Beginning in January of this year, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) began publishing a list of all schools under investigation for disability discrimination. As reported in an article in Disability Scoop, “The searchable listing includes cases alleging discrimination based on disability in addition to race and national origin, sex, age and equal access.”

In the past, the only way to find out if your school was involved in a disability-related investigation was to inquire at the DOE’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR). In an effort to be more transparent, you can now search OCR’s list of pending cases at www.ed.gov. The website is updated monthly.

What You’ll Find

According to Disability Scoop, “Currently, the Education Department reports that it’s investigating or working to resolve 4,709 cases of alleged disability discrimination related to everything from accessibility and discipline to service animals, restraint and seclusion and accessing a free appropriate public education.”

Previously the DOE posted only cases related to sexual harassment or sexual violence. This new information includes all open OCR investigations of elementary, secondary and post-secondary institutions.

Should you find your school in this data base, keep in mind the following OCR disclaimer:

The inclusion of an institution on this list does not mean that the institution violated a federal anti-discrimination statute; rather, it means that a complaint was filed with OCR and the agency determined the complaint should be opened for investigation, or the agency has opened a compliance review. OCR is still investigating the cases included on this list, or is otherwise working to resolve the cases (e.g., OCR may be in the process of negotiating a resolution agreement).