U.S. Department of Education: Promoting Educational Excellence for all Americans

Overview of OCR Compliance and Enforcement Program

 

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is responsible for enforcing five federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age by recipients of federal financial assistance.  These laws are:

In addition, as of January 8, 2002, OCR enforces the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act.  Under the Act, no public elementary school, public secondary school, or state or local education agency that provides an opportunity for one or more outside youth or community groups to meet on school premises or in school facilities before or after school hours shall deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet, or discriminate against, any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America or any other youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society.

These civil rights laws represent a national commitment to end discrimination in education programs.  Since most educational institutions receive some type of federal financial assistance, these laws apply throughout the nation. 

Coverage of these civil rights laws extends to:

Consequently, these civil rights laws protect millions of students attending, or applying to attend, our educational institutions. In certain situations, the laws also protect persons who are employed or seeking employment at educational institutions. Overall, these laws protect:

Enforcing these laws is critical to carrying out the mission of the U.S. Department of Education — ensuring equal access to education and promoting educational excellence throughout the nation.

In FY 2001, OCR's budget was $75,822,000, with full time equivalent (FTE) staff of 696.  In FY 2002, the budget was $79,666,000, with FTE staff of 698.  See Figure 1 on historical funding and FTE.

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U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Appropriations, FTE & Workload Data

FY 1989 – FY 2002

 

FY

Presidential Request

Congressional Appropriation

FTE

Complaints

Compliance Reviews

Filed

Resolved

Initiated

Resolved

2002

$79,934,000

$79,666,000*

698

5,019

4,842

11

18

 

2001

$76,000,000

$75,822,000

696

4,571

4,777

21

43

 

2000

$73,262,000

$71,200,000

712

4,897

6,364

47

71

 

1999

$68,000,000

$66,000,000

727

6,628††

5,369

76

93

 

1998

$61,500,000

$61,500,000

685

4,847

4,753

102

100

 

1997

$60,000,000

$54,900,000

681

5,296

4,981

152

140

 

1996

$62,784,000

$55,277,000

744

4,828

4,886

146

173

 

1995

$61,457,000

$58,236,000

788

4,981

5,559

96

178

 

1994

$56,570,000

$56,570,000

821

5,302

5,751

144

90

 

1993

$61,400,000

$56,402,000

854

5,090

4,484

101

82

 

1992

$56,000,000

$53,625,000

848

4,432

4,180

77

50

 

1991

$49,900,000

$48,404,000

797

3,809

3,497

41

22

 

1990

$45,178,000

$44,572,000

815

3,384

3,130

32

30

 

1989

$41,341,000

$41,635,000**

789

2,780

2,557

138

178

 
 

      *   Reflects the rescission reduction amount of $268,000.

    **   Includes a $790,000 supplemental appropriation.

          Includes cases carried over from previous years.

     ††      1,614 filed by a single complainant.

 

Figure 1

“We must not rest until all children, no matter their race or ethnicity, no matter whether they live in an urban, suburban or rural school district, no matter whether or not they have a disability, have access to a high-quality education.”

Rod Paige
Secretary of Education
September 6, 2002Organizational Structure

OCR is composed of a headquarters office, located in Washington, D.C., which provides overall leadership, policy development and coordination of enforcement activities, and 12 enforcement offices around the nation.  The majority of OCR's staff are located in the enforcement offices, which are in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.   These enforcement offices are organized into 4 divisions (Eastern, Southern, Midwestern and Western) that work to prevent, identify and remedy discrimination against our nation’s students.

 

Complaint Resolutions

One important way OCR carries out its responsibilities is by resolving complaints.  Persons who believe there has been a violation of the civil rights laws enforced by OCR may file complaints with the appropriate enforcement office.  The process provides a forum for resolution of complaints of discrimination against individuals protected by the civil rights laws.

OCR's primary objective is to resolve the complainant's allegations of discrimination promptly, fairly and appropriately.  In FY 2001, OCR received 4,571 complaints (a decrease of 6.6 percent from FY 2000 receipts) and resolved 4,777, some of which had been filed in previous years.  In FY 2002, OCR received 5,019 complaints (an increase of 9.8 percent over FY 2001) and resolved 4,842, including carry-over complaints.  Figure 2 shows the percentage of complaint receipts by jurisdiction. 

OCR uses a variety of techniques to resolve complaints, ranging from facilitating voluntary resolutions between parties to negotiating agreements with recipients for voluntary compliance.  If these methods fail, OCR issues violation letters and enters into negotiations to correct those violations.  It is only after OCR has advised recipients of their failure to comply with the civil rights laws and has determined that compliance cannot be secured by voluntary means that, as a last resort, OCR seeks compliance through the administrative hearing process or refers cases to the U.S. Department of Justice.  This flexible approach allows OCR to:

d

Figure 2: OCR Complaint Receipts by Jursidiction Chart

In FY 2001, OCR received 4, 571 Complaints: 7% (313) on Sex Issues,  53% (2,462) on Disabillity Issues, 1% (48) on Age Issues, 19% (850) on Race/National Origin Issues, 13% (599) on Multiple Issues, and 7% (299) on Other Issues.

In FY 2002, OCR received 5,019 Complaints: 7% (353) on Sex Issues,  54% (2,701) on Disabillity Issues, 1% (75) on Age Issues, 18% (885) on Race/National Origin Issues, 12% (620) on Multiple Issues, and 8% (385) on Other Issues.
Figure 2

Appendix A shows FYs 2001 and 2002 complaint receipts by OCR enforcement offices, and Appendix B lists the contact information for each enforcement office.

 

Compliance Reviews and Other Proactive Initiatives

In addition to resolving complaints, OCR initiates compliance reviews and takes other proactive steps to focus on specific compliance problems that are particularly acute or national in scope.  Targeted compliance reviews and proactive initiatives maximize the impact of OCR's resources and complement the complaint resolution process.  Experience indicates that these strategic activities benefit large numbers of students through policy or program changes by recipients that are designed to ensure compliance with the civil rights laws.

OCR initiated 21 compliance reviews in FY 2001 and brought 43 reviews to successful resolution, some of which had been started in previous years.  In FY 2002, OCR initiated 11 compliance reviews and resolved 18.  Compliance review sites are selected based on various sources of information, including survey data and information provided by parents, education groups, media, community organizations and the public.  In FYs 2001 and 2002, OCR conducted compliance reviews on the following issues:

 

Monitoring

OCR conducted 2,234 monitoring activities in FY 2001 and 2,343 in FY 2002.  The following examples show OCR's impact on both individual students and groups of students when schools and colleges carried out their resolution agreement commitments.

Technical Assistance

Putting an end to discrimination includes preventing it before it starts.  To do this, OCR provides information and other support services—known as technical assistance—to schools and colleges, as well as to community, student and parent groups.  Assistance to educational institutions helps them comply with federal civil rights requirements, while assistance to parents, students and others informs them of their rights under law.  OCR provides technical assistance through a variety of methods, including onsite consultations, conferences, training, community meetings and publishing and disseminating materials.

OCR coordinated and/or participated in a number of conferences during FYs 2001 and 2002.   For example, OCR staff conducted a series of technical assistance presentations for classes of student teachers attending Delaware State University to increase their awareness and understanding of federal education civil rights laws.  Another example was a workshop entitled "No Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students Left Behind," sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education for superintendents, administrators, and elementary and secondary teachers responsible for the provision of services to LEP students.  OCR staff made presentations to approximately 300 school personnel from school districts across the state on local education agencies' legal obligation to provide services for LEP students.  Along with the Louisiana State Education Department, the Louisiana Office of the Attorney General and the Mississippi State Education Department, OCR co-sponsored a "Safe and Healthy Schools Conference" in Baton Rouge for approximately 350 school personnel and administrators focusing on racial harassment and hate crime.

OCR also provides technical assistance to state departments of education and local school districts on reducing referrals to special education by implementing research-based reading programs.  For example, in the spring of 2002, OCR sponsored a regional conference of the state directors of special education for eight states to discuss approaches to reduce the mislabeling of minority students referred for special education evaluation.  OCR helped a state school board association develop a model policy for all districts in the state that addresses harassment based on race, national origin, sex, and disability.  OCR is sharing the model at the request of states across the country.

In addition to these kinds of proactive initiatives, OCR responds to inquiries and requests from the public.  Calls and letters requesting assistance come from other federal agencies, state agencies, local school districts, community groups, parents and students.

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[1] U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2003). Digest of Education Statistics 2002 (NCES-2003060), Washington, D.C.: Author, Table 89, p. 98.

[2] Ibid, Table 5, p. 14.

[3] Ibid, Table 5, p. 14.

[4] Ibid, Table 3, p. 12.