GGD-00-90R Civil Rights Division: Fiscal Year 2000 Annual Performance Plan Could Be Improved

This report covers the activities of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003. In addition to describing OCR's civil rights compliance program, the report demonstrates how OCR is able to make a real difference in the lives of students. 2004 marks a special year in America's efforts to bring about equal educational opportunity for all people: it commemorates the 50th anniversary of the landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" decision that declared separate but equal schools to be unconstitutional. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB Act), the comprehensive reform of federal elementary and secondary education programs that President George W. Bush signed into law on January 8, 2002, may be viewed as furthering the intent of the "Brown" decision. The goal of the NCLB Act is to ensure that every child from every background receives a high quality education and that every school in America is a place of high expectations and high achievement. The fair, effective and efficient enforcement of the civil rights laws works to advance both equity and educational excellence. The report includes: (1) Overview of the OCR Compliance and Enforcement Program; (2) Strategic Priorities; (3) Other Efforts to Enforce the Civil Rights Laws; and (4) Measuring OCR's Work. Two appendixes are included: (1) FY 2003 Complaint Receipts by OCR Enforcement Officers; and (2) OCR Offices and Addresses. (Contains 6 footnotes, 1 figure, and 2 tables.).