Recent Investigations and Agreements

Clay County School District, Florida

On October 30, 2023, the Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement with the Clay County School District in Clay County, Florida, to resolve an investigation under the the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the District's provision of services to English Learner ("EL") students. The investigation revealed that the District was not appropriately identifying EL students or providing them with the educational services and supports needed for EL students to become proficient in English and participate equally in school. Under the agreement, the District will modify its practices so that EL students are properly assessed and identified shortly after their enrollment, promptly provided with language services if they qualify and have the opportunity to equally benefit from the academic and behavioral supports provided to their peers. The District will also make certain that all teachers are qualified, trained and provided enough support and resources to help EL students become fluent in English and understand their core-content courses. The District will also translate and interpret important school information for parents who are not fluent in English. For more information, please see the press release in English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole. The agreement is available in English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole, and summaries of the agreement are available in English, Spanish, and Haitian-Creole.

Colton Joint Unified School District

On December 19, 2022, the Section entered into a settlement agreement with the Colton Joint Unified School District in San Bernardino County, California to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for students learning English (“English Learners”). Under the settlement agreement,  the district must ensure that every English Learner in the district receives English language instruction, and that teachers working with English Learners are trained and qualified to meet their needs. The district will also implement additional changes to ensure that English Learners have an equal opportunity to participate in the district’s various programs, including programs for gifted and talented students. For more information please see this press release in English and Spanish.

San Bernardino City Unified School District

On December 15, 2022, the Section entered into a settlement agreement with the San Bernardino City Unified School District in San Bernardino, California to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners. Under the settlement agreement the district must ensure that students receive adequate English language instruction from trained and certified personnel. It will train core content teachers on how to work with English Learners, and it will update its special education policies and trainings to meet the needs of English Learners with disabilities. In addition, the district will take steps to improve access to gifted and advanced programs for English Learners. For more information please see this press release in English and Spanish (Spanish.

New Bedford Public Schools

On September 15, 2022, the Section entered into a settlement agreement with the New Bedford Public Schools in New Bedford, Massachusetts to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners.  In particular, the Section investigated a complaint alleging that the district violated federal law by failing to communicate effectively with K’iche’-speaking limited English proficient parents and denying K’iche’-speaking English Learners equal educational opportunities. The agreement requires, among other things, that the district implement effective measures to correctly identify the languages spoken by students and parents/guardians, so that school staff do not assume K’iche’ speakers are native Spanish speakers based on their country of origin.  The district also agreed to improve its practices and professional development to address the specific needs of English Learners who speak K’iche’ so that they can access the same educational opportunities as other students in the district.  For more information on this settlement, please see this press release (in Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole, and in K'iche' (audio)) and the agreement.

Davis School District

On October 20, 2021, the Section entered into a settlement agreement with the Davis School District in Utah to resolve an investigation under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and to address the District’s violations of the Equal Protection Clause. The Section launched its investigation in response to complaints that Davis deprived students of equal protection of the law through its inadequate response to serious and widespread harassment of Black and Asian-American students.  Under the Agreement, Davis will take significant steps to prevent and appropriately respond to discriminatory harassment, including to: create a new department to handle complaints; train staff on how to identify, investigate, and respond to complaints; inform students and parents of how to report harassment and discrimination; create a centralized, electronic reporting system to track and manage complaints and Davis’s response to complaints; and implement student, staff, and parent training and education on identifying and preventing discrimination, including discriminatory harassment. For more information, please see this press release and an amendment to the 2021 agreement.

Newark Public Schools

On September 1, 2021, the Section entered into a settlement agreement with the Newark Public Schools in Newark, New Jersey to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners.  The United States initiated its investigation in response to a complaint alleging that the district was failing to appropriately communicate with parents who have limited proficiency in English (“LEP parents”).  The agreement requires the district to, among other things, identify and place English Learners appropriately when they enroll in school; provide adequate language services to all English Learners, including those with disabilities, so that they can become proficient in English; and locate and re-offer services to English Learners who were exited improperly from the district’s programs without achieving English proficiency.  The agreement also requires the district to ensure that English as a Second Language classes and bilingual classes are taught by qualified teachers; adequately train the administrators and teachers who implement the district’s programs for English Learners; ensure meaningful communication with limited English proficient parents about District and school programs and activities; and evaluate the effectiveness of the programs for English Learners over time.  The findings of the Section’s investigation of the Newark Public Schools are available here, and translations of the Agreement are available in Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. For more information, please see press releases available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and French. 

Rowan-Salisbury School System

On June 17, 2021, the Section entered an agreement with the Rowan-Salisbury School System in North Carolina to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners. The settlement agreement requires the district to increase language instruction for all English Learners, including those with disabilities, so they can become fluent in English.  The district will also train its teachers and administrators on how to support English Learners in academic subjects such as math, science, and social studies.  The district will continue to improve its translation and interpretation services for limited English proficient parents so all parents can fully participate in their children’s education.  For more information, please see this press release in English and Spanish.

Lewiston School District

On May 27, 2021 the Section entered an agreement with the Lewiston School District in to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners. Under the settlement agreement, the district must provide English as a Second Language instruction to all of its English Learners and targeted programming for those English Learners with limited or interrupted formal education; fully staff its programs for English Learners with qualified teachers; provide training to principals and teachers; communicate effectively with limited English proficient parents about school activities; and monitor the program for English Learners over time to evaluate its efficacy.  For more information, please see this press release in English, Somali, Swahili, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Translated versions of the agreement are also available in Somali, Swahili, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Nashua School District

On May 24, 2021, the Section entered an agreement with the Nashua School District in New Hampshire to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners. Under the settlement agreement, the district must provide English as a Second Language instruction to all of its English Learners, fully staff its programs for English Learners with qualified teachers, provide training to principals and core academic teachers of English Learners, communicate effectively with limited English proficient parents about school activities, and monitor the program for English Learners over time to evaluate its efficacy.  For more information, please see this press release in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Coolidge Unified School District

On April 16, 2021, the Section entered an agreement with the Coolidge Unified School District in Arizona to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners. Under the settlement agreement the district must improve and increase language instruction for EL students so they can become fluent in English and understand the coursework in all their academic subjects.  The agreement also requires the district to provide robust teacher and administrator training, obtain the special materials and curricula that English Learners need to succeed academically, and actively evaluate students’ progress over time.  For more information, please see this press release in English and Spanish. A translated version of the agreement is available in Spanish.

Charleston County School District

On March 2, 2021, the Section entered an agreement with the Charleston County School District in Charleston, South Carolina to resolve an investigation under Section 1703(f) of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 of the district’s programs and practices for English Learners. In particular, the United States received complaints that the school district failed to communicate essential information to Spanish-speaking, limited English proficient (LEP) parents, denying their children full and equal access to the school district’s education programs and services.  Under the settlement agreement the district must ensure that each of its 80 schools and programs use qualified interpreters and translators to communicate with LEP parents about matters essential to their children’s education, including special education services.  The agreement also require that the district develop and implement effective language access policies and procedures; train faculty and staff on how to properly identify and meaningfully communicate with LEP parents and guardians; inform LEP parents and guardians of their right to language access services at special-education related meetings and receive translated special-education related documents; and provide a language-assessment report and bi-annual compliance reports to the Section.  For more information, please see this press release and a translated version in Spanish.  A translated version of the agreement is available in Spanish.

Federal Way Public Schools

On November 12, 2020, the Section entered into a settlement agreement with Federal Way Public Schools in Federal Way, Washington to resolve an investigation into allegations of peer-on-peer harassment on the basis of religion and national origin under Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In particular, the Section investigated complaints alleging that Muslim students were called “terrorists,” had their hijabs pulled off their head, and were physically assaulted. The Agreement requires the district to take proactive steps to improve its ability to prevent and appropriately respond to peer-on-peer harassment based on religion and national origin. Those steps include retaining consultants to provide technical assistance to support a review of the district’s harassment policies, practices, and procedures, as well as the district’s training on and implementation of protocols for such policies. The Agreement also requires the district to work with the consultants to assess its resources and build capacity at individual schools and at the district level to ensure that antiharassment policies are properly implemented. The district will also provide training for students and faculty, and will survey the educational environment and effectiveness of measures taken pursuant to the Agreement. For more information, please see this press release and Extension Agreement. Translated versions of the agreement are available in Spanish,  العربية (Arabic), and Soomaali (Somali).