The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has released new civil rights data from the 2021-22 school year, providing insights into students' access to equal educational opportunities in public schools across the nation.

"Public education promises to be an engine of the American Dream – making it possible for anyone to go as far as their dreams and talent can take them," stated U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "The Office for Civil Rights’ Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a crucial tool in examining our progress in living up to that promise."

Cardona highlighted that the newly released data indicate persistent inequities based on race, sex, and disability, affecting access to educational opportunities such as STEM courses and experiences with school suspensions. He emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration's investments aimed at prioritizing equity for underserved students.

OCR issued three reports and snapshots, including "A First Look: Students’ Access to Educational Opportunities in the Nation’s Public Schools," which provides an overview of these findings. The office also opened a second round of public comments on its proposal for future CRDC collections for the 2025-26 and 2027-28 school years.

The CRDC survey is mandatory for public schools serving preschool through grade 12 students. The 2021-22 collection involved over 17,000 districts and more than 98,000 schools, covering student enrollment, course access, teacher availability, school climate factors like discipline and bullying, among others.

Newly collected data include figures on nonbinary student enrollment where available, religious harassment by targeted religion, incidents of rape and sexual assault by staff members, and school responses to such allegations.

The data reveal significant disparities in educational access nationwide. For instance:

- High schools with higher Black and Latino enrollments offered fewer math, science, and computer science courses.

- In schools where less than half of teachers met state certification requirements, a majority (68%) were attended by Black and Latino students.

- Black students were more likely than White students to attend schools with law enforcement but no counselor.

- Suspension rates showed overrepresentation among Black boys and girls, Hispanic boys, White boys, multiracial boys, and students with disabilities under IDEA.

- Physical restraint or seclusion was disproportionately applied to boys, Black students, multiracial students, and those receiving IDEA services.

"These new CRDC data reflect students’ experience of equality and inequality in the nation’s schools," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. She urged the education community to ensure fair opportunities for all students.

OCR's proposal includes collecting new data on informal removals from education programs; presence of threat assessment teams; bilingual certified teachers; private school placements involving restraint or seclusion.

Reports are accessible online along with public-use data files allowing independent analysis. Comments on future CRDC proposals are open until February 18th.