Impact of the Civil Rights Laws on Education From the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights In the last three decades, Congress has enacted a number of civil rights statutes prohibiting discrimination in educational programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. These statutes are: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibiting race, color, and national origin discrimination); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting sex discrimination); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (prohibiting disability discrimination); Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (prohibiting disability discrimination by public entities); and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (prohibiting age discrimination). The civil rights laws represent a national commitment to end discrimination in education. The laws mandate bringing the formerly excluded into the mainstream of American education. And these laws also are designed to help deliver the promise that every individual has the right to develop his or her talents to the fullest. The federal civil rights laws have helped bring about profound changes in American education and improved the educational opportunities of millions of students. Many barriers that once prevented minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and older persons from freely choosing the educational opportunities and careers they would like to pursue have been eliminated. As we continue to work for the effective enforcement of the civil rights laws, it is important that we also look at the impact of the laws on students facing discrimination who attend our elementary and secondary schools and colleges and universities. This fact sheet was undertaken to provide useful information about the impact of the civil rights laws, along with other efforts at the national, state, and local level, in bringing about equal access and opportunity for all students. There is no single research or data base that provides comprehensive information on the impact of the civil rights laws. However, there is information from a variety of sources that indicates progress in removing barriers to equal educational opportunity. Removing Racial Barriers to Educational Opportunity dropout rate of African American students (age 16 to 24) declined from 22.9 percent in 1975 to 12.1 percent in 1995 high school graduation rates among African Americans have increased substantially in the past 20 years and drawn much closer to the high school graduation rate of whites. • In 1990, 66.2 percent of African Americans age 25 and over had completed high school. In 1995, 73.8 percent of African Americans age 25 and over had completed high school. • Overall student participation in advanced placement (AP) classes has increased dramatically since 1982, rising from 140,000 to 450,000 high school students. Especially impressive is the growth in participation of minority students. In 1994, the percent of AP candidates who were minority students was 26 percent, compared to 11 percent in 1982. • Student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has increased in science, math, and reading, recovering most of the ground lost in the 1970s. The gap in performance between white and African American students has been narrowing substantially. • Minority participation on the Scholastic Assessment Test (formerly the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT) has increased. In 1996, minority students were 29.3 percent of all graduating seniors who took the SAT (and identified their race or national origin), compared to 20.7 percent in 1987. • Math and verbal SAT scores increased across almost all race/ethnic groups from 1987 to 1996. For example, the average SAT score of Asian American students increased 17 points on the verbal section and 17 points on the mathematics section. The average score for American Indian students increased 12 points on the verbal section and 14 points on the mathematics section. The average score for African American students increased 6 points on the verbal section and 11 points on the mathematics section. All of these increases exceeded those achieved by white students. • Total minority enrollment at colleges and universities increased 63 percent in the past decade. • Since 1990, the number of Latino students enrolled in higher education increased by 34 percent; the number of African American students increased by 16 percent; and the number of American Indian students increased by 24 percent. • 51 percent of African American high school graduates (class of 1995) enrolled in college (2-year and 4-year colleges) immediately after their high school graduation. A decade earlier, only 42 percent of African American high school graduates went on to college without a break in their education. • 54 percent of Latino high school graduates (class of 1995) enrolled in college (2-year and 4-year colleges) immediately after their high school graduation. A decade earlier, only 51 percent of Latino high school graduates went on to college without a break in their education. • 10.1 percent of all college students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional education) were African American in fall 1994. Four years earlier, only 9 percent of all college students were African American. • 7.4 percent of all college students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional education) were Latino in Fall 1994. Four years earlier, only 5.7 percent of all college students were Latino. • The percentage of African Americans age 25 and over who held bachelor‘s degrees increased from 11.3 percent in 1990 to 13.2 percent in 1995. • The number of bachelor‘s degrees in engineering awarded to African Americans increased 59 percent from 1981 to 1994, while total bachelor‘s degrees awarded in engineering only increased by 4.1 percent. • African American students were awarded 1,393 doctorates in 1994. This represents a 31.8 percent increase since 1987. Removing Gender Barriers to Educational Opportunity • A similar percentage of high school females and males (class of 1994) had taken algebra (68 percent for females; 65 percent for males), geometry (72 percent for females; 68 percent for males) and calculus (9 percent). • Average score of females on the mathematics section of the Scholastic Assessment Test increased 19 points between 1982-1996. During the same period, the average score of male students increased 11 points. • The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (1996) reported no significant differences in scores of American eighth grade female and male students. • The number of females participating in high school sports increased from 294,000 in 1971 to approximately 2.4 million in 1996. Today, 39 percent of all high school athletes are females. • More than 100,000 women participate in intercollegiate athletics. This represents a fourfold increase since 1971, when 31,852 women participated in intercollegiate athletics. • In 1972, women constituted 15 percent of college student athletes. By 1992, women constituted 34 percent of college student athletes. Since then, there has been an annual rate of increase of about 1 percent so that by 1995 women‘s participation rate had increased to 37 percent. • Average number of women‘s teams increased 6 percent from 1992-1996 in all three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) divisions. In NCAA Division I-A, 40 percent of colleges added a women‘s team in the last three years and 59 percent of colleges planned to add at least one women‘s team in the next three years. • By 1995, a similar proportion of young men and women had earned at least a bachelor‘s degree (about 25 percent). In 1970, about 13 percent of young women, compared to 20 percent of young men, had earned at least a bachelor‘s degree. • We are witnessing a dramatic increase in the number of women entering traditionally male dominated professional fields. when Title IX was enacted in 1972, 9 percent of professional degrees awarded in medicine went to women; in 1994, 38 percent of M.D. degree recipients were women. • In 1972, women earned only 1 percent of professional dental degrees - in 1994, women received 38 percent. • Women in 1994 accounted for 43 percent of professional law degrees, up from 7 percent in 1972. • Women today earn the majority of professional degrees awarded in pharmacy and veterinary science. • In 1971, only 14 percent of doctoral degrees went to women - in 1994 that figure increased to 39 percent. Also, the number of women earning doctorates continues to increase. For example, in 1994, women received 16,633 doctorates compared to 16,059 doctorates in 1993. (An increase of almost 600) • There has been a significant increase in women faculty at colleges and universities. In 1972, women constituted 24.5 percent of full-time/part-time faculty. By 1993, women constituted 38.7 percent of full-time/part-time faculty. Removing Disability Barriers to Educational Opportunity • In 1975, over 1 million children with disabilities were excluded from public school. Another 4 million children with disabilities, while attending school, were not receiving educational services they needed - either because their disabilities were undetected or because schools did not offer the services they needed. Virtually no disabled preschoolers received services. • Today, 5.5 million children are served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law, along with other federal disability laws, has meant the difference between exclusion and participation, between dependence and independence, between lost potential and learning. • In 1984, only one-fourth of students with disabilities were served in regular classrooms for at least 80 percent of the school day. In the 1993-94 school year, 44 percent of students with disabilities, about 2.3 million students, were being served in regular education classes. • More than 87 percent of students with speech or language impairments were in regular classes during the 1993-94 school year. The information was collected by state education agencies and reported to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. • 34 percent of students exiting special education graduated from high school with either a diploma or certificate during the 1993-94 school year. The information was collected by state education agencies and reported to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. • Since the enactment of IDEA in 1975, 90 percent fewer developmentally disabled children are living in institutions. • In 1978, 2.6 percent of full-time/first-time college freshmen reported a disability. In 1994, it increased to 9.2 percent (more than 140,000). This means the number of persons with disabilities going to college has more than tripled. • In 1994, of full-time/first-time college freshmen reporting a disability, 32 percent reported having a learning disability, compared to 15 percent who reported a learning disability in 1988. • More than 800,000 students with disabilities, including part-time students with disabilities, are enrolled in all levels of higher education. This represents approximately 6 percent of undergraduate enrollment and 4 percent of graduate and professional enrollment. • Degree aspirations of students with disabilities are similar to those of students without disabilities. For example, 35 percent of undergraduate students with disabilities planned to obtain a master‘s degree, compared with 40 percent of undergraduate students without disabilities. Also, 13 percent of both groups planned to obtain doctorates. • Many young people with significant disabilities who were previously thought unemployable are working in competitive jobs as a result of the education they received through enforcement of the federal statutes. This contrasts with the situation in the mid-1970s. At that time, only 33 percent of people with disabilities were employed within 5 years of leaving school. Nearly 60 percent of young men and women with disabilities are now employed. • The percent of individuals with severe disabilities who held jobs increased from 23.3 percent in 1991 to 26.1 percent in 1994. This represents an increase of about 800,000 jobs. Removing Age Barriers to Educational Opportunity • There were three and one-half times as many college students age 35 and over in 1994 as in 1972. • The number of students in higher education age 35 and over increased from 783,000 in 1972 to 2,725,000 in 1994. • In 1972, students age 35 and over comprised 8.6 percent of total enrollment in higher education. In 1994, 18.1 percent of the students were 35 and above. The number of these older students is increasing at a faster rate than the enrollment in most other age groups. • In 1993, students age 40 and above accounted for 10 percent of undergraduate students, 22 percent of graduate students, and 6 percent of professional students. • Older students tend to make better grades than younger students. In 1992-93, 38.5 percent of undergraduate students age 30 and above had a grade point average of 3.5 or higher compared with only 14 percent of students age 23 and below.

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