Education Department Removes Anti-Discrimination Rule

The Education Department is removing a decades old anti-discrimination policy. According to the Department of Education, it rescinded a long-standing policy that allowed statistical disparities to serve as evidence of discrimination in schools during civil rights investigations.

The change went into effect immediately and will prohibit federal investigators from relying on statistical disparities alone to support discrimination findings.

Now, investigators will have to prove intentional discrimination in civil rights complaints against schools using other means. A coalition of civil rights and education organizations issued a joint statement condemning the change and said it “has no basis in law or morality.”