OCR Complaint: Avonworth School District

On May 16, 2022, Parents Defending Education (PDE) filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education against Avonworth School District in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania for discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance in violation of both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq., and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

PDE makes this complaint as an interested third-party organization that opposes racial discrimination and political indoctrination in America’s schools. Attached to this complaint is supporting evidence in the form of an equity audit conducted by Insight Education Group, which was presented to the school board on April 5, 2022 (Exhibit A). The cost of the audit—$19,500—was approved at a board meeting on June 14, 2021 (Exhibit B).

Insight Education Group’s audit was conducted through data analysis, surveys of 505 participants, and
focus groups of 81 participants. The audit’s findings reveal problems in the district that merit investigation. Insight Education Group recommended that Avonworth “[d]evelop a specific planning process at the district office and in schools to mitigate the disproportionalities discovered in the data review.” (Exhibit A, page 18). In other words, Insight’s data analysis discovered disproportionalities based on race – something that warrants this Office’s review.