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U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education

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OTHER EFFORTS TO ENFORCE THE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS

Regulations and Policy Guidance

 OCR also pursues compliance by federal fund recipients by promulgating  regulations implementing the civil rights laws, by developing clear policy  guidance interpreting those laws, and by broadly disseminating this information  to educational institutions, parents, students, and others. Effective civil  rights enforcement in education requires that educational institutions understand  the legal and regulatory requirements and that students, parents, and other  members of the public understand their rights. To meet these goals, OCR issues  guidance in many different media, including through the Internet, and updates  and augments that guidance regularly to ensure that OCR guidance reflects current  developments in civil rights law and educational practice. 

*Race-Neutral Alternatives*

 In the 2003 *University of Michigan* decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court held  that diversity may be a compelling interest and institutions must undertake “serious  good faith consideration of workable race-neutral alternatives” before using  racial preferences to achieve student body diversity. In FY 2003, OCR began  an initiative to provide technical assistance and public education regardingrace-neutral approaches to achieving student body diversity. 

 OCR's continuation of this initiative seeks to foster innovative thinking  about using race-neutral means to produce diversity in educational institutions  and to help create a positive climate in which such race-neutral alternatives  can be considered. OCR released a report entitled “Achieving Diversity: Race-Neutral  Alternatives in American Education” on March 26, 2004. The report, a revised  and expanded version of OCR's 2003 report, “Race-Neutral Alternatives in Postsecondary  Education: Innovative Approaches to Diversity,” catalogs many of the race-neutral  approaches that K-12 schools, public and private colleges, and graduate andprofessional schools are implementing across the country. 

 For example, the report describes partnerships between colleges and public  schools that facilitate mentoring; state partnerships with the College Board  to improve educational achievement among students attending low-performing  schools; use of socioeconomic criteria for student assignment and university  admissions; partnerships between community colleges and traditional research  institutions that encourage students to transfer into research institutions;  and class-rank plans guaranteeing university admission to high school seniorswho graduate within a specified percentage of their class. 

*Title IX Administrative Requirements*

 In April 2004, OCR issued a Dear Colleague Letter to the chief state school  officers and state and local education agencies to remind them of certain  requirements of the Title IX regulations. The regulations require recipients  to designate a Title IX coordinator, adopt and disseminate a nondiscrimination  policy, and implement grievance procedures to address complaints of discrimination  on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities. A similar letterwas issued in August 2004 to postsecondary institutions. 

*Rights of All Students*

 OCR issued a Dear Colleague Letter in September 2004 to local education  agencies and postsecondary institutions clarifying the rights of all students,  including students of faith, to be free from race, national origin, and sex  discrimination in cases where such discrimination may be commingled with religious  discrimination. The letter makes clear that, although OCR does not have jurisdiction  over religious discrimination, OCR will exercise its jurisdiction to enforce  the Title VI prohibition against national origin discrimination, regardless  of whether the groups targeted for discrimination also exhibit religious characteristics.  Thus, for example, OCR aggressively investigates alleged race or ethnic harassmentagainst Arab Muslim, Sikh and Jewish students. 

 In addition, the letter reminds educational institutions that they must formulate,  interpret, and apply their rules in a manner that respects the legal rights  of students and faculty, including those court precedents interpreting theconcept of free speech.

*Extracurricular Activities*

 OCR issued a joint Dear Colleague Letter with the Civil Rights Division of  the U.S. Department of Justice reminding the chief state school officers and  school districts that extracurricular activities must be operated in a nondiscriminatory  manner. The letter makes clear that such practices as allocating awards or  honors on the basis of race (for example, racially separate homecoming queens  and kings, most popular student) or assistance in facilitating racially separate  proms are inconsistent with federal law and should not be tolerated. Further,  the letter states that the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department  of Justice will act promptly to remedy such violations where they occur, through  litigation, if necessary. 

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