The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights reports an increase in the number of complaints it has received related to disability discrimination in schools. (Ting Shen/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)
Complaints of disability discrimination in the nation’s schools are at their highest level in six years, the U.S. Department of Education says.
A brand new annual report shows that the agency’s Office of Civil Rights received 6,749 disability discrimination complaints during fiscal year 2023, which ran from October 2022 to September 2023. That’s up from 6,390 the year before and is the largest number since 2017, when more than 7,200 similar complaints were filed. .
The increase comes as the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights received a record number of complaints overall. The office, which is charged with investigating discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability and age in programs funded by the Department of Education, said it recorded 19,201 complaints during fiscal year 2023 and resolved 16,448 cases.
Advertisement – Continue reading below
“The continued need for reminders and enforcement of these basic civil rights requirements is discouraging,” Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education, wrote in the report. “However, school communities’ commitments to righting what was wrong and supporting their students’ full and fair access to education inspire me, protect students, and fulfill our nation’s highest aspirations for who we will be.”
Of the disability complaints, the annual report shows that the majority (2,744) were related to the right of students with disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education. Other important issues that gave rise to complaints were differential treatment, exclusion or denial of benefits, and retaliation.
During fiscal year 2023, the Office for Civil Rights indicated that it addressed complaints related to timely evaluations, shortened school days, restraint and seclusion, access to athletics, services during the COVID-19 pandemic, accessibility and more.
“I think the increased number of complaints is directly related to the lack of oversight in the states for the implementation of the law,” said Denise Marshall, executive director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, or COPAA, a nonprofit organization. profit that defends the rights of students with disabilities and their families. “States not holding districts accountable is not new. OCR investigating and issuing settlement agreements is, in my opinion, one of the only forms of accountability, especially around segregation, harassment, equity, and disability-related discrimination.”
Typically, disability complaints make up the largest percentage of those received, the Department of Education said, but that was not the case in 2023. That’s because a single individual filed 5,590 sex discrimination complaints, substantially altering the ratio. .
The civil rights office said its overall complaint volume has nearly tripled since 2009, but its staff has been reduced since then. Disability and civil rights organizations have been pushing for increased funding for the office to ensure it can adequately handle the increased caseload.
Read more stories like this. Subscribe to Disability Scoop’s free email newsletter to get the latest news on developmental disabilities delivered right to your inbox.
