Title

Enforcemen

IX

t

Highlights

Office for Civil Rights 

U.S. Department of Education

JUNE 2012
June 2012

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in 

part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the 

citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Title IX 

Enforcement Highlights, Washington, D.C., 2012. 

This report is available on the Department’s Web site at: www.ed.gov/ocr. 

On request, this publication is available in alternate formats, such as Braille, large 

print or CD. For more information, please contact the Department’s Alternate 

Format Center at 202-260-9895 or 202-205-8113.

The purpose of this document is to provide accurate, understandable information to the general public about the work of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), 

not to provide official policy guidance of OCR. For official policy guidance of 

OCR, please visit www.ed.gov/ocr.

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: 1-800-437-0833), or email us at: OCR@ed.gov. 

Or write to:

U.S. Department of Education

Office for Civil Rights

LBJ Education Building

400 Maryland Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20202

U.S. Department of Education

Arne Duncan

Secretary

Office for Civil Rights

Russlynn Ali

Assistant Secretary
“The steady movement to a more 

fair and just society plays out every 

day in the classrooms, colleges and 

universities all across America—and I 

believe that the only way to achieve 

equity in society is to achieve equity 

in the classroom.”

—Secretary Arne Duncan, July 14, 2010

U.S. Department of Education office for civil rights

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title ix enforcement hi g hli g hts

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law prohibiting 

discrimination on the basis of sex in all education programs and activities 

operated by recipients of federal funds. It states: “No person in the United 

States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied 

the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational 

program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Title IX’s protection applies at all elementary 

and secondary schools, colleges and 

universities—public or private—that receive 

federal financial assistance, and at certain 

other educational institutions. The protection 

extends to all aspects of these institutions’ 

education programs and activities. Title 

IX prohibits all forms of sex discrimination, 

including gender-based harassment, sexual 

harassment, and sexual violence. 

As we mark the 40th anniversary of Title 

IX, we celebrate the great progress made 

toward ensuring equality on the basis of 

sex, and at the same time remind ourselves of how far we have left to go. The 

law remains an important guarantor of civil rights, and the U.S. Department of 

Education’s Office for Civil Rights will continue to vigorously enforce Title IX 

and work hard to help realize its vision. 

“Title IX 

is one of the 

great civil 

rights success 

stories in 

education.” 

—Secretary Arne Duncan, 

April 20, 2010
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The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) 

works to eradicate discrimination and 

create environments in which all students can learn safely. OCR has taken 

on tough issues arising under Title IX 

and vigorously enforced its protections at educational institutions of all 

types and sizes, including some of the 

nation’s largest K-12 school districts, 

colleges, and universities. In doing so, 

we’ve used the following tools: 

Policy Guidance: To help schools and colleges and the public understand what Title IX 

requires, OCR provides detailed policy guidance 

documents. These documents, which we send 

to institutions around the country, address the 

legal requirements and considerations governing 

situations frequently encountered by schools, 

and provide recommendations for how they can 

meet their legal obligations. Since January of 

2009, OCR has issued nine such policy guidance 

documents, three of which pertain to Title IX on 

topics such as bullying, sexual harassment, sexual 

violence, and equity in athletics programs. 

Enforcement: OCR investigates allegations of 

discrimination and obtains robust remedies that 

address the root causes of the discrimination. 

Almost 600 OCR team members lead this work 

in headquarters and 12 regional offices around 

the country.

Complaints and Proactive Investigations: In the last 

three fiscal yearsi , OCR received nearly 3,000 

Title IX-related complaints – more than ever 

before in a similar period – and launched more 

than 35 proactive, system-wide investigations 

that, collectively, address a broad range of Title 

IX-related issues and systemic discrimination in 

institutions across the nation.

Technical Assistance: Educators, as well as parents 

and students, must have the knowledge and skills 

to identify discrimination, to prevent discrimination from occurring, and to address it or get help 

when it does occur. Every year, OCR provides 

technical assistance to schools and communities 

around the country on both longstanding and 

emerging civil rights issues. In the last three years 

OCR has conducted hundreds of Title IX technical assistance activities, 65 in the first six months 

of FY 2012 alone.
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Enforcing Title IX

This document highlights a small sample of 

OCR’s Title IX work on the following issues:

■ Comparable Educational Opportunities, Including College and

Career Preparatory Programs:

Promoting girls’ and women’s access to 

courses that promote college and career 

readiness, such as science, technology, engineering and math (“STEM”) courses. 

■ The Right to Equal Treatment: 

Requiring that schools treat students equally 

on the basis of sex in all programmatic areas, 

including academic and extracurricular activities, financial aid, facilities, and housing. 

■ Athletics: Requiring that schools provide 

equal access to athletic opportunities and 

benefits at all levels.

■ Sexual Violence: Requiring that 

schools protect students from and adequately 

respond to sexual violence.

■ Sexual and Gender-Based

Harassment (Including Bullying 

that Rises to the Level of Harassment):

Enforcing the prohibition against sexual 

harassment as well as bullying and harassment based on gender or sex stereotypes 

(including sexual harassment and genderbased harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual 

and transgender (LGBT) students because of 

their nonconformity to sex stereotypes).

■ Additional Areas of Focus: Beyond 

the issues addressed in this document, OCR 

routinely handles an array of topics related 

to Title IX, including admissions, financial aid, 

academic programs, rights of pregnant and 

parenting students, student treatment and 

services, counseling and guidance, discipline, 

grading, vocational education, housing, and 

employment.

■ The Transformed Civil Rights 

Data Collection: Providing new information from schools across the country to 

improve compliance with Title IX. The Civil 

Rights Data Collection now covers issues 

ranging from access to college and career 

preparatory courses to discipline to school 

finances, which can be analyzed by race, gender and disability status.

Issues* Raised in Title IX Allegations

in FY 2009-2010 and FY 2010-2011

Admissions

Athletics

Different Treatment/Denial of Benefit 

Discipline 

Dissemination of Policy

Employment

Financial Assistance/Scholarships 

Grading

Harassment/Sexual Violence

Other

Pregnancy/Parenting-Related

Procedural Requirements 

(e.g. Title IX Coordinator)

Retaliation 

923

457

141

15

213

44

56

786

150

43

167

483

* A single complaint can raise multiple issues; therefore 

the total number of issues raised will exceed the number 

of complaints received.

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Equal Access to Comparable Educational Opportunities 

including College and Career Preparatory Programs 

While women and girls have made great progress in an array of fields of study, 

female students remain underrepresented in many of the most rigorous math 

and science courses. This mixed picture is shown in OCR’s Civil Rights Data 

Collection (CRDC): the data sample reveals that more girls than boys are 

enrolled in Geometry and Algebra II, but girls remain underrepresented in 

Physics and AP Math (Calculus and Statistics) and are less likely to take and 

pass AP tests than their male peers. 

In higher education, in 2008-09, women earned fewer than 18 percent of all 

bachelor’s degrees in computer and information sciences, and women from 

underrepresented minorities earned less than 7 percent of bachelor’s degrees 

in computer and information sciences. Similarly, fewer than 17 percent of all 

bachelor’s degrees in engineering were awarded to women, and less than 4 percent were awarded to women from underrepresented minorities.ii

Enforcement: College and Career 

Readiness and Success OCR works to 

ensure gender equity in access to courses and 

to career training. For example, in one proactive investigation of a school district, OCR is 

examining the underrepresentation of girls in 

advanced math and science courses. OCR’s 

goals for a resolution in this type of case include 

the development of policies and procedures to 

ensure fair and equitable access to AP STEM 

courses for female high school students as well 

as better preparation of K-8 female students for 

their future success in such courses.

In a similar proactive investigation of a community college, OCR is examining the disparity between male and female participation and graduation rates and degree attainment in programs 

traditionally dominated by men, like engineering 

and computer science. 

A third example responded to the insults and 

harassment experienced by the sole female student in a college’s aviation maintenance technology 

program. The harassment was so severe that the 

student was forced to drop out of the program. In 

that case, the college and OCR reached a resolution that helped both the individual student as well 

as the overall college community. The resolution 

agreement required the college to reimburse the 

student for the educational costs she incurred while 

attending the college, and to eradicate the culture 

of hostility by, for example, issuing an anti-discrimination statement to students and staff, revising its 

non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and 

procedures, and providing training for staff. 
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The Right to Equal Treatment

Under Title IX, OCR works to ensure 

equal access to education services and 

benefits and to prevent acts of retaliation against those who report Title IX 

violations. Title IX prohibits treating 

individuals differently on the basis of 

sex when providing services or benefits. 

Enforcement: Equal Treatment

In responding to Title IX complaints at the 

K-12 level, OCR has addressed issues such as 

disparate discipline, denial of extracurricular 

opportunities, and denial of access to educational programs of students based on sex. 

Cases include:

■ The suspension of male but not female students for wearing earrings and the harsher 

treatment of male students compared to 

female students by school resource officers. 

■ Allegations of the denial of academic and 

extracurricular services based on a student’s 

sex, including the failure to provide reading 

and math instruction to male students. 

■ The failure to implement the IEP of female 

students; and the denial of an opportunity to 

participate on (or the removal from) athletic 

and dance teams and music groups. 

OCR addresses similar issues at the postsecondary level. Cases include allegations that, based 

on their sex: 

■ Students received different treatment in admissions, registration, and granting of fellowships and internships.

■ Students were suspended, placed on academic probation, forced to withdraw or dismissed 

from programs.

■ Male students were being held to a higher 

standard than female students during the 

physical fitness portion of law enforcement 

training classes. 
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Equal Access to Athletic 

Opportunities and Benefits

From scholarships to placement on 

teams to other athletic program resources such as facilities, coaching, and 

equipment, women and girls still do not 

have equal access to opportunities and 

benefits in athletics. Although there 

has been undisputable progress since 

Title IX was enacted, women and girls 

continue to represent a disproportionately low percentage of college and 

high school athletes when compared to 

their enrollment rates. Women make 

up 57 percent of college students but 

receive only 43 percent of positions on 

varsity sports teams.iii And girls make 

up roughly half of all high school students but receive only 41 percent of 

positions on varsity sports teams.iv

Policy Guidance: Athletics As part of an 

ongoing effort to ensure the equal opportunities 

guaranteed by Title IX, OCR issued policy guidance in April 2010 on how to assess whether 

an institution is providing nondiscriminatory 

athletic participation opportunities based on its 

students’ interests and abilities. The guidance 

reinstated the Department’s longstanding policy 

that it will analyze multiple indicators to determine whether the school’s athletics program is 

meeting the interests and abilities of the school’s 

underrepresented sex, usually women. 

The letter withdrew policy guidance issued 

in 2005 that had inappropriately changed the 

Department’s longstanding policy to allow an 

institution to rely on a single e-mail survey to 

assess the interests of the underrepresented sex, 

to count non-responses to the survey as indicating a lack of interest in athletics, and thereby to 

presumptively comply with Title IX—and in so 

doing potentially significantly underestimated the 

interests and abilities of its students. 

OCR’s April 2010 policy guidance ensures that 

institutions will be held accountable for meeting 

the full range of athletic interests and abilities 

of the underrepresented sex. The letter also 

provides institutions with recommendations for 

developing effective procedures for collecting, 

maintaining, and evaluating information on students’ interests and abilities as this information 

is critical to determining whether institutions 

are providing nondiscriminatory athletic opportunities. 

Enforcement: Athletics OCR’s investigations 

have ensured that thousands of female students 

at an array of schools, including some known 

for athletic prowess, have an equal opportunity 

to participate in varsity sports. From FY2009 

through FY2011, OCR initiated 17 proactive in-
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vestigations of possible Title IX violations in athletics programs. During the same time period, 

OCR received more than 900 complaints from 

students, parents, coaches, and others alleging 

Title IX violations in athletics programs. Where 

appropriate, OCR has obtained resolution 

agreements from school districts and universities to ensure that female students have an equal 

opportunity to participate in sports programs 

across the country. Recipients have agreed to 

provide female athletes with additional opportunities to participate in sports and receive financial aid. For example, recipients have agreed to 

provide female athletes with additional financial 

aid; they have added new teams; and they have 

taken steps to ensure that female athletes have 

comparable quality coaching, facilities, equipment 

and other athletics-related benefits. 

For example:

■ OCR is investigating fundraising by athletic 

booster clubs predominantly for male teams 

to determine if this is creating inequities in 

benefits between male and female athletes in 

violation of Title IX.

■ In another investigation of an entire sports 

league, OCR is ensuring equal opportunities 

for secondary school athletes by requiring 

the league and its member school districts to 

equitably treat female and male students in 

“primetime” scheduling of athletic events, in 

scheduling of practice times and in providing 

publicity for their events.

■ OCR obtained redress for women athletes 

at a university that was providing significantly fewer and inferior resources to its 

women’s sports teams in comparison to 

the men’s programs. Among other things, 

the university failed to maintain adequate 

equipment and locker room facilities for its 

female athletes, who were forced to change 

in cars and sheds. Female student athletes 

often received inferior medical and training services from less experienced staff. In 

addition, unlike the men’s teams, when the 

women’s teams went on “away” games, they 

were crowded into hotel rooms or had to 

make long journeys back home on the same 

day as their games. A robust resolution 

agreement between the university and OCR 

resulted in the construction of upgraded 

practice and competitive facilities, new and 

improved locker rooms, appropriately sized 

equipment and other equitable treatment 

for the women’s athletic program.

■ OCR helped expand opportunities for 

girls in a school district that had roughly 

equal enrollment of boys and girls but a 57 

percent-to-43 percent split between boys’ 
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and girls’ participation in interscholastic 

athletics. OCR negotiated an agreement 

with the district that resulted in athletic 

participation opportunities for girls and boys 

that are substantially proportionate to their 

respective enrollments, without cutting any 

sports or spots on individual teams. The 

district has hired a new athletic director with 

significant Title IX experience; added girls’ 

sports teams, such as bowling, water polo, 

and wrestling; developed outreach activities 

at middle schools to encourage participation 

in interscholastic athletics; and created an 

athletics improvement committee.

Prohibiting Sexual Assault and 

Violence on Campus

Too often, women and girls are victims of sexual harassment or sexual 

violence. About one in five women 

will be a victim of actual or attempted 

sexual assault while in college, as will 

about 6 percent of undergraduate 

men.v Public high school students reported nearly 3,600 incidents of sexual 

battery and over 600 rapes and attempted rapes in a recent year.vi That 

is why addressing sexual violence is a 

top priority of OCR. Through policy 

guidance, proactive investigations, 

complaint resolution, and other responses to events around the country, 

OCR aims to ensure that no student 

fears for his or her safety or loses out 

on educational benefits and opportunities because of sexual violence.

Policy Guidance: Sexual Violence OCR 

issued a first-of-its-kind policy guidance on April 

2011 to ensure that schools and colleges fully 

understand their Title IX obligations relating to 

sexual violence. The letter advises institutions 

on how they can prevent assault and sexual 

violence from occurring and ensure it gets 

identified and reported when it does occur, and 

explains their responsibility to respond to any 

incident of sexual violence swiftly and effectively. 

It includes examples of the types of remedies 

institutions can implement for the victim and the 

entire school community. It also describes proactive measures schools and colleges can take to 

prevent sexual violence. Additionally, the guidance emphasizes the need to keep students notified of nondiscrimination and anti-harassment 

“We’re taking new steps to help our nation’s 

schools, universities and colleges end the cycle 

of sexual violence on campus.” 

–Vice President Joe Biden on releasing new guidance on sexual violence protections under Title IX (April 4, 2011). 
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policies and to involve law enforcement agencies 

when necessary. Since the guidance’s release, 

dozens of colleges and universities have made 

changes to their policies and procedures consistent with the guidance.

Enforcement: Sexual Violence OCR received nearly 100 complaints relating to sexual 

violence and launched multiple proactive investigations on sexual violence at dozens of college 

campuses and school districts in the last three 

years. These have led to groundbreaking remedies such as the implementation of procedures 

by which schools address alleged sexual violence 

as a Title IX civil rights issue, rather than leaving 

this matter to be handled only by the criminal 

justice system; providing interim protection and 

services for victims of sexual violence; systematizing cooperation between school officials 

and local law enforcement authorities to ensure 

Title IX investigations are completed promptly; 

conducting climate surveys; establishing advisory 

committees comprising students, faculty, and 

community members to monitor the school climate and advise the school’s administration; conducting peer-to-peer sexual harassment training; 

and publicizing school policies so that students 

know where and with whom to file reports and 

what to expect from the process. 

The facts surrounding the sexual violence cases 

investigated and resolved by OCR are tragic. In 

one college, several incidents of student-onstudent sexual assault had occurred. The college 

referred the complaints to the police for treatment solely as a criminal matter while other 

sexual assaults took place, notwithstanding the 

college’s Title IX obligation to address the incidents through in-school measures. In another, 

a local prosecutor threatened to charge college 

officials with obstruction of justice when they 

tried to conduct the school’s Title IX investigation while the criminal investigation was pending. In a third, a student was found murdered 

in her dorm room after a fellow student had 

allegedly sneaked into her room, raped her, and 

then smothered her with a pillow; for ten weeks 

school officials maintained that no foul play was 

involved. 

In another case, three victims did not receive an 

equitable hearing—they were made to sit very 

close to the accused; the accused was allowed to 

review evidence in advance of the hearing while 

the accusers were not; the accused was allowed 

to question the complainant and the two other 

accusers directly, including questions about their 

sexual histories; the accused, but not the accusers, 

was allowed to present character witnesses; and 

a victim was not allowed to present a witness to 

testify regarding the underlying events. 

■ OCR has also launched two proactive 

system-wide investigations into K-12 school 

districts where gang rape allegedly occurred, 

in one case by students and community 

members. Investigations have uncovered 

widespread peer-to-peer sexual violence 

and harassment suffered by middle and high 

school students, as well as some evidence of 

teacher-student violence or harassment.
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■ Where appropriate, OCR also works with 

the local prosecutor’s office and police department to ensure that the college will be 

able to meet its Title IX obligation to conduct prompt investigations when it receives 

complaints of sexual harassment, even if 

there is a concurrent criminal investigation; 

and OCR requires the school to publish 

revised Title IX grievance procedures and 

nondiscrimination notices, to develop a Title 

IX training program for students and staff, 

and to conduct periodic assessments of 

campus climate to assess the effectiveness of 

its efforts to respond to and prevent sexual 

misconduct.

In addition, OCR has required schools and colleges to ensure that victims of harassment are 

provided services as needed, even before the 

outcome of the Title IX or criminal investigations, which can include counseling and academic 

support services, compensatory services and 

interim remedies. OCR has made it clear that 

hearings must be equitable—and what is provided to the accused during the hearing, such as 

the ability to present witnesses and the right to 

an appeal, must also be provided to the victim. 

OCR has also made clear that schools and colleges must keep accurate records and monitor 

progress in creating a safer campus in part by 

conducting community meetings and periodic 

assessments of the campus climate.

Prohibiting Sexual and 

Gender-based Harassment

(Including Bullying that Rises 

to the Level of Harassment)

Sex- and gender-based harassment inflicts profound educational, emotional 

and physical consequences for the 

harassed students and their peers. Harassing conduct may take many forms, 

including bullying and name-calling, 

graphic and written statements, or 

other conduct that may be physically 

threatening, harmful, or humiliating.

OCR seeks to eradicate discriminatory 

harassment and create environments 

in which all students are safe to learn. 

Policy Guidance: Harassment The Department’s first-of-its kind 2010 policy guidance on harassment and bullying explains that 

when bullying or other harassment based on 

sex or gender creates a hostile environment 

that is serious enough to limit or interfere 

with a student’s ability to benefit from the 

services, activities, or opportunities offered by 

the school, the harassment violates Title IX. If 

an institution knows or has reason to know 

about student-on-student harassment, Title IX 

requires that the school take immediate and 

effective action to eliminate the harassment, to 

prevent its recurrence, and, when appropriate, 

to address its effects on the harassed student 

and the school community. OCR’s policy guidance provides examples of harassment and 

illustrates how a school should respond in each 
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case. (The policy guidance also addresses harassment based on race, color, national origin 

and disability, which is covered by the other 

statutes OCR enforces.) 

The 2010 guidance document also made clear 

that schools may violate Title IX by failing to 

effectively respond to bullying or harassment 

of LGBT students. Although Title IX does not 

cover discrimination based solely on sexual orientation, harassment of LGBT students constitutes sex-based discrimination if it is based on 

the student’s failure to conform to sex stereotypes. For example, a student may be bullied 

because he or she does not act or dress according to his or her classmates’ gender-based 

expectations for boys or girls. In addition, the 

guidance makes it clear that Title IX prohibits 

sexual harassment of all students, regardless of 

their actual or perceived sexual orientation or 

gender identity. The guidance reminds schools 

and universities that when harassment targets 

LGBT students, includes anti-gay comments, or 

is partly based on a target’s actual or perceived 

sexual orientation, Title IX obligates the institution to investigate and remedy any overlapping 

sexual or gender-based harassment of those 

students. 
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Enforcement: Harassment In FY2009 

through FY2011, OCR received nearly 700 complaints involving sexual or gender-based harassment. The types of sexual harassment found in 

OCR investigations include student-on-student 

harassment as well as teacher-student harassment. Recently, this behavior included: 

■ Two separate investigations involved students who were bullied and subjected to 

chronic sexual and gender-based harassment at school for not acting and dressing in 

ways that conformed to traditional gender 

stereotypes. Students were routinely called 

hostile and demeaning names. Female students reported being called “manly,” “guy,” 

or “he-she”; male students reported being 

called “girl,” and “gay boy.” In one case a 

middle school student was subject to insult 

and harassment for years, including being 

called “sissy” and “girl” and was the target 

of insults meant to question his masculinity, 

including references to his clothing as “girly” 

and suggestions that he “get surgery” to 

become a female. Students in these investigations were physically threatened and 

assaulted because of their nonconformity to 

gender stereotypes. Some of these students 

suffered physical and mental health problems 

or stopped attending school for periods of 

time, left the school district, entered into independent study programs, or dropped out 

of school entirely. One student committed 

suicide after experiencing prolonged harassment.

■ In another case, a teacher allegedly bribed a 

student with candy and money and inquired 

about which students were homosexual, and 

locked another student in a classroom and 

sexually assaulted him. 

These investigations led to resolution agreements in which the school districts agreed to 

take steps to prevent, eliminate and respond 

appropriately to sex-based harassment and to 

take certain further actions such as the revision 

of harassment policies, mandatory trainings on 

harassment, including training on empowering 

bystanders and the community to help stop 

bullying, hiring of new staff assigned to ensure 

equity and safety, mental health counseling for 

students who had been harassed, implementation of school climate surveys to assess school 

climate and student behavior, the formation of 

an advisory committee composed of diverse 

members of the school community, and the 

establishment of a student peer-based leadership program. 
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The Transformed Civil Rights Data Collection: 

New Information to Improve Compliance With Title IX 

Information and transparency about disparities in educational opportunities and resources are powerful tools to aid schools in crafting policy to advance equity. Beginning 

in the summer of 2009, OCR worked to transform the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 

so that the 2009-10 collection released in 2012 includes a vast array of new indicators 

on the differences in the educational experiences of male and female students, including more data than ever on high school course offerings, course taking, and discipline, 

as well as long-standing indicators on single-sex classes and interscholastic athletics. For 

the 2011-12 school year, the CRDC will be conducted universally to include every school 

and district in the nation.

The data paint a picture of great success for girls in 

some areas and a need for more progress in others. Some of the key findings include the following: 

College and Career Readiness:

Boys take AP tests and pass AP tests at a higher 

rate than girls. In fact, 73 percent of boys enrolled 

in an AP course took an AP exam, compared to 70 

percent of girls. And 60 percent of boys passed an 

AP exam, compared to 55 percent of girls. 

Interscholastic Athletics: 

Across the CRDC sample, girls represented 42 

percent of the interscholastic athletics participants and 49 percent of enrollment in schools. 

35 percent of the schools offering interscholastic 

athletics reported a gap of 10 percentage points 

or more between the percentage of girls enrolled 

and the percentage of athletes who are girls. 

Bullying and Harassment:

■ 55 percent of students bullied or harassed 

on the basis of sex were female, although females represent 51 percent of the population.

■ 79.6 percent of students disciplined for bullying 

or harassment on the basis of sex were male. 

CRDC’s New Functionality: A new Web tool 

now includes the ability to search the database 

for types of schools as well as schools or districts meeting certain criteria, and most indicators collected by OCR’s CRDC are now capable 

of being cross-cut by race, disability status and 

sex. For example:

■ Discipline Although the data show more 

males disciplined by every measure (e.g., male 

and female students each represent about 

half the student population, and males made 

up 74 percent of the students expelled), African American girls are suspended at higher 

rates than boys of most other races. 

Expanding the Data Set: For the 2011-12 

school year, the CRDC will include every school 

and district in the nation.

While data alone cannot be a substitute 

for the thorough investigation necessary 

to establish violations of civil rights law, 

this treasure trove of new data should 

help schools, districts and communities 

deepen their self-analysis and understanding of where change is needed.
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Endnotes

i Note: Each federal fiscal year runs from October 

to September. For example, “fiscal year 2011” 

or “FY2011” runs from October1, 2010 to 

September 30, 2011.

ii Digest of Education Statistics 2010, Table 316. 

Available at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/

digest/2010menu_tables.asp. See also http://www.

nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/minwomen.cfm.

iii NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates 

Report Student Athlete Participation 1981/1982-

2010-2011. Available at: http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/PR2012.pdf 

iv National Federation of State High School Associations 2010-11 High School Athletes Participation 

Survey. Available at: http://www.nfhs.org/content.

aspx?id=3282 

v Christopher P. Krebs et al., The Campus Sexual 

Assault Study Final Report xiii, 5-5 (Nat’l Criminal 

Justice Reference Service, Oct. 2007. 

vi National Center for Education Statistics, Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011. Available 

at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/

crimeindicators2011/tables/table_06_1.asp.
Office for Civil Rights Mission:

To ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout 

the nation through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights. 

U.S. Department of Education

Office for Civil Rights

Lyndon Baines Johnson Department 

of Education Building

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202-1100

Customer Service: 800-421-3481

TDD: 877-521-2172 

Fax: 202-245-6840

http://www.ed.gov/ocr 

Email: OCR@ed.gov

OCR’s Goals:

• Protect individual complainants’ civil rights through the complaint investigation and 

resolution process.

• Identify and eliminate any systemic violations of civil rights laws through proactive compliance reviews.

• Increase students’ and their families’ awareness of students’ civil rights by releasing policy guidance and providing technical assistance and outreach services.

• Record-keeping and monitoring requirements that promote accurate and immediate identification and 

resolution of harassment-related issues, patterns and problems.

• Increase schools’, colleges’, and universities’ understanding of their civil rights obligations by releasing policy 

guidance documents and providing technical assistance and outreach services
The Department of Education’s 

mission is to promote student

achievement and preparation for 

global competitiveness by fostering 

educational excellence and

ensuring equal access.