UPDATE: On July 21, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights dismissed this complaint. See the letter here.
On May 10, 2021, Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against Columbus City Schools in Columbus, Ohio, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint claimed the district was breaking Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law that bans discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs that receive federal funds.
On April 21, 2021, the Columbus Board of Education posted a public statement saying that “systemic racism … has existed for 175 years within the Columbus City Schools education system.” The statement also said, “There is systemic racism within our school district,” “There is systemic racism within our education system,” and “There is systemic racism within our school buildings.” DE argues that this admission raises concerns the district had taken federal funds while violating Title VI. When Princeton University’s president made similar claims in 2020, the Office for Civil Rights quickly opened an investigation.
Read the full complaint below:
