Civil Rights and Education: Collaborations across university-based civil rights centers across the country is increasingly important in this political moment

This year, the UCLA-based Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles is celebrating their 25th anniversary through releasing a series of commissioned papers and hosting briefings in DC and Sacramento, examining what the civil rights agenda for the next quarter century. During and after graduate school, I worked with the Civil Rights Project, participating in efforts to use social science research to inform law and policy to further racial equity in education and society more broadly. For example, one strand of my research that began when I first worked for the Civil Rights Project was understanding whether and how the racial transformation of the suburbs was expanding school segregation in metropolitan areas—a focus of the research I presented in DC earlier this year. Just as this experience shaped me into the scholar I am today, it spurred me to co-found the Center for Education and Civil Rights (with another alumna of the Civil Rights Project), which is one of several other civil rights centers based at public universities. Though each may have a slightly different focus, they share a vision to ensure dialogue across the country and establish non-partisan, evidence-based policy analysis centering civil rights protections in education research. One of the latest examples of these centers is the Education Rights Institute (ERI) at the University of Virginia, which recently celebrated its first anniversary.

AdvancED Equity’s goal is to bring these various research centers in conversation with one another, and others, as we engage in field building. As described in our report to OCR, we hosted an initial gathering in March 2024 to begin to build a consensus research agenda, and we plan to have another in 2025 to continue this conversation—which is especially vital during this political moment. I have been reflecting on my experiences at the ERI convening, which I describe below, as one of a series of events this year, which shows promise for such coordination among like-minded academics and others in the field who seek to bridge the research-policy gap to advance civil rights.

In late October, the Education Rights Institute at UVA hosted a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There were several panels reflecting on different dimensions of the Act’s impact on schooling and limitations in its effectiveness today. OCR Secretary Catherine Lhamon also gave remarks at a keynote speaker. Although the political landscape has shifted considerably since then, in reflecting on the day, there are some key lessons to think about the continuing role for the Civil Rights Act and federal civil rights role in education more broadly. As Catherine noted, despite the rhetoric in the prior administration, civil rights enforcement against harassment was still happening (1) and the obligation for enforcement will still be there regardless of administration—but those outside government will need to be watchful. Congress also has a key role to play.

Speakers noted that the Civil Rights Act requires more funding to enforce it. In February, civil rights organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration arguing that the staffing has declined at OCR even as the complaints have increased dramatically. Lhamon noted 23,000 complaints were submitted in the year ending in September 2024. And, investigating complaints is but one aspect of OCR. Limited staff and rising complaint investigations means less effort for proactive investigations, or guidance documents, several of which were cited by speakers as helping to clarify civil rights topics. In particular, the guidance OCR released after the 2023 affirmative action decision from the Supreme Court clarified that the decision is rather narrow, and did not impact other aspects of higher education like diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts beyond the race-conscious admissions policies that had been challenged. Professor Derek Black also highlighted the discipline guidance issued in the Obama administration, and subsequent enforcement, as a way of addressing how racial discrimination and discipline intersected. He cited our recent visualization demonstrating the way in which Title VI and policy enforcing it mattered.

Several speakers noted the importance of reliable data for analysis and to understand where inequality and discrimination may still exist. Concerns about the collection of accurate racial/ethnic data or the mandated Civil Rights Data Collection (further emphasized by Congress in ESSA) persist even as they continue to show “stunning” disparities in access to educational opportunity. As another example, Catherine mentioned that OCR’s resolution agreements included annual data reporting by educational institutions to be able to monitor compliance with agreed upon remedies.

Lawyers also note the need for additional research to help further the impact of the Civil Rights Act. One example was to look further at the intersection between Title VI and Title IX. Another was research about what might be possible remedies to address current manifestations of how discrimination persists. Related, a third suggestion was to better explain mechanisms of how policies and practices were furthering racial discrimination.

Finally, speakers noted the limitations of the Civil Rights Act, as currently enforced. (2) One theme was the various topics that as of now are not a focus of enforcement despite potentially impeding students’ civil rights and educational opportunities. Some examples include state voucher policies, some states’ aggressive actions to chill curriculum and teaching about history and diverse literature, the rights of English learners, and student assignment policies such as attendance zone and district boundaries and choice. Another theme was the limitations to enforce Title VI, both as a result of the 2001 Sandoval decision limiting a private right of enforcement and the limited staff in OCR. To address the latter set of limitations, Congressional action is required, and of course, addressing the former set is not independent of resource limitations. However, work can continue among researchers, advocates, and communities to continue to develop theories and evidence to support a broadened interpretation of applying the Civil Rights Act to protect the rights of students in all our nation’s schools and universities.

(1) For more on similarities—and distinct differences in approaches to civil rights enforcement between the Obama and first Trump administrations—see our article.

(2) As both Catherine Lhamon and I each noted in our remarks, the Civil Rights Act, combined with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, had resulted in enforcement in earlier decades in which federal funding for school districts not in desegregation compliance were withheld.