Support for Meaningful Enforcement of the Civil Rights Act Forum

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, May 17, the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Democratic leadership will hold a forum to examine current enforcement of the Civil Rights Act in U.S. schools and to announce the introduction of a new resolution to affirm support for disparate impact analysis as an enforcement tool of Title VI under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

This comes on the heels of a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that proves students of color suffer harsher discipline for lesser offenses than their white peers. The forum will also address a 2016 GAO report that found schools are resegregating at alarming rates.  It is critically important that Congress act now to strengthen Title VI, as the administration signals they intend to amend or rescind it.

MEMBERS:  Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and the Workforce

Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), House Committee on the Judiciary

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12)

Congressman Steny Hoyer (MD-05), House Minority Whip

Congresswomen Judy Chu (CA-27), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

Congressman Cedric Richmond (LA-02), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus

PANELISTS: Government Accountability Office Representatives

Dan Losen, Director, Center for Civil Rights Remedies, The Civil Rights Project at UCLA

Todd Cox, Director of Policy, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund

Khulia Pringle, Educator, Organizer, and Advocate, Solutions Not Suspensions Minnesota   

WHAT: Briefing and panel discussion on civil rights under attack during the Trump administration.

BACKGROUND: On April 4, 2018, Ranking Members Scott and Nadler released a GAO report entitled, “Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities.” This report found that Black students, boys, and students with disabilities are disproportionately disciplined in K-12 public schools. This pattern of disproportionate discipline persists regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school students attend. To read more about this report, click here.

On May 17, 2016, Committees on the Judiciary and Education and the Workforce Democrats unveiled a GAO report entitled, “K-12 EDUCATION: Better Use of Information Could Help Agencies Identify Disparities and Address Racial Discrimination.” This report confirmed that increasing segregation along the lines of race and poverty continue to be a driver for inequities in education. The report identified actions needed to reduce racial and socioeconomic segregation, and addressed disparities in K-12 public schools. To read more about this report, click here.