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OCR enforces several Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive Federal funds from the Department of Education. These laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, sex, disability, and on the basis of age. These laws extend to all state education agencies, elementary and secondary school systems, colleges and universities, vocational schools, proprietary schools, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, libraries, and museums that receive U.S. Department of Education funds. OCR also has responsibilities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (prohibiting disability discrimination by public entities, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance). In addition, as of January 8, 2002, OCR enforces the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act (Section 9525 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). Under the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, no public elementary or 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 shall deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, 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, that wishes to meet at the school.

504

This document is a revised version of a document originally developed by the Chicago Office of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to clarify the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 504) in the area of public elementary and secondary education.  The primary purpose of these revisions is to incorporate information about the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (Amendments Act), effective January 1, 2009, which amended the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and included a conforming amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that affects the meaning of disability in Section 504.  The Amendments Act broadens the interpretation of disability.  The Amendments Act does not require ED to amend its Section 504 regulations.  ED’s Section 504 regulations as currently written are valid and OCR is enforcing them consistent with the Amendments Act.  In addition, OCR is currently evaluating the impact of the Amendments Act on OCR’s enforcement responsibilities under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA, including whether any changes in regulations, guidance, or other publications are appropriate.  The revisions to this Frequently Asked Questions document do not address the effects, if any, on Section 504 and Title II of the amendments to the regulations implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that were published in the Federal Register at 73 Fed. Reg. 73006 (December 1, 2008).

U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release School Discipline Guidance Package to Enhance School Climate and Improve School Discipline Policies/Practices

 

JANUARY 8, 2014

 

Contact:   U.S. Department of Education, Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.govU.S. Department of Justice, Press Office, (202) 514-2007, press@ed.gov

 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), today released a school discipline guidance package that will assist states, districts and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate, and ensure those policies and practices comply with federal law. Even though incidents of school violence have decreased overall, too many schools are still struggling to create positive, safe environments. Schools can improve safety by making sure that climates are welcoming and that responses to misbehavior are fair, non-discriminatory and effective. Each year, significant numbers of students miss class due to suspensions and expulsions—even for minor infractions of school rules—and students of color and with disabilities are disproportionately impacted. The guidance package provides resources for creating safe and positive school climates, which are essential for boosting student academic success and closing achievement gaps.

 

Human Rights in the United States: Beginning at Home

IntroductionIn recent history, the United States government and many organizations in the United States have often talked about human rights as if they were only relevant to abuses in other countries, and claims of human rights violations were leveled by, not at, the U.S. government. Although human rights documents and treaties claimed to discuss universal rights obligations that applied to all countries, the prevailing wisdom was that people in the United States did not need human rights standards or international scrutiny to protect their rights.

Yet, many Americans have always believed that the struggle for human rights is profoundly relevant to the United States. One of the earliest uses of the term “human rights” is attributed to Frederick Douglas when he referred to the fundamental rights of enslaved African-Americans at the time when the United States did not recognize their humanity or their rights. Indeed, the idea that all individuals have fundamental rights rooted in the concept of human dignity and that the international arena might provide support in domestic rights struggles has often resonated with marginalized and disenfranchised people. So it was no surprise that U.S. rights organizations, including the NAACP and the American Jewish Congress, played a crucial role in the birth of the modern human rights movement. Both groups helped to ensure that human rights were included in the UN Charter which founded the United Nations.

 

Despite fierce resistance from adversaries of human rights, such as avowed segregationists or more recently advocates of U.S. exceptionalism, who successfully delayed human rights advocacy within the United States for decades, there has been a growing domestic human rights movement that is committed to the long term vision of ensuring the full range of human rights for all within or at our borders. This movement - comprised of community organizers, academics and scholars, lawyers, artists, web activists, policy advocates, economists, educators and many others - is multi-issue covering the span of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It is ambitious in its breadth and scope and audacious in its aspirations. There are many voices that still argue that rights such as health care or housing are only commodities that serve market interests. The human rights movement, however, is a platform for voices who argue, intensely and passionately, that this view cannot and must not prevail.

 

Footnote Information

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