Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights, will participate in a panel discussion at the 55th annual fall conference of the Council of the Great City Schools today in Boston. She will discuss recent OCR initiatives to promote equity in education, especially related to English language learner students.
Ali will also reinforce recent comments by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan about the benefit of the American Jobs Act to Boston's public schools. Under the act, Boston would receive $92.4 million for modernization efforts.
As assistant secretary, Ali's Office for Civil Rights enforces laws aimed at ensuring that the nation's schools receiving federal funding refrain from discriminatory conduct related to race, sex, disability or age.
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.