Securing Equal Educational Opportunity: Report to the President and Secretary of Education, Fiscal Year 2016
Author: Department of Education (ED), Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
Date: 2016-12-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Opportunities,Equal Education,Civil Rights,Presidents,Civil Rights Legislation,Federal Legislation,Disabilities,Disability Discrimination,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,Federal Government,Age Discrimination,Public Agencies,Education

In FY 2016, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) promoted equity and excellence in education through conducting investigations and monitoring schools under resolution agreements, promoting greater understanding of how OCR interprets and enforces civil rights laws through the release of policy guidance, providing technical assistance and outreach to foster greater awareness of civil rights laws and obligations, and administering the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). In FY 2016, the quality and pace of OCR's enforcement work remained high. OCR received a record-high 16,720 complaints, initiated 13 proactive investigations (called compliance reviews), and resolved 8,625 cases overall, including 1,116 resolutions that secured changes protective of students' civil rights in schools around the nation. Over the past eight years, the number of complaints OCR received generally rose in several areas, including complaints related to the restraint or seclusion of students with disabilities; harassment based on race, color, or national origin; web accessibility for students with disabilities; and sexual violence. OCR developed and released five policy guidance documents and hosted 72 policy-related listening sessions with stakeholders on a variety of topics related to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (e.g., ensuring equity in career and technical education (CTE) programs to all students regardless of sex), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (e.g., providing students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with equal educational opportunity), and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (e.g., clarifying the permissibility, consistent with U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence, of the voluntary use of race and ethnicity to achieve diversity in schools). OCR provided more than 295 technical assistance sessions to a wide range of stakeholders -- including schools and districts, state education agencies, colleges and universities, parent groups, nonprofit and advocacy organizations, and other federal agencies -- and conducted other outreach to galvanize action on important civil rights topics. Notable outreach efforts include convening university presidents to explore the issue of racial harassment on college and university campuses; hosting a conference with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Transportation to identify effective paths to increase and sustain healthy, non-discriminatory, and diverse schools and communities; and cosponsoring a forum with the White House and Georgetown University to improve school systems' approach to better serve girls of color who have experienced trauma. OCR released the 2013-14 school year CRDC, which includes data from approximately 97,000 public schools serving about 50 million students nationwide. For the first time, OCR made the entire CRDC data file accessible and downloadable by the public. OCR also prepared to administer the 2015-16 CRDC.