RESOLVED: On September 7, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights closed this complaint as resolved. The district said the race-based affinity groups never took place and that all of its programs are open to everyone regardless of race. OCR confirmed the announcement had been removed from the district’s website. See the letter here.
On March 14, 2023, Parents Defending Education filed a complaint against Ithaca City School District in Ithaca, New York, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint claimed the district was breaking Title VI, a law that bans race discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. It also claimed the district was violating the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, which bars government bodies, including public schools, from treating people differently because of their race except in rare cases.
A district announcement for a “Black Lives Matter At School” week of action listed a “Caucus (affinity) group” at Ithaca Senior High School for “self-identified BIPOC students and teachers.” Students and teachers of other races were not invited.
Read the full complaint and see its evidence below:
