United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States National Archives and Records Administration Office of the Federal Register author aut Government Organization text government publication eng FR Regulatory Information 2026_register executive 2026-07-23 article Rules and Regulations D09002ee1e58c44c9 D09002ee1e58c494c United States Department of Education originator org United States Government Agency or Subagency The Secretary of Education rescinds the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex, and Handicap in Vocational Education Programs (Guidelines). The Guidelines, first published in the Federal Register in 1979 and added to the Title VI regulations of the Department's predecessor, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), apply to recipients of Federal financial assistance, including State education agencies, that offer or administer vocational education or training programs. Following the establishment of the Department and HEW's successor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Guidelines were transferred to both agencies and have remained substantively unchanged since they were first issued in 1979. The Department has determined that the Guidelines are no longer necessary due to significant changes in governing jurisprudence on what constitutes actionable discrimination and in the vocational education landscape in the intervening half-century. The Department further finds the Guidelines to be burdensome (because they create proactive compliance requirements that do not apply to other programs that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department) and unnecessary (given the Department's existing regulations promulgated under various civil rights statutes). After considering the regulatory burden that the compliance monitoring and reporting structure outlined in section II.B. of the Guidelines imposes on State education agencies, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education, and the staffing resources that the Department expends on oversight of this compliance structure, the Department has concluded that the costs of this compliance structure no longer justify its benefits. Accordingly, the Department rescinds the Guidelines. This action does not affect the obligations of recipients of Federal financial assistance to comply with Federal civil rights laws because the regulations articulating those substantive obligations remain unchanged. 91 FR 46285 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-07-23/2026-14892 2026-14892 fr23jy26-14 RIN 1870-AA25 4000-01-P https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-07-23/2026-14892 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-23/html/2026-14892.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-23/pdf/2026-14892.pdf Administrative Practice and Procedure Civil Rights Education Equal Employment Opportunity Grant Programs Race Discrimination Disability Discrimination Sex Discrimination 10 p. 46285 46294 91 FR 46285 Title 34 Part 100 34 CFR Part 100 Title 34 Part 104 34 CFR Part 104 Title 34 Part 106 34 CFR Part 106 RIN 1870-AA25 Rescinding Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex, and Handicap in Vocational Education Programs; Federal Register Vol. 91, Issue RULE 2026-14892 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 2026-07-23 4000-01-P 2026-14892 Final rule; rescission.

The Secretary of Education rescinds the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex, and Handicap in Vocational Education Programs (Guidelines). The Guidelines, first published in the Federal Register in 1979 and added to the Title VI regulations of the Department's predecessor, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW), apply to recipients of Federal financial assistance, including State education agencies, that offer or administer vocational education or training programs. Following the establishment of the Department and HEW's successor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Guidelines were transferred to both agencies and have remained substantively unchanged since they were first issued in 1979. The Department has determined that the Guidelines are no longer necessary due to significant changes in governing jurisprudence on what constitutes actionable discrimination and in the vocational education landscape in the intervening half-century. The Department further finds the Guidelines to be burdensome (because they create proactive compliance requirements that do not apply to other programs that receive Federal financial assistance from the Department) and unnecessary (given the Department's existing regulations promulgated under various civil rights statutes). After considering the regulatory burden that the compliance monitoring and reporting structure outlined in section II.B. of the Guidelines imposes on State education agencies, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education, and the staffing resources that the Department expends on oversight of this compliance structure, the Department has concluded that the costs of this compliance structure no longer justify its benefits. Accordingly, the Department rescinds the Guidelines. This action does not affect the obligations of recipients of Federal financial assistance to comply with Federal civil rights laws because the regulations articulating those substantive obligations remain unchanged.

This final rule is effective on July 23, 2026. Maria Litsakis, Acting Director, Program Legal Group, Office for Civil Rights, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: 800-421-3481. Email: maria.litsakis@ed.gov. Administrative Practice and Procedure Civil Rights Education Equal Employment Opportunity Grant Programs Race Discrimination Disability Discrimination Sex Discrimination Rescinding Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex, and Handicap in Vocational Education Programs, maria.litsakis@ed.gov https://cte.ed.gov/pcrn/profile/national/enrollment/2023/participant/secondary/special/allstudents https://cte.ed.gov/pcrn/profile/national/performance/2024/population/1s1/met/secondary/race https://data.census.gov/table?g=010XX00US&d=DEC+Demographic+Profile https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED306322.pdf https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg/students-with-disabilities https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/h259.asp https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/p188.asp https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/monitoring-and-interventions/school-improvement/moamethodsofadministrationprogramguidance21.pdf https://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/valencia-college-wins-aspen-prize/ Vol. 91, no. 140 Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration 2026-07-23 continuing daily deposited born digital 470 p. Table of Contents: AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: KF70.A2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-07-23 P0b002ee1e58c456a 0097-6326 0042-1219 0364-1406 769-004-00000-9 000582072 f:fr23jy26 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2026-07-23 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-23/pdf/FR-2026-07-23.pdf https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-23/xml/FR-2026-07-23.xml fdlp 46239 46701 DGPO 2026-07-23 2026-07-23 FR-2026-07-23 machine generated eng FR FR-2026-07-23 91 140