You may recall that the Equal Protection Project investigated the exclusion of white students from “Student of Color United Summits” in the Ithaca (NY) City School District (ICSD) over a four-year period. For the details, read our prior posts for the full background:
The ICSD administration, however, tried to obfuscate its conduct, as we documented Ithaca City Schools “Have Not Come Clean as to Their Past Practices” Segregating Students.
Because ICSD had not come clean, and because documents obtained through a NY Freedom of Information Law request contradicted public statements from the district, EPP filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education on August 12, 2024, as detailed in our post, “Why Aren’t White Students Invited?” – Ithaca City School District Practices Challenged By Equal Protection Project.
The discrimination was grotesque, as detailed in the Complaint, including a “Frequently Asked Question” on the official event website as to “Why aren’t white students invited?” Non-white students were excused from classes for the events, while white students were forced to stay in class. The ICSD SOCU Summit student registration form required students to affirm that they understood the event was open only to students of color.
The highest eschelons of the ICSD administration were involved as were dozens of teachers and administrators. The Ithaca Board of Education not only knew about the event but also knew that members of the public had filed complaints. As we said in the Complaint:
“It is hard to imagine more open, prolonged, and intentional racial discrimination, despite ICSD’s denials.”
The case sat without any action by OCR for several months.
On January 27, 2025, just a week after the Trump administration began its second term, however, we received a Letter from OCR (full embed at bottom of post) informing us that it was opening a formal investigation based on our complaint. The opening of a formal investigation, while not a finding of guilt, is an important first step in a case because it means OCR has determined that the evidence submitted in the complaint warrants investigation.
From the Letter:
On August 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received the complaint you filed against the Ithaca City School District (the District). The complaint alleged that the District discriminated on the bases of race and color by sponsoring Students of Color United Summits that excluded white students from 2021 to May 28, 2024. OCR is opening the allegation for investigation.OCR enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000d et seq., and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Part 100, which prohibit discrimination on the bases of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving financial assistance from the Department. As a recipient of federal financial assistance from the Department, the District must comply with Title VI and its implementing regulations.OCR will investigate the following issue: whether the District subjected students to different treatment on the bases of race and color by sponsoring Students of Color United Summits that excluded white students in violation of Title VI and its implementing regulations.Please understand that opening an investigation under Title VI does not mean that OCR has made a decision about the merits. During the investigation, OCR is neutral; OCR will collect and analyze the evidence it needs to make a decision about the complaint.
Fox News has covered the opening of the investigation:
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education has launched an investigation into a school district in central New York for allegedly discriminating against students based on their race.”We are pleased that the Dept. of Education has opened a formal investigation into racial discrimination against White students at ICSD,” Cornell professor William Jacobson and founder of the Equal Protection Project, said of Ithaca City School District, in a statement to Fox News Digital.”The discrimination was deliberate, open, and offensive, going so far as to have a Frequently Asked Question on the event website explaining why White students were not invited,” Jacobson added.The complaint, filed on Aug. 12, 2024 by Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project, claims a “four-year systematic exclusion of White students from annual Student of Color United (SOCU) Summits at the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) in Ithaca, New York.” ……. the Equal Protection Project maintains that there was an ongoing practice of discrimination, saying in the complaint that “for at least four years, from 2021-2024, ICSD systematically excluded White students from SOCU Summits with the knowledge and the participation of dozens of teachers and administrators, knowledge of the Board of Education, and despite multiple complaints about the racially discriminatory practices from members of the community.”They add that “The Frequently Asked Questions section of the official SOCU Summit website even included an explanation as to ‘Why aren’t White students invited?’ and required that registering students ‘acknowledge that this is a Student of Color ONLY event.’” ….Jacobson told Fox News Digital that the Ithaca County [sic] School District “needs to be held accountable for a four-year-long campaign of discrimination that involved and was known by the highest levels of the administration and Board of Education, despite complaints from the community objecting to the discrimination. It is not enough at this late date just to promise not to do it again.”
We hope that this reflects a renewed vigor on the part of the Department of Education to ensure that the civil rights laws are enforced regardless of who is the target of discrimination.
Reminder: we are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated.
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