The U.S.  Department of Education announced today that its Office for  Civil Rights (OCR) has reached an agreement with Connecticut’s East Hartford  Public Schools after finding that the district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act  of 1964 by failing to provide adequate language services to limited English  proficient (LEP) parents and guardians and by unlawfully imposing barriers  to enrollment and applying additional registration and enrollment criteria to  students based on national origin. 

Title VI  requires districts to address language barriers and prohibits discrimination  based on national origin in education programs and activities receiving federal  financial assistance. 

“Through this  agreement, East Hartford Public Schools has committed to correct its  registration and enrollment process to ensure that its schools are open to all  students and that it treats all its students fairly,” said Catherine E. Lhamon,  assistant secretary for civil rights. “We will continue to work with the  district to implement this agreement and support the district’s efforts.” 

During its  compliance review launched in 2015, OCR examined the district’s enrollment and  registration policies, procedures, and practices to determine whether LEP  parents and guardians received similar access to information as compared to  non-LEP parents and guardians, and whether the district discriminated against  national origin minority students. 

OCR  determined that the district violated Title VI by not providing adequate  language services to LEP parents and guardians. OCR’s findings include  the following: 

- The district told LEP parents and  guardians to provide their own interpreters to register students. 
- The district did not properly assess  whether LEP parents and guardians required language services.
- The district failed to provide any  training to its staff serving as interpreters, including responsibilities  regarding confidentiality and use of specialized terms.
- The district translated fewer than half of its registration  and enrollment documents into Spanish, the highest incidence language for LEP  parents and guardians. 
- The district failed to provide any written instructions  regarding obtaining oral translation of registration and enrollment documents  for LEP parents and guardians who speak languages other than Spanish. 

OCR also  found that the district violated Title VI by treating students differently in  the enrollment and registration process based on their national origin by  impermissibly requiring or requesting information or documentation, such as  passports and social security cards, from students based on national origin,  particularly based on language, or a belief that they were born outside of the  U.S., while not making similar requests of other students. 

Taking a  comprehensive approach to address these violations, along with related matters,  East Hartford Public Schools agreed to take actions under the resolution  agreement to remedy Title VI violations, including, but not limited to, the  following: 

- Revising its registration and enrollment  policies, procedures, and practices to comply with Title VI. 
- Providing appropriate, qualified, and  competent interpreters and translations during the enrollment and registration  process. 
- Issuing a “Notice of Language Assistance” in the district’s  10 most commonly spoken languages about the district’s free translation and  interpreter services.  
- Requesting only permissible material and information from  all students registering and enrolling in the district. 

A copy of the resolution  agreement is available here, and the resolution  letter is available here.

In 2011 and 2014, the Departments of Justice and Education issued  guidance to help schools understand their responsibilities under the Supreme Court's decision in Plyler v. Doe and federal civil rights laws to  provide all children with equal access to an education regardless of their or  their parents' immigration status.