Title: Restoring Students’ Right to Appeal Act of 2020
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Restoring Students' Right to Appeal Act of 2020
This bill permits individuals who filed a complaint between March 5-November 18, 2018, with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Education and who received an investigative determination of insufficient evidence, to file an appeal with the OCR. (In March 2018, the OCR revised its procedures for investigating and resolving civil rights complaints. One revision included removing the process for appealing insufficient evidence determinations. The OCR reversed this decision in its November 2018 update.)
Further, the bill requires the OCR to conduct outreach to inform individuals of their right to appeal.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8994 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8994

To amend the Department of Education Organization Act to permit appeals 
  of certain determinations made by the Office of Civil Rights of the 
 Department of Education made with respect to complaints filed between 
                 March 5, 2018, and November 18, 2018.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2020

 Ms. Underwood (for herself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Norton, 
 Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Moore, Mr. Kildee, 
 and Ms. Jayapal) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Department of Education Organization Act to permit appeals 
  of certain determinations made by the Office of Civil Rights of the 
 Department of Education made with respect to complaints filed between 
                 March 5, 2018, and November 18, 2018.

    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 ``Restoring Students' Right to Appeal 
Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. RIGHT TO APPEAL CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS MADE WITH RESPECT TO 
              CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTS FILED BETWEEN MARCH 5, 2018, AND 
              NOVEMBER 18, 2018.

    Section 203 of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 
U.S.C. 3413) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) An individual who filed a complaint with the Office of 
Civil Rights between March 5, 2018, and November, 18, 2018, and who 
received an investigative determination of insufficient evidence shall 
have the right to file with such Office an appeal of such determination 
in accordance with this subsection.
    ``(2) Not later than 60 days after the effective date of this 
subsection, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall conduct 
outreach to inform each individual described in paragraph (1) of the 
right to file such appeal. Such outreach shall include the following:
            ``(A) The Assistant Secretary shall publish on the website 
        of the Department a notice that each individual described in 
        paragraph (1) has the right to file such appeal.
            ``(B) The Assistant Secretary shall notify in writing each 
        individual described in paragraph (1) of the right to file such 
        appeal during the 60-day period that begins on the date such 
        individual receives the written notice of such right.
            ``(C) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 
        Committee on Education and Labor of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
        and Pensions of the Senate that includes--
                    ``(i) with respect to each complaint described in 
                paragraph (1), information that specifies--
                            ``(I) each Federal civil rights law that 
                        such complainant alleged was violated;
                            ``(II) the date on which such complaint was 
                        filed;
                            ``(III) the date on which any previous 
                        appeal of such determination was filed; and
                            ``(IV) the then current status of such 
                        complaint; and
                    ``(ii) information describing in detail the 
                outreach conducted under this paragraph to inform 
                individuals described in paragraph (1) of the right to 
                appeal under this subsection.
            ``(D) Data reported under this subsection shall be reported 
        in accordance with applicable privacy laws and regulations.''.
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