On May 7, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) again issued guidance in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to educational institutions discussing how Title VI of the Civil Rights Act...more
Colleges and universities around the country have been dealing with increasingly violent and contentious student protests in recent months. Many have had to deal with student, parent, faculty, donor, and public criticisms...more
In a Dear Colleague Letter issued on November 7, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a letter reminding educational institutions of their obligation to address and prevent discrimination...more
The Department of Education recently reminded educational institutions receiving federal funding of their responsibility to foster inclusive campuses in light of the nationwide rise in hate crimes and threats to Jewish,...more
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division have published a joint Dear Colleague Letter (Joint OCR and DOJ DCL) that, together with a Q&A, provides...more
On May 25, 2023, the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) “as part of the Department’s launch of an Antisemitism Awareness Campaign” described in the...more
In a joint “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) released May 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights teamed up with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to make the public aware of both...more
On May 1, 2023, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released its annual report for Fiscal Year 2022. The FY 2022 report focused on civil rights complaints, proactive compliance reviews, technical assistance presentations, and...more
[Warning: This article does not reference viruses, vaccines, or mask-wearing.] The education world is in a state of flux, legally speaking. Any day now, the U.S. Supreme Court will further opine on the extent to which the...more
On May 6, 2020, the United States Department of Education issued its long-awaited Final Regulations (the “Regulations”) that focus on Title IX protections for victims of sexual misconduct. The new regulations impose a number...more
After a lengthy notice and comment process and much anticipation, new Title IX regulations were issued by the U.S. Department of Education on May 6, 2020. The regulations comprise approximately 25 pages, and the preamble to...more
When the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion several weeks ago upholding a public school district’s policy allowing transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity, it was just the latest...more
Over eight years after the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ [“OCR”] issued its April 4, 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter on campus sexual assaults, the torrent of lawsuits continues, filed...more
Following the review of the Obama administration’s 2014 “Dear Colleague” Letter, a federal commission led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has recommended rescinding its guidance aimed at reducing racial discrimination –...more
• California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the state legislature’s attempt to codify previously issued Title IX guidance. • A similar bill, introduced this month in the U.S. House of Representatives, has not yet received the...more
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its corresponding regulations prohibit sex discrimination in education programs or activities conducted by educational institutions that receive federal financial...more
On September 22, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance reflected in two key documents about Title IX and sexual violence...more
Late last week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the intention of the Department of Education to overhaul the way it addressed sexual misconduct on college and university campuses, as well as in K-12 schools. As...more
It is unusual for a dissenting opinion to be more noteworthy than the majority’s holding, yet that is the case in Plummer v. University of Houston, a decision recently handed down by the United States Court of Appeals for the...more
Published reports indicate that President Trump’s proposed budget includes what is approximately a fifty percent reduction in the prior fiscal year’s funding for the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil...more
In May 2016, the Obama Administration’s U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague letter directing schools to recognize and treat...more
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice ("Departments") withdrew statements of policy and guidance on transgender students and their use of school restrooms and locker rooms that were a...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
Two divisions of the federal government have weighed in on the recent legal controversies surrounding accommodations for transgender students. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S....more