[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6537 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6537
To require the Secretary of Education to annually report on the Federal
civil rights violations of educational institutions, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 25, 2018
Ms. Maxine Waters of California (for herself, Mr. Carson of Indiana,
Mr. Cohen, Ms. Lee, Mr. Rush, Ms. Norton, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Ellison, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms.
Barragan, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Ryan of
Ohio, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Schakowsky,
Mr. Brown of Maryland, and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Education to annually report on the Federal
civil rights violations of educational institutions, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Education Department Civil Rights
Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. REPORT BY THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.
Section 203(b) of the Department of Education Organization Act (20
U.S.C. 3413(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(3) In addition to the requirements under paragraph (1),
the report required under such paragraph shall include the
following:
``(A) A list of each of the following:
``(i) Each educational institution against
which the Department has received, in the
preceding year, 1 complaint alleging that the
institution has violated a Federal civil rights
law.
``(ii) Each educational institution against
which the Department has received, in the
preceding year, more than 1 such complaint.
``(iii) Each educational institution
against which the Department has received, in
the preceding 5 years, more than 3 such
complaints.
``(iv) Each educational institution that,
during the preceding year, was under
investigation by the Department for such a
complaint.
``(v) Each educational institution against
which the Department has received, in the
preceding year, such a complaint for which the
Department has not commenced an investigation,
and which the Department has not dismissed.
``(vi) Each educational institution against
which the Department has received, in the
preceding year, such a complaint for which the
Department has dismissed without commencing an
investigation.
``(B) The list of educational institutions
described in subparagraph (A) shall be disaggregated
by--
``(i) each Federal civil rights law that
the complaint alleges has been violated by each
such institution;
``(ii) type of educational institution; and
``(iii) whether the complaint filed against
each such institution was processed by the
Department as a systemic or as a class-action
complaint.
``(C) The list of educational institutions under
subparagraph (A) shall include--
``(i) the date on which the complaint was
filed against each such institution; and
``(ii) the status of the complaint.
``(D) In addition to the requirements of
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the list of institutions
described in subparagraph (A)(vi) shall include--
``(i) the procedural or administrative
reason for which the complaint was dismissed,
including--
``(I) whether the complaint failed
to allege--
``(aa) a violation of
Federal law for which the
Department has administrative
responsibility or subject
matter jurisdiction; or
``(bb) a violation against
an educational institution for
which the Department has
administrative responsibility
or personal jurisdiction; and
``(II) whether the complainant
failed to submit a consent form; and
``(III) whether the Department
offered the complainant an opportunity
to correct the procedural or
administrative error prior to
dismissing the complaint.
``(E) Any resolution agreement or letter between
the Department and an educational institution against
which a complaint described in paragraph (1) has been
filed, which settled the Department's investigation of
such complaint.
``(F) Any corrective action levied or remedy
obtained for the preceding year against an educational
institution for a violation of Federal civil rights law
pursuant to a resolution agreement or letter, or other
findings document, the status of such corrective
actions, and whether the Department is considering
extending such corrective actions.
``(G) With respect to each complaint described in
subparagraph (A)(vi) which the Department dismissed
because the Department lacks the administrative
responsibility, or subject matter or personal
jurisdiction, for the Federal law that the complaint
alleges to have been violated or the educational
institution against which the complaint was filed--
``(i) a list of each such educational
institution and each such Federal law; and
``(ii) recommendations on whether Federal
legislation is necessary for the Department to
address the complaints described in this
paragraph.
``(H) With respect to each educational institution
against which a complaint described in subparagraph (A)
has been filed that the Department investigated and
found insufficient evidence to support a finding of a
Federal civil rights law violation, a report explaining
the basis for such decision.
``(I) With respect to each educational institution
that has had a resolution agreement or corrective
action that the Department has determined does not need
to be extended, a report on the basis for the decision
and how such institution improved with respect to
compliance with Federal civil rights laws.
``(J) In a case in which a decision by the
Department to not pursue a complaint or investigation
relating to an alleged violation of a Federal civil
rights law was due to the resource constraints of the
Department for the preceding year, a description of
which resources the Department needs to fully and
expeditiously investigate each such complaint received
by the Department.
``(K) Any changes made, in the preceding year, to
the case processing manual of the Office for Civil
Rights of the Department.
``(4) In paragraph (4):
``(A) Complaint.--
``(i) In general.--The term `complaint'
means a written statement to the Department
alleging that the rights of one or more persons
have been violated and requesting that the
Department take action.
``(ii) Exclusions.--The term `complaint'
does not include oral allegations that are not
reduced to writing, anonymous correspondence,
courtesy copies of correspondence or a
complaint filed with or otherwise submitted to
another person or other entity, or inquiries
that seek advice or information but do not seek
action or intervention from the Department.
``(B) Educational institution.--The term
`educational institution' has the meaning given the
term in section 901(c) of the Education Amendments of
1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681(c)).
``(C) Federal civil rights law.--The term `Federal
civil rights law' includes--
``(i) title IX of the Education Amendments
of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);
``(ii) the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
U.S.C. 2000a et seq.);
``(iii) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975
(42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.);
``(iv) the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.);
``(v) the Boy Scouts of America Equal
Access Act (20 U.S.C. 7905);
``(vi) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 701 et seq.); and
``(vii) any other law for which the Office
for Civil Rights of the Department of Education
has administrative responsibility.''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Education should
protect any personally identifying information of an individual named
in a complaint or other document, which may be subject to public
release under paragraph (3) of section 203(b) of the Department of
Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3413(b)), as added by this Act.
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