The Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education recently issued a new Fact Sheet. The Fact Sheet repeats prior guidance that “the responsibility for schools to comply with Section 504 continues regardless of how...more
In a highly anticipated decision earlier this month, OCR reaffirmed the broad discretion that religious institutions may have under the religious exemption in Title IX. ...more
2/22/2022
/ Dismissals ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
OCR ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
Same-Sex Harassment ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX
On July 26, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Office for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issued a Factsheet explaining the potential for students who have been infected with COVID-19 to...more
Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued new, anticipated guidance concerning the Department’s current regulations related to sexual harassment. The guidance, titled Questions and...more
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued a Request for Information that asks members of the public to submit written comments regarding the administration of school discipline in...more
On May 13, 2021, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights published a Q&A on Civil Rights and School Reopening in the COVID-19 Environment. ...more
In the final weeks of the Trump administration, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) initiated “proactive investigations” against Seattle Public Schools and the Indiana Department of Education related...more
While much of the talk about Biden’s education agenda has quickly turned to who he will appoint to replace Betsy DeVos and how he will manage the COVID-19 pandemic, both critical issues for sure, we wanted to highlight...more
11/12/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disabled Children ,
Federal Funding ,
IDEA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OCR ,
Policy Drafting ,
Political Appointments ,
Public Schools ,
Restraints ,
Special Education ,
Students
OCR recently published a Q&A document providing expectations for compliance with civil rights laws during the pandemic. While OCR is not responsible for enforcing the IDEA, it is responsible for Section 504. Because students...more
10/5/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
IDEA ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OCR ,
Public Schools ,
Quarantine ,
Remote Learning ,
Section 504 ,
Special Education
As an Office for Civil Rights (OCR) investigator, I was surprised by the number of times I saw the same issues again and again in Title IX sexual misconduct investigations. Nowhere was this more evident than with...more
2/26/2020
/ Colleges ,
Confidential Information ,
Confidentiality Policies ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Educational Institutions ,
FERPA ,
Gender-Based Violence ,
Investigations ,
OCR ,
Rape ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Violence Policies ,
Student Privacy ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Universities
We had great participation in our IAASE session last week on this topic, with the audience voting electronically to weigh in on their anticipated outcomes of cases. If you missed it, here are our main takeaways....more
10/23/2019
/ Bullying ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Due Process ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) ,
Internal Communications ,
Internal Investigations ,
Liability ,
OCR ,
Required Documentation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
School Districts ,
Section 504 ,
Special Education ,
Students ,
Vulnerable Victims
Most changes we’ve seen from the U.S. Department of Education (Department) these past two-and-a-half years have dealt with sex, gender, race, color, and national origin—not disability—and most have reduced federal oversight,...more
The 180-page report of the Federal Commission on School Safety is out, and garnering significant media attention. ...more
The Department of Education recently issued a Dear Colleague Letter explaining the obligations of school districts to students with ADHD under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The guidance notes that over the last five...more
8/11/2016
/ Dear Colleague Letter ,
Department of Education ,
Disability ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) ,
IDEA ,
OCR ,
Public Schools ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Section 504 ,
Students
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, or national origin), Title IX of the Civil...more
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act provides that “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States … shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be...more
The Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights enforces federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, disability, age, race, color, and national origin in programs that receive financial assistance...more