This week, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) published on its website a list of “pending cases currently under investigation” by its Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”). Previously, OCR had released a list of higher education institutions under investigation for possible violations of law related to the handling of sexual violence and sexual harassment under Title IX. The new list is broader: it encompasses complaints bought under other civil rights laws enforced by ED, and it includes complaints against K-12 schools as well as higher education institutions.
The list is sorted by category of civil rights law enforced by ED (i.e., age discrimination, race and national origin discrimination, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act). The list is sortable by state, institution name, institution type, type of discrimination, and the date the investigation was opened. The list is also searchable.
OCR describes the list as a “snapshot of data” that reflects its enforcement efforts as of a particular point in time (i.e., the last Friday of each month). ED has said it will update the list on the first Wednesday of each month. According to OCR, inclusion on the list “means that a complaint was filed with OCR and the agency determined that a complaint should be opened for investigation.” An institution will remain on the list for as long as OCR “is still investigating” or “is otherwise working to resolve” the complaint.