Within-School Discrimination

Inadequate Title VI Enforcement by the Office for Civil Rights Gao ID: HRD-91-85 July 22, 1991

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the: (1) extent to which U.S. elementary and secondary schools may discriminate against minority students in assignment practices; and (2) adequacy of the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights' (OCR) enforcement activities regarding within-school discrimination.

GAO found that: (1) OCR and numerous education researchers have found evidence of possible within-school discrimination resulting from such practices as block scheduling, ability grouping, and student assignments based on single measures; (2) OCR within-school discrimination compliance review efforts have declined since fiscal year 1983; (3) OCR found violations more frequently during compliance reviews than during complaint investigations; (4) OCR regional offices varied in their investigation and resolution of complaints and lacked written policy guidance for discrimination investigations and regulations concerning acceptable student assignment practices; (5) OCR regional offices delayed or did not complete monitoring of noncompliance cases, and investigators indicated that monitoring was a low priority in regional offices; and (6) OCR personnel indicated that lack of staff expertise and limited training opportunities adversely affected regional offices' investigation, resolution, and monitoring activities. GAO also found that in December 1990 OCR reported its intent to: (1) initiate a centrally coordinated compliance review program as part of a new national enforcement strategy; (2) assign a high priority to within-school discrimination; (3) develop written policy guidance regarding within-school discrimination investigations; (4) improve monitoring activities; and (5) provide more training opportunities.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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