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U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education

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About EDOVERVIEW
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OVERVIEW OF OCR COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S.  Department of Education (ED) is responsible for enforcing five federal civil  rights laws prohibiting discrimination on the bases of race, color, national  origin, sex, disability, and age by recipients of federal financial assistance.   These laws are:

- Title VI of  the  Civil Rights Act of 1964  (prohibiting discrimination based on race,  color or national origin);
- Title IX of  the  Education Amendments of 1972  (prohibiting sex discrimination in  education programs);
- Section 504  of the  Rehabilitation Act of 1973  (prohibiting disability  discrimination);
- The Age  Discrimination Act of 1975  (prohibiting age discrimination); and 
- Title II of  the  Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990  (prohibiting disability  discrimination by public entities, whether or not they receive federal  financial assistance, such as elementary and secondary education systems and  institutions, institutions of higher education and vocational education [other  than schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health-related  schools], and libraries).

In  addition, OCR enforces the *Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act*.  This law addresses equal access for the Boy  Scouts of America and other designated youth groups.  The act applies to any public elementary school, public secondary  school, or state or local education agency that has a designated open forum or  limited public forum and that receives funds from the U.S. Department of  Education.

These civil  rights laws represent a national commitment to end discrimination in education  programs.  Because most educational  institutions receive some type of federal financial assistance, these laws  apply throughout the nation.

Coverage  of these civil rights laws extends to:

- 17,468  public elementary and secondary education agencies; 1 
- 4,216  colleges and universities; 2   and 
- thousands  of institutions conferring certificates below the associate degree level, such  as training schools for truck drivers and cosmetologists, and other entities,  such as libraries, museums, and vocational rehabilitation agencies.  3

Consequently,  these civil rights laws protect millions of students attending or seeking to  attend our educational institutions.  In  certain situations, the laws also protect persons who are employed or seeking  employment at educational institutions.   Overall, these laws protect:

- more than  48.3 million students attending public elementary and secondary schools;  4   and
- more than  17.3 million students attending postsecondary degree-granting institutions,  such as colleges and universities.  5 

Enforcing  these laws is critical to carrying out the mission of the U.S. Department of  Education:  ensuring equal access to  education and promoting educational excellence throughout the nation.

In FY 2005, OCR’s budget was $89,375,000,  with full-time equivalent (FTE) staff of 640.   See Figure 1 on historical funding and FTE.

### Figure 1:   U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil RightsAppropriations, FTE &   Workload Data FY 1995– FY 2005

1 U.S. Department of Education,  National Center for Education Statistics (2005). *Digest of Education  Statistics Tables and Figures 2004–05*,Washington, D.C.:  Table 86.

2 Ibid, Table  244.

3 Ibid, Table  355.

4 U.S. Department of Education, National  Center for Education Statistics (2005). *Projections of Education Statistics* to 2014 (NCES-2005074), Washington, D.C.: Table 1, p. 45.

5 Ibid, Table 10, p. 57.

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