Internal guidance circulated to investigators at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) stipulated that the investigations, which were described by superintendents as unprecedently intrusive, could end only after school districts agreed to adopt the administration’s preferred policies.5 The research on the effects of aggressive efforts to reduce suspensions and implement resto. [...] The culture wars The Department of Education must not pressure school districts to indoctrinate teachers and students in “critical race theory.” Joe Biden has promised to “put away the harsh rhetoric, to lower the temperature” and has insisted that “we must stop treating our opponents as enemies.”9 If he truly intends his presidency to be a time of “unity and healing,” he should ensure that the De. [...] 3 Under the disparate impact standard set by the Obama DCL, statistical disparities in the punishment could be considered sufficient evidence of racial discrimination to justify a “system-wide” investigation of the school district and potentially a conclusion that the district was violating civil rights law. [...] Allegations of individual discrimination, whether or not they were found to have merit, triggered a broad, system- wide investigation if the ratio of minority students suspended was 2x or more the ratio of white students suspended. (see the final section, “Determining the Scope of OCR’s Investigation,” in “OCR’s Approach to the Evaluation, Investigation, and Resolution of Title VI Discipline Compl. [...] If, on the other hand, the school district was 51% black and 49% white, then it would pass the test set by the DCL and not be subject to district-wide scrutiny because that would push the ratio to under 2x. See “Determining the scope of OCR’s Investigation.” 4 Max Eden, “Enforcing Classroom Disorder: Trump Administration Has Not Called Off Obama’s War on Discipline,” Manhattan Institute, August 20.
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