Office of Career and Technical Education

Civil Right Laws, Regulations, & Guidance

Civil rights laws are intended to assure parents, students, school personnel, and others that vocational technical education programs in schools receiving federal funding meet the expectations set forth in legislation.  These laws and regulations protect the rights of everyone involved in education without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, or disability.

School districts and other educational institutions are reviewed to ensure that they comply with Civil Rights laws and regulations.  Areas reviewed include the following:

• Nondiscrimination policies and notifications
• Designation of nondiscrimination coordinator(s)
• Grievance procedures
• Institutional self-assessments
• Recruitment and enrollment practices
• Guidance and counseling
• Accessibility to educational programs for ALL students
• Employment policies and practices
• Services to students with disabilities and special needs
• Accessibility to co-curricular activities

The Office of Career and Technical Education's Civil Rights Liaison provides technical assistance to educational organizations and institutions concerning compliance with OCR guidelines.   For information, contact the Office of Career and Technical Education, 700 Governors Dr., Pierre, SD 57501-2291.  Phone: (605) 773-3423; Fax: (605) 773-4236.    

The regional Office for Civil Rights in Kansas City also provides technical assistance.  They may be contacted at UU.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas City, Missouri 64114. Phone: (816) 268-0550; TDD: (816) 891-0582; Fax: (816) 823-1400.  E-mail   OCR_KansasCity@ed.gov 

Federal Office for Civil Rights e-mail  OCR@Ed.gov    Web site:  www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/

The following federal laws, regulations, and presidential executive orders cover various anti-discrimination requirements affecting educational institutions and their employees and students.  Enforcement of these statutes is under the jurisdiction of federal enforcement agencies, including the Office for Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education (OCR, DOE); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); Federal Contract Compliance (FCC); and the United States Department of Labor (DOL).  

 

LAW	AREA OF DISCRIMINATION	COVERS	ENFORCED BY
14TH Amendment of the U. S. Constitution	Rights of citizens	Students and employees	Court District or Region
Equal Pay Act, 1963	Gender (in pay)	Employees	EEOC
Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964	Race, gender, and national origin in employment	Employees	EEOC
Executive Order 11246 (as amended by E.O. 11375, 1968)	Race, gender, color, national origin	Employees	FCC
Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972	Gender	Students and employees	DOE, OCR
Section 504, Rehabilitation Act 1973	Disability	Students and employees	DOE, OCR
Education for All Disabled Children Act - Public 92-142, 1976	Disability	Students	Special Programs, DOE
Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 1978	Gender (pregnancy)	Employees	EEOC
Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Amended 1978	Ages 40-70	Employees	EEOC
Title VI Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex, and Disability	Race, color, national origin, gender, and disability in education	Students	DOE, OCR
Carl D. Perkins Act, 1998	Race, color, national origin, gender, and disability in education	Students	DOE, OCR
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990	Educational and public institutions	Students and employees	DOE, OCR