Title VI: An Underutilized Tool for Educational Equity

• In Event: The Elusive Battle for Educational Equity in Pennsylvania: 40 Years of Changes and Challenges

Abstract

Purpose: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act states that no person may be discriminated against because of race, color or national origin in any program receiving federal funds (42 U.S.C. § 2000d). The threat of Title VI enforcement and loss of federal funding serves as powerful motivation for school districts to cooperate with the federal government in protecting minority students’ access to quality education.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) record of civil rights enforcement under Title VI. There were four main research questions: (1) What are the current policies of OCR in regards to the enforcement of Title VI provisions? (2) How are the policies of the current administration different from that of previous administrations? (3) How are provisions of Title VI being enforced in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania? (4) How can policymakers use the OCR enforcement provisions to ensure that students are not subject to discrimination?

Perspective: This paper will use legal and historical frameworks to answer these questions, in an effort to understand not only historical trends in the enforcement of Title VI, but to understand the current policies with regards to enforcement and how those policies may be strengthened to ensure that the rights of minority students are protected.

Methods and Data Sources: This study relies primarily on OCR data about all complaints filed in Pennsylvania from 2010-2012. It also draws on publicly available documents from OCR and the Department of Justice, including reports to Congress and the President.

Findings: The number of complaints being filed with OCR has grown steadily over the past few years. Several new policies have been initiated under the current administration, including: improved guidance to schools, more compliance reviews, and the use of disparate impact analysis to examine school policies that are facially neutral (United States Commission on Human Rights, 2011). In Pennsylvania, there have been 87 claims filed with the OCR. Of these complaints, 47 cases were dismissed with no further action, 17 cases were closed for insufficient evidence/no violation, 5 cases were closed with early resolution and 8 cases were closed with agreements.

Significance: Title VI, which covers every public school in the United States, is an important tool that policymakers and legislators can use to ensure equal access and equal opportunity in public schools. Because OCR is entrusted to investigate alleged violations of Title VI, it is important to understand the role that OCR can play in the fight to end discrimination against minority students. By examining how cases are investigated and the dispositions of complaints, we can identify areas of strengths in the protections of students’ civil rights as well as work to address weaknesses.

Author

• Santosh Madahar, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park