Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a Wisconsin school district over allegations that it discriminated against a White elementary school student with dyslexia on the basis of race, according to a statement from the agency Wednesday.
- The investigation is based on a complaint made earlier this year claiming that the Green Bay Area Public School District prioritizes special education services based on racial “priority groups,” which the student at the center of the complaint did not fall into. That complaint also alleges the district discriminated against the student on the basis of disability and did not provide timely and adequate special education services.
- The investigation into the Green Bay Area school system is one of several K-12 race discrimination reviews the Education Department has opened since President Donald Trump took office that appear to scrutinize school policies and practices intended to support racial equity.
Dive Insight:
The Green Bay Area Public School District is being investigated under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in federally funded education programs on the basis of race, color or national origin. It is also being reviewed for potential violations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.
The complaint filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty in January was submitted to the Education Department on behalf of a Green Bay-area mother, Colbey Decker, who had been seeking reading support from the district for her son. Decker alleged that the school district prioritizes special education services for some racial groups over others.
"In America, we do not ‘prioritize’ students for educational access, nor do we judge their worth, on the basis of skin color," said Craig Trainor, the Education Department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, in a statement. "Schools must provide special needs students access to supportive educational resources on an equal footing and on the basis of need, not on the basis of race.”
The district, in an email, said it had no comment because of the ongoing investigation.
Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — the law that guides special education services — parents and educators can request that a student be evaluated for a disability and for eligibility for special education services. But the determination to qualify for special education services is based on data and observations, and it is made by an evaluation team of educators and parents.
To qualify for IDEA services, a student's disability must fit into one of 13 disability categories under IDEA, and their disability must adversely affect their learning. Dyslexia is a disability that falls under the specific learning disability category.
The Trump administration has ordered school systems to avoid diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Under the Biden administration, however, school systems were encouraged to expand equity practices. The change in direction is causing whiplash for those schools that sought to comply with Biden-era guidance but are now being faulted for doing so by the Trump administration.
Other examples of OCR racial discrimination investigations opened into school systems in the past few months include:
- Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia is being investigated for potential violations under Title VI for a 2020 revision to the admissions policy at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. The revision aimed to increase student diversity by conducting a more holistic review of applicants.
- Chicago Public Schools is under investigation based on a complaint that alleges the district has an academic-achievement initiative that focuses on remedial measures for Black students only.
- New York Department of Education and New York Board of Regents are under OCR review for allegedly threatening to withhold funding if the Massapequa School District does not eliminate its mascot name, the Chiefs, which is tied to the community's association with Native American culture.
- Illinois' Evanston-Skokie School District 65 is being reviewed for alleged racial segregation and stereotyping through such policies and practices as “privilege walks” and segregated affinity groups.
The investigations were announced after the Education Department conducted an agency-wide workforce reduction in March that eliminated about half of OCR’s staff.
