Protecting StudentsRace, Color, or National Origin DiscriminationIssues

The civil rights laws enforced by the U.S. Department of  Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) protect all students from  discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability,  and age. None of the laws that OCR enforces expressly address religious  discrimination. However, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI)  protects students of any religion from discrimination, including harassment,  based on a student’s actual or perceived:
              - shared ancestry or  ethnic characteristics,  or
              - citizenship or residency  in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. 

For example, OCR can investigate complaints  that students were subjected to ethnic or ancestral slurs; harassed for how  they look, dress, or speak in ways linked to ethnicity or ancestry (e.g. skin  color, religious attire, language spoken); or stereotyped based on perceived  shared ancestral or ethnic characteristics. Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh students  are examples of individuals who may be discriminated against based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

Other federal agencies enforce laws that expressly prohibit  religious discrimination by schools, colleges, and universities. For example, complaints  of religious discrimination***in employment*** can be brought to the Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), ***in housing*** (including dormitories) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and ***by public schools and colleges***to  the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)**.**

As a public service, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) publishes this list of elementary-secondary and post-secondary institutions that are currently under investigation for discrimination involving shared ancestry. OCR updates the list weekly. For the full list of cases under investigation, please see the List of Open Title VI Shared Ancestry Or Ethnic Characteristics Investigations. For copies of some of the complaints that resulted in OCR opening those investigations, as well as some additional records from those investigations, please see the Records related to Title VI Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics Investigations. 
An institution named on this list means that OCR has initiated an investigation of a case concerning that institution. Inclusion on the list does not mean that OCR has made a decision about the case.  For more information about OCR’s case processes, please refer to OCR’s Case Processing Manual.

**Policy  Guidance**Learn about different types of guidance documents,  including how to comment on significant guidance.
- Dear Colleague Letter: Addressing Discrimination Against Muslim, 	Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, and Palestinian Students (Mar. 14, 2024)    PDF  (235K)
- Dear Colleague Letter: Discrimination, including Harassment, Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics    (Nov. 7, 2023)     PDF  (93K)
- Dear Colleague Letter: Race and School Programming (Aug. 24, 2023)     PDF  (673K)
- Dear Colleague Letter: Addressing Discrimination Against Jewish Students (May 25, 2023)     PDF  (245K)
- Dear Colleague Letter: Race, Religion, and National Origin Tolerance   (Dec. 31, 2015)
- Dear Colleague Letter: Harassment and Bullying  (Oct. 26, 2010) (see pages 5-6)    PDF  (2.5M) 
-  Letter to OCR from U.S Department of Justice: Title VI and Coverage of Religious Groups (Sept. 8, 2010)   PDF   (87.2K)
- Dear Colleague Letter: Religious Discrimination   (Sept. 13, 2004)     PDF  (62.81K)
- Dear Colleague Letter: First Amendment  (July 28, 2003)
- Investigative Guidance: Racial Incidents and Harassment   (Mar. 10, 1994)    PDF  (5.9M) 

**Other OCR Resources**
- Fact Sheet: Protecting Students from Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics (Jan. 2023)     PDF  (297K)
- Questions and Answers on Executive Order 13899 (Combating Anti-Semitism) and OCR’s Enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Jan. 19, 2021)    PDF  (933K)
- Fact Sheet: Know Your Rights: Title VI and  Religion (Jan. 2017)     PDF  (62.81K)
- Fact Sheet: Combating Discrimination Against  Jewish Students (Jan. 2017)     PDF  (62.92K)
- Fact Sheet:Combating Discrimination Against Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian Students (MASSA) (June 6, 2016)   PDF   (272K) 
- Exemptions from Title IX
- Resources in Other Languages (including  complaint forms)

**How to File a Discrimination Complaint Involving Shared Ancestry**- How to File a Complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights    Webcast  (Length: 00:07:05)
- OCR Complaint Process

**Examples of OCR Case  Resolutions Involving Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics Complaints**
• Red Clay Consolidated School District, DE (03-23-1373)     Letter and Agreement• University of Vermont, VT (01-22-2002)     Letter and Agreement• Kyrene School District, AZ (08-19-1367)     Letter and Agreement• Nauset Public Schools, MA (01-19-1320)     Letter and Agreement• Fremont Unified School District, CA (09-13-5001)     Letter and Agreement• Polk  County School District, FL (04-14-1664)    Letter and Agreement• Huntington  Beach City School District, CA (09-14-1437)    Letter and Agreement• Minneapolis  Public Schools, MN (05-13-1202)    Letter and Agreement• Vestal  Central School District, NY (02-11-1270)    Letter and Agreement• St.  Cloud Area School District, MN (05-10-1146)    Letter and Agreement• Henrico  County Public Schools, VA (11-10-1244)     Letter and Agreement• Whittier  College, CA (09-11-2013)     Letter and Agreement• Owatonna  Public Schools, MN (05-10-1148)    Letter and Agreement
 

**Other Federal Government Resources**
- White House      -National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism 
- U.S. Department of Education	  -Resources for Preventing and Addressing Antisemitism in Schools      -Resources for Preventing and Addressing Islamophobia in Schools      -Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools   (May 15, 2023)      -Letter and Legal  Guidelines on the Equal Access Act and Recognition of Student-Led  Non-Curricular Groups (Jun. 14, 2011)     -Religious Expression  in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles (June 1998) PDF (171K) 
- Equal  Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)	-Religious Discrimination Overview    -Compliance Manual on Religious Discrimination    -How to File a Discrimination Charge with the EEOC
- U.S.  Department of Housing And Urban Development (HUD)    -Discrimination on the Basis of Religion, Shared Ancestry, or Ethnic Characteristics    -How to File a Discrimination Complaint  with HUD
- U.S.  Department of Justice (DOJ)    -Educational Opportunities Section –  Religion Cases    -Combating Religious Discrimination and  Protecting Religious Freedom    -Statement of Interest, *T.E. v. Pine Bush  Central School District*(S.D.N.Y. Jan. 24, 2014) PDF (475K)     -How to File a Discrimination Complaint  with DOJ-Hate Crimes Enforcement and Prevention
-  U.S.  Department of State    -Office of the Special Envoy to  Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism  -Office  of International Religious Freedom 
-  U.S.  Commission on Civil Rights    - Statement of Concern Over Spike in Anti-Semitism in the United States (July 23, 2021) PDF (235K) 	- Briefing Report  on Federal Civil Rights Engagement with Arab and Muslim American Communities  Post 9/11 (2014) PDF (7.0M)    -Briefing Report  on Campus Anti-Semitism (2006) PDF(3.7M) 	-Public Education Campaign to End  Campus Anti-Semitism
  Last Modified: 03/12/2024