[2] Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and national origin[3] at federally funded post-secondary educational institutions.
Former Assistant Secretaries were: The OCR issues "technical guidance" instructing K-12 schools and higher education institutions on how to comply with civil rights laws under its mandates.
[15] On May 1, 2014, the Office for Civil Rights released a list of higher education institutions with open Title IX sexual violence investigations.
"[16] The decision to release the names of universities and colleges under investigation was due to pressure from both the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and the New Campus Anti-Rape Movement.
Andrea Pino, a complainant against UNC-Chapel Hill and co-founder of End Rape on Campus, told the Huffington Post that "announcing an investigation can open survivors to retaliation, and it's important that the OCR also take emphasis on providing survivors an option to opt out of having their investigation announced if it could endanger them, especially in small institutions where anonymity is less of an option.
The Dear College Letter (DCL) doesn't hold the weight of law but offers valuable direction for adhering to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The DCL highlights protections under Title VI extend to characteristics of shared ancestry, ethnicity, and nationality, such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Arab, Israeli, Palestinian, or South Asian.
[31] On November 16, 2020, The University of Illinois, Jewish United Fund Chicago, Illini Hillel, Hillel International, Illini Chabad, Arnold & Porter, and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced a resolution agreement in response to a Title VI civil rights complaint filed against the university.
[32] On April 4, 2023, OCR announced a Resolution Letter and Agreement mandating that the University of Vermont (UVM) implement changes due to its inadequate response to numerous complaints regarding harassment and discrimination on campus.