If you feel that you were treated improperly, the campus policies were not handled properly, or you felt that the complaint and/or investigation itself was mishandled, you have the ability to file a complaint with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
You can File a Complaint against your College or University for several reasons such as discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This includes discrimination based on pregnancy, parental status, and sex stereotypes (such as treating persons differently because they do not conform to sex-role expectations or because they are attracted to or are in relationships with persons of the same sex).
Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance). This includes discrimination against individuals currently without an impairment that substantially limits of a major life activity, but who have a record of or are regarded as having a disability.
Discrimination on the basis of age is prohibited by Age Discrimination Act of 1975.
These civil rights laws extend to all state education agencies, elementary and secondary school systems, colleges and universities, vocational schools, proprietary schools, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, libraries and museums that receive federal financial assistance from ED. These include all public schools and most public and private colleges and universities.
Who Can File a Discrimination Complaint - Anyone may file a complaint. 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. A complainant filing on behalf of or pertaining to another person(s) is responsible for securing any necessary written consent from that individual, including when a parent files for a student over the age of 18.
Timeliness - A complaint must ordinarily be filed within 180 days of the last act of discrimination. If your complaint involves matters that occurred longer ago than this and you are requesting a waiver, you will be asked to show good cause why you did not file your complaint within the 180-day period.
How to File an OCR Complaint
Online: You may file a complaint with OCR using OCR’s electronic complaint form at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html.
Mail or Facsimile: You may mail or send by facsimile information to the address or phone number available at this link. You may use OCR’s Discrimination Complaint Form or write your own letter. If you write your own letter, please include:
- The complainant’s name, address and, if possible (although not required), a telephone number where the complainant may be reached during business hours;
- Information about the person(s) or class of persons injured by the alleged discriminatory act(s) (names of the injured person(s) are not required);
- The name and location (city and state) of the institution that committed the alleged discriminatory act(s); and
- A description of the alleged discriminatory act(s) in sufficient detail to enable OCR to understand what occurred, when it occurred, and the basis for the alleged discrimination.
Email: You may email OCR’s Discrimination Complaint Form or your own signed letter to ocr@ed.gov. If you write your own letter, please include the information identified above.
For those without current email accounts, Internet access may be freely available from your local public library, and free email accounts are available from several large providers.
Note: Your College or University CANNOT retaliate against you for filing a complaint against them.
The OCR office for California is located at:
San Francisco Office
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
50 United Nations Plaza
Mail Box 1200, Room 1545
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: 415-486-5555
FAX: 415-486-5570; TDD: 800-877-8339
Email: ocr.sanfrancisco@ed.gov
The OCR National Headquarters is located at:
U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights
Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Bldg
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-1100
Telephone: 800-421-3481
FAX: 202-453-6012; TDD: 800-877-8339
Email: OCR@ed.gov.