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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 8, 2021 / Notices
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discrimination at once and encourages commenters to identify and address individual and intersectional discrimination as appropriate. This might include, for example, comments on disproportionate discipline of students of a certain race, color, or national origin who are also male, female, LGBTQI+, and/or who are also students with disabilities.
If you are commenting on materials that OCR has issued in the past, please indicate if you believe OCR should consider affirming, changing, or rejecting such materials in future guidance, and the reasons for your recommendations.
Please do not submit comments focused on OCRs handling of complaints filed with OCR as this topic is beyond the scope of this request for information and will not be considered.
C. Request for Information Please address one or more of the following questions or requests:
1. What are your views on the usefulness of current and previous guidance OCR and CRT have issued on school discipline? We would appreciate your comments on the guidance documents described above, including the 2014 guidance, the 2018 Dear Colleague letter, and the 2018 Questions & Answers on Racial Discrimination and School Discipline guidance.
2. What ongoing or emerging school discipline policies or practices are relevant to you or the communities you serve, including any that you believe raise concerns about potentially discriminatory implementation or effects on students access to educational opportunities based on race, color, national origin, sex, or disability?
3. What promising practices for the administration of nondiscriminatory school discipline or creating positive school climates have you identified?
4. What are your views on this nonexhaustive list of disciplinary policies, practices, and other issues below?
a Discipline of students in pre-K
through third grade, including in-school and out-of-school suspensions.
b Use of exclusionary disciplinary penalties, such as suspensions or expulsions, for minor, non-violent, or subjectively defined types of infractions, such as defiance or disrespect of authority.
c Discipline issues relating to dress and grooming codes including restrictions on hairstyles.
d Corporal punishment.
e Inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint for disciplinary purposes.
f Referrals to and the resulting interactions with school police, school
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resource officers, or other law enforcement.
g Referrals to alternative schools and programs.
h Threat assessment practices.
i Students bringing weapons or using them at school.
j Use of surveillance technologies in a discriminatory manner.
k School policies or practices related to teacher and staff training related to discipline, the role teachers play in referrals of students for discipline, and the role of implicit bias in disciplinary decisions.
l Discipline related to attendance and time management.
m Discipline of victims of race, color, or national origin harassment, sex harassment, or disability harassment for misconduct that arises as a result of such harassment.
n Zero tolerance or strict, threestrike policies.
o Reintegration of students who return to school after a long-term out-ofschool suspension or expulsion.
p Discipline issues relating to virtual learning.
q Discipline issues relating to returning to in-person instruction.
r Discipline issues relating to activities off school campus or in virtual school settings, such as bullying through social media usage.
5. What types of guidance and technical assistance can OCR provide to best help SEAs and LEAs create positive, inclusive, safe, and supportive school climates and identify, address, and remedy discriminatory student discipline policies and practices for example, Dear Colleague letters, Frequently Asked Questions documents, fact sheets, tool kits, videos on the nondiscriminatory administration of school discipline or positive school climate, and guidance on returning students to in-person instruction?
6. What promising practices that have reduced the use of discipline or the disparities in the use of discipline between different groups of students including promising evidence-based programs and success stories from particular school districts should OCR
consider highlighting in any future guidance or resource materials?
7. How do school discipline policies impact a students opportunity to learn; b academic achievement; c students mental health; d drop out and graduation rates; e school climate and safety; f access to instructional time; g teacher retention and satisfaction; h the rates at which staff refer students for formal discipline; i student participation in STEM courses, honors and advanced placement
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courses, arts and theater, and extracurricular programming; j impact of discipline records on access to scholarships or on enrollment in college; k student participation in ceremonies for example, graduation ceremonies and National Honor Society ceremonies; and l life outcomes for example, earnings, reliance on public support, income, employment opportunities, and housing?
8. To what extent can hiring and professional development practices be designed and aligned to ensure that teachers and staff are adequately prepared to manage classrooms and work with students in a fair and equitable manner?
9. Describe any data collection, analysis, or record-keeping practices that you believe are helpful in identifying and addressing disparities in discipline. Conversely, describe any barriers or limitations in these areas, and any ideas you may have on how to overcome them.
III. Conclusion OCR appreciates the contributions of students, families, educators, school leaders, SEAs, LEAs, community-based organizations, civil rights organizations, and others to this request for information. We will review every comment, and, as described above, electronic comments in response to this request for information will be publicly available on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.
Please note that OCR will not directly acknowledge or respond to comments, including comments that contain specific questions or inquiries. OCR
issues a limited number of policy guidance and technical assistance documents each year. Receipt of comments in response to this request for information does not imply that OCR
has decided to issue policy guidance, technical assistance, or other resources.
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format.
The Department will provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich Text Format RTF or text format txt, a thumb drive, an MP3
file, braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible format.
Electronic Access to This Document:
The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other
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