PPA is sponsoring this upcoming webinar. Please consider attending or sharing with colleagues. Registration is free, but ALA or FTRF membership is required.
Please note that this event will be presented live only-the recording will not be available.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights recently stated that selective book bans may violate federal civil rights laws in certain circumstances. In this webinar, presenters from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will introduce participants to the office and the laws OCR enforces. The webinar will also explain how book bans may violate students' civil rights and how OCR can help.
OCR enforces several federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in schools, colleges and universities, and libraries that receive U.S. Department of Education funds. These federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, and age. Individuals who experience or observe a potential violation of these laws can file a complaint with OCR.
The webinar is free and available to members of the American Library Association (ALA) or Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF). If you are not a member, please join ALA and the Freedom to Read Foundation.
Presenters:
Monique L. Dixon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
Monique L. Dixon is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. She previously served as Deputy Director of Policy and Director of State Advocacy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), Inc. In these roles, she was responsible for assisting with the development, coordination, and implementation of LDF's overall federal policy and legislative reform priorities with a focus on criminal justice and education. She also serves as the lead architect of LDF's state and local legislative and policy activities, including LDF's Justice in Public Safety Project. Dixon also served as co-chair of the Education Task Force of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Randolph Wills, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
Randolph Wills is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement in the Office for Civil Rights. He is responsible for overseeing the enforcement activities of OCR's 12 regional offices. He provides leadership and legal guidance in the enforcement of civil rights in education programs, including in the investigation and resolution of complaints of discrimination, proactive compliance reviews, and other high-profile cases of systemic discrimination, and in the provision of technical assistance, outreach and policy guidance to educational institutions, parents, students, and community organizations. During his 20-year tenure in OCR, he also served as an Enforcement Director and as the Regional Director of OCR's New York regional office. Prior to joining OCR, he was the General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
Learning Outcomes:
Attendees will learn about:
- How the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights enforces federal civil rights laws.
- How federal civil rights laws apply to libraries.
- How book bans may violate federal civil rights laws.
- How to submit complaints about potential violations to the Office for Civil Rights.
Co-sponsors:
This webinar is co-sponsored by the American Library Association's Public Policy and Advocacy office (PPA), ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), and the Freedom to Read Foundation.
Event Information:
This event will be hosted in Zoom. Automatic captions will be enabled for this event.
Contact ce@ala.org with registration questions.