Title: Education Department Civil Rights Transparency Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Education Department Civil Rights Transparency Act
This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education (ED) to include in an annual report to ED, the President, and Congress specified information regarding federal civil rights violations by educational institutions.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6537 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6537

To require the Secretary of Education to annually report on the Federal 
  civil rights violations of educational institutions, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2018

 Ms. Maxine Waters of California (for herself, Mr. Carson of Indiana, 
 Mr. Cohen, Ms. Lee, Mr. Rush, Ms. Norton, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. 
  Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. 
  Barragan, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Ryan of 
Ohio, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Schakowsky, 
  Mr. Brown of Maryland, and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Education to annually report on the Federal 
  civil rights violations of educational institutions, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Education Department Civil Rights 
Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. REPORT BY THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.

    Section 203(b) of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 
U.S.C. 3413(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) In addition to the requirements under paragraph (1), 
        the report required under such paragraph shall include the 
        following:
                    ``(A) A list of each of the following:
                            ``(i) Each educational institution against 
                        which the Department has received, in the 
                        preceding year, 1 complaint alleging that the 
                        institution has violated a Federal civil rights 
                        law.
                            ``(ii) Each educational institution against 
                        which the Department has received, in the 
                        preceding year, more than 1 such complaint.
                            ``(iii) Each educational institution 
                        against which the Department has received, in 
                        the preceding 5 years, more than 3 such 
                        complaints.
                            ``(iv) Each educational institution that, 
                        during the preceding year, was under 
                        investigation by the Department for such a 
                        complaint.
                            ``(v) Each educational institution against 
                        which the Department has received, in the 
                        preceding year, such a complaint for which the 
                        Department has not commenced an investigation, 
                        and which the Department has not dismissed.
                            ``(vi) Each educational institution against 
                        which the Department has received, in the 
                        preceding year, such a complaint for which the 
                        Department has dismissed without commencing an 
                        investigation.
                    ``(B) The list of educational institutions 
                described in subparagraph (A) shall be disaggregated 
                by--
                            ``(i) each Federal civil rights law that 
                        the complaint alleges has been violated by each 
                        such institution;
                            ``(ii) type of educational institution; and
                            ``(iii) whether the complaint filed against 
                        each such institution was processed by the 
                        Department as a systemic or as a class-action 
                        complaint.
                    ``(C) The list of educational institutions under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include--
                            ``(i) the date on which the complaint was 
                        filed against each such institution; and
                            ``(ii) the status of the complaint.
                    ``(D) In addition to the requirements of 
                subparagraphs (B) and (C), the list of institutions 
                described in subparagraph (A)(vi) shall include--
                            ``(i) the procedural or administrative 
                        reason for which the complaint was dismissed, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) whether the complaint failed 
                                to allege--
                                            ``(aa) a violation of 
                                        Federal law for which the 
                                        Department has administrative 
                                        responsibility or subject 
                                        matter jurisdiction; or
                                            ``(bb) a violation against 
                                        an educational institution for 
                                        which the Department has 
                                        administrative responsibility 
                                        or personal jurisdiction; and
                                    ``(II) whether the complainant 
                                failed to submit a consent form; and
                                    ``(III) whether the Department 
                                offered the complainant an opportunity 
                                to correct the procedural or 
                                administrative error prior to 
                                dismissing the complaint.
                    ``(E) Any resolution agreement or letter between 
                the Department and an educational institution against 
                which a complaint described in paragraph (1) has been 
                filed, which settled the Department's investigation of 
                such complaint.
                    ``(F) Any corrective action levied or remedy 
                obtained for the preceding year against an educational 
                institution for a violation of Federal civil rights law 
                pursuant to a resolution agreement or letter, or other 
                findings document, the status of such corrective 
                actions, and whether the Department is considering 
                extending such corrective actions.
                    ``(G) With respect to each complaint described in 
                subparagraph (A)(vi) which the Department dismissed 
                because the Department lacks the administrative 
                responsibility, or subject matter or personal 
                jurisdiction, for the Federal law that the complaint 
                alleges to have been violated or the educational 
                institution against which the complaint was filed--
                            ``(i) a list of each such educational 
                        institution and each such Federal law; and
                            ``(ii) recommendations on whether Federal 
                        legislation is necessary for the Department to 
                        address the complaints described in this 
                        paragraph.
                    ``(H) With respect to each educational institution 
                against which a complaint described in subparagraph (A) 
                has been filed that the Department investigated and 
                found insufficient evidence to support a finding of a 
                Federal civil rights law violation, a report explaining 
                the basis for such decision.
                    ``(I) With respect to each educational institution 
                that has had a resolution agreement or corrective 
                action that the Department has determined does not need 
                to be extended, a report on the basis for the decision 
                and how such institution improved with respect to 
                compliance with Federal civil rights laws.
                    ``(J) In a case in which a decision by the 
                Department to not pursue a complaint or investigation 
                relating to an alleged violation of a Federal civil 
                rights law was due to the resource constraints of the 
                Department for the preceding year, a description of 
                which resources the Department needs to fully and 
                expeditiously investigate each such complaint received 
                by the Department.
                    ``(K) Any changes made, in the preceding year, to 
                the case processing manual of the Office for Civil 
                Rights of the Department.
            ``(4) In paragraph (4):
                    ``(A) Complaint.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `complaint' 
                        means a written statement to the Department 
                        alleging that the rights of one or more persons 
                        have been violated and requesting that the 
                        Department take action.
                            ``(ii) Exclusions.--The term `complaint' 
                        does not include oral allegations that are not 
                        reduced to writing, anonymous correspondence, 
                        courtesy copies of correspondence or a 
                        complaint filed with or otherwise submitted to 
                        another person or other entity, or inquiries 
                        that seek advice or information but do not seek 
                        action or intervention from the Department.
                    ``(B) Educational institution.--The term 
                `educational institution' has the meaning given the 
                term in section 901(c) of the Education Amendments of 
                1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681(c)).
                    ``(C) Federal civil rights law.--The term `Federal 
                civil rights law' includes--
                            ``(i) title IX of the Education Amendments 
                        of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
                            ``(ii) the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 
                        U.S.C. 2000a et seq.);
                            ``(iii) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 
                        (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.);
                            ``(iv) the Americans with Disabilities Act 
                        of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
                            ``(v) the Boy Scouts of America Equal 
                        Access Act (20 U.S.C. 7905);
                            ``(vi) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
                        U.S.C. 701 et seq.); and
                            ``(vii) any other law for which the Office 
                        for Civil Rights of the Department of Education 
                        has administrative responsibility.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Education should 
protect any personally identifying information of an individual named 
in a complaint or other document, which may be subject to public 
release under paragraph (3) of section 203(b) of the Department of 
Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(b)), as added by this Act.
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