IMPACT: Official calls mishandling of sexual assault cases 'staggering'

By Sarah Favot

Official blames colleges for 'misplaced sense of values and priorities'

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… o participate in an educational workshop.The victim filed a complaint with OCR, but its investigation found that the sanctions were appropriate.Biden cal …"

Lax enforcement of Title IX in campus sexual assault cases

By Kristin Jones

Feeble watchdog leaves students at risk, critics say

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… tment of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The office, referred to as OCR, enforces Title IX, a federal law requiring “prompt and equitable …"

"… g a no-contact order “to protect and prevent harassment” of Dunn, OCR found. The school ultimately cited a lack of eyewitnesses and the role of …"

"… in their name to understand,” said Dunn. “It was pretty devastating.”OCR is the primary office overseeing colleges’ response to rape and other fo …"

"… ases in 11 years. None of the schools were punished, however — even when OCR found that colleges had acted indifferently or even retaliated against stu …"

Education Department touts settlement as ‘model’ for campus sex assault policies

By Kristen Lombardi

The U.S. Department of Education says two recent settlements will serve as a new model for how colleges, universities, and the department de

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… Dec. 2 posting on its website, the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) made public what it calls “voluntary resolution agreements” with two …"

"… s schools to respond to claims of sexual assault on campuses. According to OCR, the agreements are meant to address possible problems under the law the O …"

"… R, the agreements are meant to address possible problems under the law the OCR has initially identified at the schools; they do not reflect charges of an …"

"… the civil rights office — said in an interview last week that the recent OCR settlements present a new paradigm for how colleges and universities natio …"

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Continuing impact from Center series

By Kristen Lombardi

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. And as commemorating events get underway nationwide, the Center for Public Integrity’s recent proje

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… ance on the federal law protecting against sex discrimination. Since then, OCR staffers have been assigned to review an existing 2001 guidance document i …"

"… assigned to review an existing 2001 guidance document in light of what one OCR insider describes as “this frustration with the way universities respond …"

"… aults.” A team of staffers is now working on a draft, the official says; OCR expects to publish its new guidance before the end of September.Meanwhile, …"

Biden, Duncan highlight new federal guidance on campus sex assault probes

By Kristen Lombardi

Obama administration hopes new policies will address problems raised by Center series.

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… udents have urged the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, to immediately investigate the university. Citing recent instances of all …"

"… sexual misconduct at Yale, students filed a 26-page complaint, received by OCR on March 15, alleging that a “sexually hostile environment” exists on …"

"… , the Center — in collaboration with NPR — reported that the OCR rarely investigates complaints like the one filed by Yale students. When c …"

"… nts like the one filed by Yale students. When cases have gone forward, the OCR rarely rules against schools, and virtually never issues sanctions against …"

State attorneys general not leaping to embrace HIPAA enforcement

By Kimberly Leonard

Congress gave state attorneys general authority to pursue HIPAA privacy and security breaches, but not much has happened

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which was directed to protect private patient information by the 1996 He …"

"… d on bringing robust administrative enforcement actions.”Leon Rodriguez, OCR director, said before HITECH the agency was limited in its ability to impo …"

"… y violations. The office determined that about 7,500 of those warranted an OCR inquiry. In almost all of those cases, OCR pushed for and obtained volunta …"

"… out 7,500 of those warranted an OCR inquiry. In almost all of those cases, OCR pushed for and obtained voluntary compliance from the provider or contract …"

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Environmental injustice: EPA neglects discrimination claims from polluted communities

By Corbin Hiar

Agency’s dysfunctional Office of Civil Rights sits on complaints for years

Excerpts from this story referencing "OCR":

"… om of Information Act request from iWatch News. Fifteen of these OCR complaints involve air pollution.The EPA did not explain why so many cases …"

"… t a complaint alleging discrimination in her community has been pending at OCR. Doctors don’t know why she’s been unable to conceive, she said. “If …"

"… y. In April 2006, residents filed a complaint — still unresolved by OCR — against the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ac …"

"… s “outrageous that this complaint wasn’t addressed immediately” by OCR.Ford Heights Mayor Charles Griffin agreed. In an October letter to Jackson …"

Racial disparity in school discipline in Massachusetts

By Beverly Ford

Racial disparity in school discipline in Massachusetts

Excerpts from this story referencing "Education":

"… d.Vivas' story is not unique.According to data from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR), more than three million students are suspe …"

"… state study. Although Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokesman JC Considine said the state suggests that school districts offer …"

"… aid Nakisha Lewis, a project manager with the Schott Foundation for Public Education, a Cambridge, Mass. group that advocates for more equitable distribution o …"

"… class.Sonia Chang-Diaz, Senate co-chair of the state's Joint Committee on Education, said the bills, which are aimed at preventing kids from dropping out of s …"