Title VI disparate impact rules removed from civil rights enforcement
The Education Department said Thursday it will no longer consider school policies that disproportionately harm one group of students as discriminatory unless the discrimination is intentional. The department said the change removes disparate impact provisions from its regulations implementing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination on the basis of race or national origin.
The Associated Press reported that the disparate impact standard had most notably been applied to school discipline policies. National data shows Black students have been more likely to receive punishments that remove them from the classroom, such as suspensions, expulsions and transfers to alternative schools.
The Associated Press reported that racial justice advocates have pushed for policies that would reduce those disparities, and that those efforts have drawn opposition from the Trump administration.