At the end of February 2015, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a new Case Processing Manual, which updates (and supersedes) its 2010 manual. As described in the manual’s introduction, it provides “the procedures to promptly and effectively investigate and resolve complaints, compliance reviews and directed investigations to ensure compliance with the civil rights laws enforced by OCR.”
Among other revisions, the new manual:
- states that while statistical data alone are not sufficient to warrant opening an investigation, such data “can serve to support the opening of an investigation when presented in conjunction with other facts and circumstances” (Section 101); and
- includes a description of OCR’s Rapid Resolution Process, an expedited case processing approach (Section 207).