On August 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its new position on student discipline when it has an unequal impact on students of different races. In the OCR’s Guidance on Pupil Discipline and Compliance with Title VI, the OCR recognized that recent regulatory changes and U.S. Supreme Court decisions have minimized the use of “disparate-impact” liability under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”). Title VI requires that students be treated equally regardless of students’ race, color, or national origin, including when a school administers discipline.
Previously, the OCR had found that Title VI prohibits unintentional disparate impacts on racial groups. This means a school district could face an OCR complaint and legal liability if it equally applied a neutral discipline policy, but the result caused an uneven impact on certain racial groups of students.
The OCR now directs schools to focus on intentional discrimination, not statistical disparities in discipline outcomes. This means higher suspension rates for one racial group will not by itself prove discrimination. In fact, the use of race in discipline policies and decisions should rarely be a factor, if at all.
As a result of this announcement, school districts should:
- Double-check discipline policies to ensure they are race-neutral.
- Train staff on student discipline policies and emphasize the prohibition against intentional discrimination and the importance of evenhanded discipline.
- Monitor discipline data for patterns, but use the information to identify potential issues, not to overcome disproportionate outcomes.
- Allow flexibility in responding to student behavior, providing decisions are consistent and not influenced by race.
- Document discipline decisions and rationales to demonstrate that actions are based on behavior, not race.
Weston Hurd’s Education Law team is available to help guide your district through these changes and their practical implications. If you have any questions, please contact Peter Zawadski, or any of the attorneys in our Education Law Group.
