Detroit Public Schools Community District

What are Civil Rights?

Before you can protect your civil rights, you must recognize and know what they are. Civil rights are an expansive and significant set of rights that are designed to protect individuals from unfair treatment; they are the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment (and to be free from unfair treatment or discrimination) in a number of settings -- including education, employment, housing, public accommodations, and more -- and based on certain legally-protected characteristics.

What are Civil Liberties?

While civil rights have revolved around the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, disability, etc.), civil liberties are more broad-based rights and freedoms that are guaranteed at the federal level by the Constitution and other federal law such as fundamental rights including the right to vote, free speech, or the right to privacy.

DPSCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, religion, height, weight, citizenship, marital or family status, military status, ancestry, genetic information, or any other legally protected category, in its educational programs and activities, including employment and admissions. Refer questions or concerns about discrimination to the Civil Rights Coordinator at (313) 524-2466 or dpscd.compliance@detroitk12.org or 3011 West Grand Boulevard, 10th Floor, Detroit MI 48202. 

Key Civil Rights Laws and Reporting Requirements

Title VI Law of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

• Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, including as schools and universities.
• Prohibits discrimination against English Language Learner (ELL) students and parents/guardians who have limited English proficiency.

Title VII Law of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

• Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sex in in employment.
• It makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against employees for filing a discrimination complaint or participating as a witness in an employment discrimination investigation.

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972:

• Prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive financial assistance and applies to both students and employees.
• Prohibits sexual harassment and violence, pregnancy discrimination, and sex-based discrimination in athletics and academic programs.
• Title IX regulations include specific grievance requirements. Refer to the District's Title IX grievance manual for specifics, and report all Title IX grievances to your building principal, Assistant Superintendent, or the CRC Office.

Disability-Related Laws

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and The Rehabilitation Act of 1973-Section 504:

• Prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in their access to programs and activities, employment, and facilities.
• Defines a disability as a mental or physical impairment that limits a person’s major life activity (self-care, walking, seeing, learning, breathing, speaking, working).
• Reasonable accommodations/modifications must be made to provide access to programs and/or facilities.

Employees: A reasonable accommodation is one that would allow the person to perform the "essential functions" of their position with the accommodation. DPSCD employees and job applicants should contact the Office of Compensation, Benefits, and Employee Health Services web page for additional information.

Students: For benefits or services provided to be “equally effective,” they must afford students with disabilities an equal opportunity to obtains the same results, gain the same benefit, or reach the same level of achievement as other students. For more information or assistance regarding student accommodations/modifications, including 504 accommodation plans, contact your relevant school principal or the Schools Section 504 Coordinator.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):

• IDEA and Section 504 require a school district to provide a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) in the “least restrictive environment” (LRE) to each qualified student with a disability who is in the school district's jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability, to the maximum extent appropriate.
• IDEA requires the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services designed to meet the students’ individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met. This requires an Individual Education Plans (IEP) to be developed with the student and parent/guardian. This is different from a 504 Plan.
• Applies to special education services, evaluations, and student discipline. For more information on IEPs, contact the Office of Exceptional Student Education. When an IEP or 504 Plan exists for a student, it is the responsibility of all educators and relevant staff who work with that student to provide accommodations and/or modifications. This is a legal requirement.

Additional Civil Rights Protections

Age:

• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 protects applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in conditions or privileges of employment, including application and promotion.
• The Age Discrimination Act of 1975 prohibits discrimination based on age, which applies to all ages, in programs or activities that receive financial assistance.

Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (1976):

• The State of Michigan prohibits discrimination based on a wider range of protected classes, such as sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, and weight.

McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987:

• State educational agencies must assure that children and youth experiencing homelessness have access to free public education, by removing barriers to enrollment.
• This includes assuring access to the educational and related services needed to enable them to meet academic standards to which all students are held and prohibits separating students from the mainstream school environment based on housing status. For more information on available assistance, contact DPSCD’s Office of Homeless and Foster Care.

In summary, Civil Rights Laws require schools to:

• Remedy discrimination and harassment.
• Regularly notify students, parents and employees that the district schools do not discriminate on the basis of protected class.
• Implement and disseminate prompt and equitable complaint procedures for handling allegations of discrimination and harassment.
• Designate an employee responsible for coordinating compliance with these federal and state civil rights laws.

HAVE A CONCERN?   Inform us of a Civil Rights Matter