Increasing the dialogue among stakeholders in New Jersey’s special education system

SNAP SHOT: Disability and Civil Rights

Oct 6, 2015 | Snapshot

  1. In 2014, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received a record-setting 9,989 complaints.
  2. In 2014, OCR initiated 38 compliance inquiries, up from 30 in 2013.
  3. While the number of OCR staff dropped from a high of 1,148 in 1980 to 544 in 2015, the number of complaints received has nearly tripled, up from 3,497 in 1980, to 9,989 in 2014.
  4. Disability-related complaints comprised 46% of the discrimination complaints in 2014.
  5. Race and national origin complaints accounted for 22% of alleged discrimination in 2014.
  6. Out of School suspensions by disabilityOf the disability-related issues raised in OCR complaints, more than 1/3 (3,770) centered around the provision of FAPE- Free Appropriate Public Education. Another 2,850 centered on retaliation.
  7. OCR found that students with disabilities were twice as likely as those without disabilities to receive out-of-school suspension.
  8. Students with disabilities make up 75% of those who are physically restrained at school, and 25% of those who are arrested and referred to law enforcement.

From Protecting Civil Rights, Advancing Equity, a 2014 Report to the President and Secretary of Education by the US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. Data are from FY 2014.