The Educational Opportunities Section enforces federal civil rights statutes that prohibit public and private schools, local education agencies, and state education agencies from engaging in discriminatory practices. The Educational Opportunities Section’s work covers a variety of legal issues involving elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education. The laws for which the Educational Opportunities Section has primary responsibility include Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000c-6, and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1706 to 1710. The Section also enforces Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act with respect to students enrolled in public educational institutions (see JM 8-2.400). Finally, the Section enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (see JM 8-2.241); Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments, 20 U.S.C. § 1681(a), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (see JM 8-2.400) against federal funding recipients. When a United States Attorney’s Office receives Title VI, Title IX, or Section 504 allegations involving an educational institution, that office should contact the Educational Opportunities Section as soon as practicable.

Additionally, the Section litigates a large number of cases in which it challenges practices of school districts that result in illegal student segregation on the basis of race or color. Many of these cases arose out of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which mandates that public school officials not assign students to schools and classes on a racial basis, or deny students equal educational opportunity on the basis of race or color.

[updated March 2018]