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Attorney outlines Education Department 'Dear Colleague' guidance on Title VI; district to acknowledge compliance
Summary
Attorney Dean Shatley briefed the board on a recent U.S. Department of Education "Dear Colleague" letter and follow-up materials about Title VI (race discrimination), and said the district must respond to a compliance acknowledgment sent to all K–12 systems.
Attorney Dean Shatley of Shatley & Campbell briefed board members about recent federal guidance tied to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Department of Education’s related “Dear Colleague” materials.
Shatley said the Dear Colleague letter and subsequent FAQ focus on race discrimination under Title VI and that the Department of Education clarified several points in follow-up guidance. He quoted a portion of the guidance: “At its core, the test is simple. If a educational institution treats a person of 1 race differently, then it treats another person because of that person's race. The educational institution violates the law, specifically title 6.”
Shatley said the Department later issued a FAQ noting that benign acknowledgments and observances (for example, Black History Month) can be permissible, that enforcement decisions rest on facts in individual cases, and that neutral policies with disparate impacts may be scrutinized if they cannot be justified by legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons.
He told the board that a compliance acknowledgment letter was distributed nationwide, asking superintendents to acknowledge Title VI compliance; Shatley said the district should sign the acknowledgement to preserve federal funding, and that law firms and the school boards association were advising clients to review policies that reference diversity, equity or inclusion. The district’s central-office staff said they had already begun that review in cooperation with federal-programs staff.
Ending: The board heard the legal briefing; staff said they will continue reviewing policies and will return with recommendations if edits are warranted.
