DoDEA Civil Rights Program
DoDEA Civil Rights Program is a collaborative process designed to help DoDEA recognize and take reasonable steps to eliminate unlawful discrimination in DoDEA schools, programs, activities, and workplaces, as required under Executive Order 13160. DoDEA is committed to operating in a discrimination-free manner and promoting an inclusive, welcoming environment for all students, employees, and “other beneficiaries” (anyone who is not a DoDEA student or employee, such as parents, visitors, or volunteers).
Taking Action on Alleged Peer-to-Peer Discriminatory Conduct
DoDEA recognizes the need to protect against a hostile environment that can be created by peer-to-peer acts of discriminatory conduct, such as student against student or co-worker against co-worker. While the law does not expect DoDEA to guarantee a perfect environment free from minor acts or petty slights and annoyances, DoDEA policies and procedures are designed to promptly respond to and equitably resolve a reported incident of discriminatory conduct allegedly committed by a peer. If not equitably resolved, DoDEA could be accountable for allowing peer discriminatory conduct to create a hostile environment for a victim that denies, limits, or negatively affects their equal access to educational, work, or training opportunities and benefits.
Upholding EO 13160 Compliance
DoDEA created “Discrimination Report Processing” or “DRP” to give you clear steps on how to put leadership on notice when you feel you are faced with one or more of the following three situations:
- A DoDEA official did not adequately respond to and/or equitably resolve a reported incident of peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct (including sexual harassment or discriminatory harassment), thus allowing a hostile environment to be created.
- A DoDEA employee or someone working on behalf of DoDEA (such as a volunteer or private contractor) discriminated against a student, other beneficiary, or subordinate employee.
- A DoDEA policy or practice, criteria, or method of doing things had a disparate (unequal) impact on a student, other beneficiary, or employee.
Commitment to Students & Other Beneficiaries
When they get a report of discrimination, our principals, program directors, and staff work locally with students, parents, and anyone else involved to promptly respond to and effectively resolve the situation. Reports are accepted and evaluated in a way that protects the privacy and due process rights of both the alleged victim and alleged offender, and anyone else involved. When discrimination is found, reasonable corrective action is taken to hold offenders accountable and restore DoDEA to a supportive, discrimination-free learning environment.
Commitment to Employees
DoDEA is committed to protecting against discrimination in the workplace. Employees may use DoDEA’s DRP to file a formal report about discriminatory harassment by a peer or other forms of discrimination. An employee’s rights under EO 13160 supplement federal employee rights under Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws. Employees are encouraged to contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Programs office to learn more about their equal employment rights.
Ensuring a Discrimination-Free Environment
All incidents of peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct within DoDEA should be reported. If you feel DoDEA is directly responsible for not preventing or equitably responding to discriminatory conduct, you may take action by filing a DRP formal report.
“Disparate Treatment” discrimination is when you should be treated the same as other people who are in the same situation as you, but you are not being treated equally, based on your race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, or status as a parent (your “protected class”).
Some examples could include:
- Not being selected for a position, program, project, or activity.
- Being denied any aid, benefit, or service offered in connection with an education or work program or activity.
- Not being provided or allocated educational or employment aid, benefits, or services.
- Not being promoted.
- Being given a negative review, grade, or evaluation.
- Being segregated or cut off from others.
- Being assigned to a task, role, team, program, activity, or project that no one wants.
If you think a peer is treating you unequally or unfairly based on your protected class, report it. If you think DoDEA is treating you unequally or unfairly based on your protected class, you may file a formal report of discrimination in DoDEA operations for “Disparate Treatment” discrimination.
“Hostile Environment" based on discriminatory conduct/harassment is when someone is harassing you based on your race, color, national origin, sex (gender, gender identity), disability, religion, sexual orientation, age, or status as a parent, and the harassment is so sufficiently “severe, persistent, and/or pervasive” that it creates a “hostile environment” for you.
If you are being subjected to peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct, report it. If after you report it, you believe DoDEA has not resolved the issue and is allowing you to be subjected to a hostile environment by a peer, employee, or “other beneficiary,” you may file a formal report of discrimination for “Hostile Environment" discrimination.
“Disparate Impact” discrimination is when a policy, procedure, criteria, or method of administration is supposed to treat everyone equally, but in practice, you end up treated unequal or worse than others based on your protected class.
Sometimes, disparate impact may be lawful, however, if both of the following things are true:
- The policy, procedure, criteria, or method of administration is necessary to meeting a goal that is legitimate, important, and integral to DoDEA’s mission (i.e., there is an educational or business necessity).
- There is no equally effective alternative policy, procedure, criteria, or method of administration that would result in a less adverse impact.
If you think DoDEA has a policy, procedure, criteria, or method of administration that is having an adverse impact on you based on your protected class, you may file a formal report of discrimination in DoDEA operations for “Disparate Impact” discrimination.
“Retaliation” is when someone tries to use intimidation, threats, coercion, harassment, cyberbullying, or some other negative act to punish, discourage, or deter you, and any witnesses, from exercising your rights to raise a concern, file a report, or cooperate with an investigation about discrimination. Examples take many forms, such as posting offensive comments or rumors on Facebook, dropping or blocking a person from participation in an event or club, or an unwarranted low grade or poor performance evaluation.
The DoDEA Civil Rights Program will not be effective if people who are being discriminated against are afraid to speak up out of fear of retaliation. If you believe you are being retaliated against by a peer, report it. If you believe DoDEA has allowed you to be subjected to retaliation by a peer, a DoDEA employee, or an other beneficiary, you may file a formal report of discrimination in DoDEA operations for “Retaliation” discrimination.
Filing a report of discriminatory conduct provides students and other beneficiaries an opportunity to work together with their school to identify, evaluate, and equitably address allegations of peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct occurring in their learning environment.
For Students and/or Parents: Tell your teacher, coach, counselor, or any school staff member, or you can go straight to your School Principal. If you, or your parent or friend, tells a school staff member what is going on, they either handle it if they have the authority to do so, or notify someone who can, including report it to the Principal, if you have not already done so.
Employees: Go to your First-Line supervisor. If your First-Line Supervisor is not available or you believe they cannot be impartial (e.g., they are the subject of your report), go to your Second-Line Supervisor or whomever is the next-higher-level DoDEA official in your chain of command.
Other Beneficiaries: If the incident is -
- Related to a School Program or Activity: Go to the School Principal where it happened or is happening.
- Related to Interscholastic Program or Activity: Go to the Program Director or other DoDEA official in charge of the activity.
- Related to Any Other DoDEA Program or Activity: All reports of peer-to-peer discrimination related to participation in any other type of DoDEA conducted or sponsored program or activity must go to the DoDEA official in charge of the program, activity, or other event where the incident happened.
A formal report may be filed when you believe DoDEA is directly accountable for the alleged discrimination. In other words, you allege that a DoDEA employee, or other agent of DoDEA, is directly responsible for discrimination or has not equitably responded to or resolved a report of peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct. If the person you believe is responsible is a student, co-worker, or other beneficiary, however, then it must be reported as an incident of peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct, not as a report of discrimination in DoDEA operations.
A formal report must be submitted in writing, and should include as much of the following information as possible:
a. Name/Contact Information.
- The reporting person's name, address, email, and phone number, and the name and contact information of the person or persons adversely impacted (if not the reporter). If either or both are DoDEA students, identify the school(s) where each is enrolled.
b. Brief Description.
- A description of the discriminatory incident or discriminatory impact alleged, to include as much of the following information as possible:
- Who is allegedly responsible for the discriminatory incident, practice, or policy, if known.
- Where it occurred and/or within what DoDEA-conducted or sponsored education or training program or activity the alleged incident or impact occurred, or continues to occur, or if it occurred off school grounds and not in relationship to any DoDEA conducted education and training program or activity.
- When the alleged incident and/or impact occurred or became known.
- What type of discrimination occurred based on what protected class(es). Types of discrimination recognized under DoDEA's DoDEA Civil Rights Program are Disparate Treatment, Hostile Environment Based on Discriminatory Conduct/Harassment, Disparate Impact, and/or Retaliation, in accordance with DoDEA Administrative Instruction 1443.01. Protected classes include race, color, national origin, sex (including gender, gender identity), disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, and status as a parent, in accordance with DoDEA Administrative Instruction 1443.01.
- How the victim was adversely impacted by the discrimination.
School-Related
DoDEA Civil Rights Program. A formal report may be submitted directly to the DoDEA Civil Rights Program by:
- Email. Email should be sent to: Civil.Rights@dodea.edu with Subject Heading: “Report of Discrimination”
- Regular or Express Mail. Regular or express mail should be addressed to:
DoDEA Office of the Chief of Staff
Attn: Office of the Civil Rights Program and Compliance
4800 Mark Center Drive
Alexandria, VA 22350-1400
Employment-Related
DoDEA EEOP Counselor. A DoDEA employee (or applicant for employment) who believes they have been aggrieved by unlawful discrimination in their employment (or application for employment) may first initiate their report by contacting DoDEA EEOP staff assigned to the district where they are employed (or seek to be employed) to ensure they are fully informed as to all their dispute resolution options. District or regional POCs for EEOP may be found on the DoDEA EEOP webpage. Should a DoDEA employee (or applicant) be unable to pursue an EEO report (e.g., they have missed the filing deadline) or choose not to proceed under EEO, they are still free pursue an EO 13160 report as an alternative.
DoDEA Civil Rights Program. A non-EEO related formal report alleging a DoDEA employee is being subjected to discrimination in DoDEA operations may be submitted directly to the DoDEA Civil Rights Program as listed above.
When in Doubt, DoDEA DRP District Coordinator. A report may be submitted to the DRP District Coordinator for assistance on how to proceed, who may be found under the Contact Information tab.
Discrimination is unequal treatment of a person or a group of people based on their “protected class.” Your “protected class” is your:
- race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, or status as a parent.
Discrimination stops you from being able to do something, have something, or enjoy something that other people get to do, have, or enjoy freely, because your protected class is different from theirs (your race, color, sex, religion, etc., is different from theirs).
Discrimination can make it hard for students to learn, employees to work, and any other beneficiary to have access to or enjoy the benefits of the DoDEA education or work experience, because they do not feel safe or accepted and/or are denied an equal chance to participate.
An Executive Order has the same power and force as a federal law passed by the U.S. Congress, but it is issued by the President. In 2000, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 13160 requiring all federally-conducted education and training programs and activities to operate in a discrimination-free manner.
Discrimination is when one person is treated unequal from another based on their protected class, but not all unequal treatment is against the law.
- Affirmative action programs: Some programs give extra help or advantage to a person because of their protected class to help make up for how people belonging to their protected class have been blocked from equal treatment in the past. This is called “affirmative action.” It is a form of “lawful” discrimination used to restore equal access to opportunity.
- Minor acts: Sometimes, people don’t like or understand other people whose protected classes are different from their own. They end up saying or doing offensive things that are thoughtless, insensitive, insulting, or annoying. These are considered minor acts of “discriminatory harassment” that have superficial, transient impact and are resolved once the person is told to stop and they do. DoDEA’s conduct policy requires that everyone treat each other with respect, but federal law recognizes it would be impossible for DoDEA to guarantee you won’t ever experience annoyances, petty slights, or other minor acts motivated by discrimination. These minor offenses may be disciplined as a violation of DoDEA’s conduct rules, but such acts only become unlawful discrimination if they are so bad, or allowed to go on for so long, they create what is called a “hostile environment.”
DoDEA programs and activities include DoDEA schools, academic programs (including online and home schooling programs), sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities, counseling, special education programs or other supportive services, job skills training, scholarships, fellowships, internships, financial aid programs, summer enrichment or other special activity camps, teacher or other employee training, career enhancement programs, and any other programs or activities that DoDEA operates directly and/or is sponsored by DoDEA for the benefit of its students, employees, and other beneficiaries.
Harassment: Harassment, as that term is used in general, is when one person taunts, insults, teases, annoys, makes fun of, bullies, pinches, slaps, or touches, stalks, threatens, intimidates, undermines, gossips about, spreads false stories about, or just plain keeps picking on another person, even though they know the person doesn’t like it and has told them to stop.
Discriminatory Conduct/Harassment: Conduct is discriminatory when it is "unwelcome" and "offensive" based on a protected class. Harassment is “discriminatory harassment” when the reason one person is harassing another is based on that other person’s protected class. One of the most well-known types of discriminatory harassment is “sexual harassment” when conduct is based on sex or sexual orientation, but the term also includes being harassed because of your race, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, or status as a parent (all of which is considered "discriminatory conduct").
Hostile Environment: A “hostile environment” is when discriminatory conduct/harassment gets so bad it is against federal civil rights law.
Minor offensive acts of discriminatory harassment, such as petty slights or annoying comments, are wrong and against DoDEA’s policy that we must treat each other with respect, but minor acts are not unlawful. They become unlawful when the harassment against you is so sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it makes you too angry, too hurt, too upset, or too afraid to focus on or enjoy what you’re doing at school or work, or makes you not want to come to school or to work, or makes it hard for you to participate in a program or activity, because you do not feel safe or welcome. When it gets this bad, it creates an unlawful “hostile environment.” Also, you don’t have to be the one being harassed to be in a hostile environment, because anyone else forced to witness it can be upset by it, too.
Discriminatory conduct/harassment that is so bad it creates a “hostile environment” is a tricky thing to explain. Being annoyed or upset by thoughtless, insensitive, or insulting minor acts or comments may be a violation of DoDEA’s conduct policy, but it is not necessarily enough to create what the law considers a “hostile environment.” There are four things that, when combined, create a hostile environment based on discriminatory conduct/harassment under the law:
FIRST: “Objectively Offensive” Behavior. The discriminatory behavior that you are complaining about has to be “objectively offensive,” based on the “Reasonable Person Standard.” This means that the behavior that you find offensive is the kind of thing that any reasonable person who was in a situation similar to yours would also feel is offensive, just as you do. The law does not protect against your own personal opinion of what you think is offensive, but protects against behaviors that most people would agree should be considered offensive.
SECOND: “Unwelcome.” The objectively offensive behavior must be clearly unwelcome before an offender may be held accountable.
THIRD: “Sufficiently Severe, Persistent, or Pervasive.” The objectively offensive behavior has to be “severe,” “persistent,” and/or “pervasive.” This means that behavior is something more than a petty slight or other minor act or annoyance. See “What is “severe, persistent, or pervasive” below to learn more.
FOURTH: “Unreasonably Denies, Limits, or Interferes with Equal Access.” This means that the impact on you denies, limits, or interferes with your equal access to educational, work, or training opportunities and benefits. In other words, the discriminatory harassment is so bad it makes you too angry, too hurt, or too afraid to focus on or enjoy what you’re doing at school or work, or makes you not want to come to school or to work, or makes it hard for you to participate in a program or activity, because you do not feel safe or accepted.
“Severe” discriminatory harassment is when a single act is so bad and the negative impact is so extreme that any reasonable person in the same situation would agree the one act is enough to create a hostile environment.
“Persistent” discriminatory harassment is when someone is committing minor acts of harassment against you, again and again, even after you’ve told them to stop or you asked your principal or first-line supervisor to make it stop, but it keeps happening. Even though each offense, by itself, alone, is “minor,” having it happen again and again creates a “hostile environment” for you, because it doesn’t stop.
“Pervasive” discriminatory harassment can happen in two ways: First is when one person commits a minor act of harassment against you and it spreads to other people who copy it and start doing it to you, too. Second is when one person commits a single minor act of harassment against you, but then they also do it to other people, too, creating a hostile environment wherever that person goes.
Even if the offensive discriminatory acts against you do not meet all four of the elements required for it to be considered a hostile environment, the harassment may still be a violation of DoDEA’s general conduct code. So, be sure to report the behaviors, anyway. It’s always better to speak up rather than suffer in silence.
DoDEA is directly responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent, or promptly respond to and effectively resolve, the following when it happens in relationship to a DoDEA-conducted or sponsored program or activity:
Not Resolving Reports of Peer-to-Peer Discriminatory Conduct: A “peer” is someone who is in an equal position, or who has equal authority, to you. Peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct is when a student discriminates against another student, an employee against another employee of equal or higher rank, a volunteer against another volunteer, a parent against another parent, and so on. DoDEA is responsible for promptly responding to reports of peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct (from students, employees, or other beneficiaries) and for taking reasonable steps to stop it. No DoDEA employee may allow peer-to-peer discriminatory conduct to go on between students or other beneficiaries under their supervision once they are made aware of it.
Employee-to-Student or Employee-to-Other Beneficiary Discrimination: No DoDEA employee may unlawfully discriminate against a student or other beneficiary. DoDEA is responsible for promptly responding to and resolving reports from students, parents, volunteers, visitors, and other beneficiaries claiming an employee has discriminated against them or has been allowing a peer to discriminate against them.
Supervisor-to-Subordinate Employee Discrimination: DoDEA is directly responsible for taking reasonable steps to prevent unlawful discrimination by a supervisor (or any higher-level DoDEA official) against a subordinate, which includes acts of sexual harassment or other discriminatory conduct/harassment, and promptly responding to and effectively resolving any employment-related complaint.
No. In the event it is substantiated that DoDEA has been, or continues to be, out of compliance with its EO 13160 responsibilities, DoDEA may offer, at its sole discretion, any non-monetary remedies that may be required to restore DoDEA to EO 13160 compliance. Remedies are intended to place a person adversely impacted back into a position as close as possible to where they would have been had there been consistent compliance.
Under DoDEA’s DRP, you may file a formal report alleging any one or more of the following types of discrimination:
- Disparate Treatment (Unequal Treatment).
- Hostile Environment Based on Discriminatory Conduct/Harassment.
- Disparate Impact (Policy or Practice).
- Retaliation.
Instead of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, DoDEA is required to protect against sexual harassment and sex discrimination under EO 13160. You can file a DoDEA DRP formal report of sex discrimination, but not a “Title IX” complaint. Here‘s why:
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, commonly known as “Title IX,” protects against sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination in civilian public and private schools that accept federal money from the U.S. Department of Education (US ED). DoDEA schools are different, because DoDEA is actually a federal agency, itself, and a component of the Department of Defense. DoDEA gets its funding directly from Congress, not through the US ED. Title IX only applies to schools that get money from the US ED. You can’t file a sex discrimination complaint against DoDEA with the US ED, because the US ED has no authority over DoDEA.
“Sexual harassment” is misconduct that includes any one or more of the following actions:
- Unwelcome or unwanted sexual advances.
- Requests for sexual favors.
- “Objectively offensive” and “sufficiently serious” spoken, written, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, as defined under DoDEA Administrative Instruction 1443.02. Check out DoDEA’s website on Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention (SHAP) to learn more.
No. Section 8-801 of EO 13160 expressly states, “This order is not intended, and should not be construed, to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or its employees.”
DoDEA policy extends equitable treatment protections to matters of gender identity.
The Civil Rights Program is an “anti-harassment program” for students, employees, and other beneficiaries when the harassment is based on a protected class. You can make a report about discriminatory conduct or other discrimination that is happening to you or bring a report on behalf of someone else. The important thing is to work together with your school administrators to keep DoDEA discrimination-free.
Each of the protected classes governed under the DoDEA Civil Rights Program are defined in DoDEA Administrative Instruction 1443.01.
DRP District Coordinators are available at the district, and HQ levels to answer your questions about DRP procedures.
Finding Your DRP District Coordinator:
The DoDEA District Chief of Staff serves as the DRP District Coordinator for their District.
At DoDEA-HQ, contact the Civil Rights Program Manager at Civil.Rights@dodea.edu.
DRP District Coordinators
Disclaimer: Information contained on this site is intended solely as an informal guide based on the official policies and procedures contained in DoDEA Administrative Instruction 1443.01. Any perceived contradiction between information on this site and the official policies are to be resolved in accordance with the official policies.