2014/01/08 – Today, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released a Dear Colleague Letter that explains schools’ obligations under federal law to administer student discipline without discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.  The letter is part of the Departments’ school discipline guidance package, also released today, that will assist states, districts and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate and in improving school discipline policies and practices.

• To access the new Dear Colleague Letter, please use link at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201401-title-vi.pdf.
• To access the new Dear Colleague Letter in Spanish, please use link athttp://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201401-title-vi-sp.pdf.
• For complete information on the Departments’ school discipline guidance package, please use link at http://www.ed.gov/school-discipline/.
• To read today’s press release, please use link at http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases.
• Stay connected:
  • Register here for the January 15th installment of the Supportive School Discipline Webinar Series. In coming months, the webinar series will provide an in-depth overview of each component of the School Discipline Guidance Package.
  • Subscribe here to the new Supportive School Discipline Newsletter to receive monthly updates on the Supportive School Discipline Initiative.

The Department is also available to provide technical assistance to increase schools’ and the community’s awareness about the contents of the School Discipline Guidance Package, including schools’ civil rights obligations regarding school discipline. Please click here or email schooldiscipline@ed.gov for more information.

 Source: Catherine E. Lhamon
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education