or more teachers collaborate to teach multiple subjects to the same class of students); include preschool teachers 

and kindergarten teachers]; Vocational/Technical Education Teachers 

(teach typing, business, agriculture, life skills, home economics as well as 

any other vocational or technical classes); teaching principals, teaching 

school counselors, teaching librarians, teaching school nurses, or other 

teaching administrators [include any staff members who teach at least 

one regularly scheduled class per week (e.g., a librarian teaches a regularly scheduled class in mathematics once a week)]; teachers of ungraded 

students; Itinerant, Co-op, Traveling, and Satellite Teachers (teach at more 

than one school and may or may not be supervised by someone at your 

school); current Long-Term Substitute Teachers (currently filling the role of 

regular teachers for four or more continuous weeks); and other teachers 

who teach students in any of grades preschool-12. 

• Teachers exclude: Adult Education and Postsecondary Teachers (teach 

only adult education or students beyond grade 12); Short-term Substitute 

Teachers (fill the role of regular or special education teachers for less than 

four continuous weeks); Student Teachers; Day Care Aides/Paraprofessionals; Teacher Aides/Paraprofessionals; and Librarians who teach only library 

skills or how to use the library.

School counselor refers to a professional staff member assigned specific 

duties and school time for any of the following activities: counseling with 

students and parents, consulting with other staff members on learning problems, evaluating student abilities, assisting students in making education 

and career choices, assisting students in personal and social development, 

providing referral assistance, and/or working with other staff members in 

planning and conducting guidance programs for students.. 

Sworn law enforcement officer (SLEO): A sworn law enforcement officer 

is a career law enforcement officer, with arrest authority. A sworn law enforcement officer may be considered a school resource officer (who is assigned to 

work at a school in collaboration with school and community-based organizations). A sworn law enforcement officer may be employed by any entity (e.g., 

police department, school district or school). 

School resource officer (SRO): a sworn law enforcement officer, with arrest 

authority, whose main responsibility is to work at a school in collaboration 

with school and community-based organizations. An SRO may have received 

specialized training to serve in a variety of roles, including: law enforcement 

officer, law-related educator, problem solver, and community liaison. An SRO 

may be employed by any entity (e.g., police department, school district or 

school). 

Teacher absenteeism: A teacher was absent if he or she was not in attendance on a day in the regular school year when the teacher would otherwise 

be expected to be teaching students in an assigned class. This includes both 

days taken for sick leave and days taken for personal leave. Personal leave includes voluntary absences for reasons other than sick leave. Administratively 

approved leave for professional development, field trips or other off-campus 

activities with students should not be included.

Certified teacher refers to a teacher who has met all applicable state 

teacher certification requirements for a standard certificate. A certified teacher 

has a regular/standard certificate/license/endorsement issued by the state. 

A beginning teacher who has met the standard teacher education requirements is considered to have met state requirements even if he or she has not 

completed a state-required probationary period. A teacher working towards 

certification by way of alternative routes, or a teacher with an emergency, 

temporary, or provisional credential is not considered to have met state 

requirements. 

Year of teaching refers to the number of year(s) of teaching experience 

including the current year but not including any student teaching or other 

similar preparation experiences. Experience includes teaching in any school, 

subject, or grade; it does not have to be in the school, subject, or grade that 

the teacher is presently teaching.

Justice Facilities

Justice facility: a public or private facility that confines pre-adjudicated/

pre-convicted individuals, post-adjudicated/post-convicted individuals, or 

both. Justice facilities include short-term (90 calendar days or less) and longterm (more than 90 calendar days) facilities, such as correctional facilities, 

detention centers, jails, and prisons. These facilities may confine juveniles 

(individuals typically under 18 years of age), adults (individuals typically 

18 years of age and older), or both. Some states and jurisdictions include 

individuals younger than age 18 as adults due to statute/legislation and/or 

justice procedures. For the purposes of the CRDC, only individuals up to 21 

years of age who are confined in justice facilities are of interest.

Justice facility educational program: a program for children and youth 

(not beyond grade 12) served at a justice facility that consists of credit-granting courses and classroom instruction in at minimum, basic school subjects, 

such as reading, English language arts, and mathematics. Classroom 

instruction in vocationally-oriented subjects may also be considered part 

of the program. Neither the manufacture of goods within the facility nor 

activities related to facility maintenance are considered classroom instruction. 

Credit-granting refers to any course that results in a letter grade or a pass/fail 

designation and is required of a student to move to the next grade level or 

complete a program of study and receive a high school diploma. 
U.S. Department of Education | Office for Civil Rights | ocrdata.ed.gov 13

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

United States Department of Education 

John B. King, Jr., Secretary 

Catherine E. Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 

Lyndon Baines Johnson Building

Department of Education 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW , Washington, DC 20202-1100 

Telephone: 800-421-3481 | FAX: 202-453-6012 

TDD: 877-521-2172 

Email: OCR@ed.gov | www.ed.gov/ocr

U.S. Department of Education 

Office for Civil Rights

NEW RELEASE FOR 2016

Availability of Alternate Formats:

Requests for documents in alternate formats such as Braille or large print should be submitted to the Alternate Format Center by calling 

202.260.0852 or by contacting the Section 508 Coordinator via e-mail at om_eeos@ed.gov.

Notice to Limited-English-Proficient Persons:

If you have difficulty understanding English, you may request language assistance services for Department information that is available to 

the public. These language assistance services are available free of charge. If you need more information about interpretation or translation 

services, please call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1.800.872.5327) (TTY: 1.800.877.8339) or e-mail us at ED.Language.Assistance@ed.gov. You also can 

write to U.S. Department of Education, Information Resource Center, LBJ Education Building, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington, DC, 20202.

Document History: 

This document was originally issued on June 7, 2016. On August 10, 2016, the document was updated by adding a text box (on page 1) that 

stated that the Department had been alerted to errors in data the state of Florida submitted on behalf of its school districts as part of the 

2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection and that, as a result, the data referenced in this document might not fully represent all students in 

Florida. The text box continued by stating that the Department was working with Florida to address the issue and would be making updates 

accordingly. On September 29, 2016, after the Department received corrected data from Florida, the document was updated by amending 

the text box (on page 1) to remove the discussion of working with Florida and making updates. On October 28, 2016, the document was 

updated to incorporate corrected data submitted by the state of Florida, on behalf of its school districts. That corrected Florida data resulted 

in changes to some of the national numbers reported for out-of-school suspensions (pages 3-4), restraint and seclusion (page 5), retention 

(page 7), chronic absenteeism (pages 7-8), and inexperienced teachers (page 9). In addition, the text box (on page 1) was amended to note 

the incorporation of Florida's corrected data and text boxes were added (on pages 7 and 8) noting that the New York City Department of 

Education had acknowledged anomalies in its chronic student absenteeism data.