Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Norwin School District entered into a resolution agreement to ensure future compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). While the District knowingly entered into the agreement and is fully committed to undertaking the items set forth in the Agreement, the District is compelled to respond to certain statements made in the OCR’s press release which were not embodied in the resolution agreement. 

First and foremost, the District remains committed to complying with its longstanding policy of providing an equal opportunity for all students to achieve their maximum potential through the programs offered in the schools without discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, ancestry, national origin, marital status, pregnancy, handicap/disability, or genetic information. The District also remains committed to maintaining high expectations for all students, and eliminating persistent disparities among students based on race, ethnicity, language, or disability. 

While the resolution agreement obligates the District to strive to improve District climate and operations, the District is compelled to express its concern with the manner in which much of this matter has proceeded through the OCR’s investigatory process. A complaint was filed by an unidentified Complainant with the OCR in October of 2021. The Complaint focused exclusively upon the District’s Spirit Week celebration that month, and the District’s disciplining of two students who were seen wearing clothing which depicted a confederate flag. Upon being notified of the offensive clothing, District Administration called the students into the office and required the students to remove the clothing at issue. 

The District timely responded to the OCR’s Request for Information in April of 2022 and at all times material hereto, the District cooperated with the OCR’s investigation into these other incidents, and voluntarily produced all relevant documents and witnesses for interviews. The District further notes that the OCR concluded its interviews with District witnesses in December of 2022, and the OCR had no further contact with the District until June of 2024 (i.e., approximately 1 ½ years later), when the OCR proposed that the District execute a resolution agreement. The OCR investigators acknowledged and apologized for the untimely delay in their investigation. 

The District further notes that the OCR investigators indicated they would only provide the District substantive evidence that supported their findings only after the District signed the resolution agreement. The OCR’s October 2, 2024 letter appears to suggest that the issues outlined in therein persist today, when in fact a review of the specific issues reveals that most, if not all, of the incidents described therein involved issues which arose three or more years ago, and some issues which arose in the summer when school was not in session. 

The District is committed to moving forward in a positive and collaborative fashion, and it will continue to strive to foster an inclusive, healthy, and non-discriminatory educational environment for all District students.