Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights, will address the 2011 Summit for Courageous Conversations Tuesday in San Francisco. In her presentation, entitled, “The Office for Civil Rights: Ensuring Equal Access and Promoting Educational Excellence for All Students,” she will discuss OCR’s work to promote racial equity and educational excellence for all students through its aggressive enforcement of the federal civil rights laws.
Ali will also reinforce recent comments by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about the benefit of the American Jobs Act to San Francisco's public schools. Under the act, San Francisco would receive $29.8 million for modernization efforts.
The Summit for Courageous Conversation annually brings together dedicated leaders for racial equity from across the nation to discuss systemic racism and its impact on opportunity and achievement for all students.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights enforces U.S. civil rights laws pertaining to education — ensuring that the nation's schools receiving federal funding refrain from discriminatory conduct related to race, sex, disability or age.
For more on the American Jobs Act of 2011, see http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/reports/american-jobs-act.pdf.
For information on the Office for Civil Rights, visit http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html, Facebook.com/EDCivilRights or follow on Twitter (@Edcivilrights.