TEA Non-Discrimination Policy

The Texas Education Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs or activities. The following person has been designated to handle complaints and/or inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies which pertain to TEA programs or activities:

Emi Johnson
Compact with Texans

TEA Employment and Employees

If an inquiry involves the employment policies of the agency, and the aggrieved person is an employee or applicant for employment, such inquiry or complaint should be addressed to:

Human Resources Director
Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701
Tel (512) 463-8200

TEA Public School Non-Discrimination Policy

Complaints that allege that a public school discriminates on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or disability in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in the district’s programs or activities are under the jurisdiction and authority of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). OCR and TEA enforces several federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal funds. In addition, TEA implements a review process for school discrimination complaints and will inform individuals of the appropriate complaint resolution options.

U.S. Department of Education (USDE) – OCR Guidance

• October 26, 2010 Dear Colleague Letter – clarifies the relationship between bullying and discriminatory harassment, and reminds schools that by limiting their responses to a specific application of an anti-bullying or other disciplinary policy, they may fail to properly consider whether the student misconduct also results in discrimination in violation of students’ federal civil rights.
• April 4, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter - concerns obligations by school districts, colleges, and universities to protect students from sexual harassment and sexual violence. The Dear Colleague letter explains the requirements of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 as they relate to student‐on‐student sexual harassment and violence. The letter also discusses the proactive efforts schools can take to prevent sexual violence and educate employees and students, and it provides examples of the types of remedies that schools and OCR may use to respond to such conduct.
• May 6, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter - informs school districts and state education agencies about their obligations under federal law to provide equal educational opportunities to students residing within their school district. The letter includes an explanation of the types of information that districts may lawfully collect from students and families (e.g., birth certificates to establish age of a child and telephone bills and lease documents to prove residency within a district), and the types of information that districts are prohibited from using as a basis to deny school enrollment to a child (e.g., a foreign birth certificate, or lack of a social security number).
• May 26, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter - informs elementary, secondary, and post secondary schools that as the use of emerging technologies in the classroom increases, schools at all levels must ensure equal access to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of the technology for all students, including students with disabilities. The dear colleague letter includes a “Frequently Asked Questions About the June 29, 2010, Dear Colleague Letter” developed by the USDE OCR.
• December 2, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter - The United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice are issuing this guidance to explain how, consistent with existing law, elementary and secondary schools can voluntarily consider race to further compelling interests in achieving diversity and avoiding racial isolation. 

The following person has been designated to handle complaints and/or inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy in public schools:

Darrell McKnight
Office of General Inquiries
Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, Texas, 78701
Tel (512) 463-9290 | Fax (512) 475-3665 | Email generalinquiry@tea.state.tx.us

Individuals may also contact the Dallas Regional Office of OCR:

Texas OCR Enforcement Office
The Office for Civil Rights
Dallas Regional Office
1999 Bryan, Suite 2600
Dallas, Texas 75201

Telephone | (214) 661-9600
Fax | (214) 661-9587 | TDD (877) 521-2172
Email OCR.Dallas@ed.gov
Website US Department of Education - Office for Civil Rights

          Section 504 in Texas public schools

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