House of
Representatives
HB 2119
schools; open enrollment; OCR agreements
Sponsors: Representative Biggs, Representative Murphy
HB2119 removes open enrollment restrictions for transferring pupils leaving a school or school district that is under a court order of desegregation or is a party to an administrative agreement with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) directed toward remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination.
History
The mission of the OCR is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement of civil rights.
The OCR enforces several Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. Discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; sex discrimination is prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; discrimination on the basis of disability is prohibited by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and age discrimination is prohibited by the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. OCR also has responsibilities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (prohibiting disability discrimination by public entities, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance), and, as of January 8, 2002, OCR enforces the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act.
A complaint of discrimination can be filed by anyone who believes that an education institution that receives Federal financial assistance has discriminated against someone on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. The person or organization filing the complaint need not be a victim of the alleged discrimination, but may complain on behalf of another person or group.
After a complaint is filed, the OCR gathers basic information by actively working with complainants and examining other sources of information to ensure that the agency has sufficient information to evaluate the complaint appropriately and in a timely fashion. The OCR’s objective is to resolve each complaint within 180 days. Part of the resolution process includes communicating with the parties involved. The OCR facilitates a complaint resolution process between the parties that may result in resolution of the complaint. Specific information is required to be included in the complaint resolution letter. The school district or charter school may complete the resolution process by agreeing to an administrative agreement outlining duties to ensure compliance with federal law.
A.R.S. Section 15-816 defines open enrollment as a policy adopted and implemented by a school district governing board to allow resident transfer pupils to enroll in any school within the school district, to allow resident pupils to enroll in any school located within other school districts in this state and allow nonresident pupils to enroll in any school within the district pursuant section 15-816.01.
School district governing boards must establish policies, including admission criteria, application procedures and transportation provisions, and implement an open enrollment policy without charging tuition. Copies of the open enrollment policy must be submitted to the Arizona Department of Education.
Currently, a school or charter school must admit pupils who reside in a school district that is under a court order or desegregation or that is a party to an administrative agreement with the OCR directed toward remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination unless notice is received by the resident school that the admission would violate the court order or administrative agreement.
Provisions
· Repeals the authority of restricting a student from transferring to a charter school from a school district that is under a court order or desegregation or is a party to an administrative agreement with the OCR directed toward remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination if the admission to the charter school would violate the administrative agreement.
· Repeals the authority of restricting a student from transferring to a school from a school that is under a court order of desegregation or is a party to an administrative agreement with the OCR directed toward remediating alleged or proven racial discrimination if the admission to the school would violate the administrative agreement.
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Forty-eighth Legislature
First Regular Session 2 February 1, 2007
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