Reading of Q & A Page of Dear Colleague Letter
The Office of Civil Rights offered a Question and Answer page. The letter seems to indicate:
- The political sphere should not be intervening into curriculum and
- Our work has never been outside of Civil Rights law nor ‘racially hostile,’ even though perverse claims have made that case.
The letter also lists criterion used to judge any programming that would be deemed outside of the law. Ironically, these criterion seem to be the very sort that justify and require equity work in the first place. That aside, the criterion are listed below:A non-exhaustive list may include (1) whether members of a particular race were treated differently than similarly situated students of other races; (2) the historical background or administrative history of the policy or decision; (3) whether there was a departure from normal procedures in making the policy or decision; (4) whether there was a pattern regarding policies or decisions towards members of a particular race; (5) statistics demonstrating a pattern of the policy or decision having a greater impact on members of a particular race; and (6) whether the school was aware of or could foresee the effect of the policy or decision on members of a particular race.”
Ultimately, this letter only validates that there was no need to make any drastic changes at our institutions because of it. There are other provisions in the letter, which may need to be considered. I would encourage you to read this letter with a mindset that you are already in compliance with the directives, despite any claims made within it, and find any areas where you have questions and raise those with just a few on campus if at all necessary. The thinking and template regarding initial inquiries on our resource page will hold with any inquiries regarding the Dear Colleague letter and/or Executive Orders. They will also pertain to many state requirements that are being created, although states are reaching further than they have in the past.
