Education in a Pandemic - The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students - Office for Civil Rights Message from the Acting Assistant Secretary

Oct 15, 2026

Education in a Pandemic addresses how COVID-19 has widened disparities in educational opportunity across the United States. It frames the report in response to a presidential executive order and explains the Office for Civil Rights’ role in enforcing anti-discrimination laws in education. The document highlights early evidence that gaps in access, opportunities, achievement, and outcomes are increasing, disproportionately affecting students with the greatest needs and fewest opportunities from historically marginalized communities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages61

Reading Time2 h 34 min

AccessFree to download

Message from the Acting Assistant Secretary

Executive order and report purpose

OCR’s responsibilities and the equity commitment

COVID-19 impacts and widening opportunity gaps

Education in a Pandemic: The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS Message from the Acting Assistant Secretary In his Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers, President Biden expressed our nation’s commitment to students across the country: “Every student in America deserves a high-quality education in a safe environment.”1 Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, so many students have found new ways to continue learning in this challenging time and countless teachers, staff, faculty, administrators, and institutional leaders, along with students’ families, have gone above and beyond to support our students at all educational levels. Yet, this promise of a safe, high-quality education was already out of reach for many students long before the COVID-19 pandemic and could slip further away if we do not act collectively and with attention to equal opportunity for all students. Against this backdrop, this Report responds to President Biden’s Executive Order, and, specifically, to this call to the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education: [T]o deliver a report as soon as practicable on the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on students in elementary, secondary, and higher education, including those attending historically black colleges and universities, and Tribal colleges and universities, Hispanicserving institutions, and other minority-serving institutions.2 The Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has responsibility for enforcing laws enacted by Congress that guarantee all students access to educational opportunities free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age.3 OCR does this by providing information to students, families, and the national community about the right to equal educational opportunity; investigating allegations of discrimination and responding to violations of the laws OCR is charged with enforcing; providing guidance for schools on their civil rights responsibilities; and collecting and analyzing civil rights data about students’ experiences in our nation’s schools, including through the national Civil Rights Data Collection. At the heart of this work is our shared commitment to equity—meaning consistent and systematically fair, just, and impartial treatment—for all of our nation’s students.4 1 Exec. Order No. 14000, 86 Fed. Reg. 7,215 (Jan. 26, 2021) . [2](2 Id. at)[ Id.](2 Id. at)[ at](2 Id. at) 7,216 (emphasis added). 3 These laws, enforced by OCR, prohibit discrimination in education by all recipients of Federal financial assistance: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.; 34 C.F.R. Part 100 (the Department’s regulations implementing Title VI); Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.; 34 C.F.R. Part 106 (the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794; 34 C.F.R. Part 104 (the Department’s regulations implementing Section 504); Age Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6101 et seq.; 34.C.F.R. Part 110 (the regulations implementing the Age Discrimination Act) . Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) regulations implementing Title II, 28 C.F.R. Part 35, also prohibit discrimination in education by state and local governments regardless of whether they receive Federal funds. OCR is responsible for administrative enforcement of Title II of the ADA with regard to educational institutions. For more information about Title II of the ADA, see DOJ’s [ADA.gov](ADA.gov) website. DOJ also enforces laws prohibiting discrimination in educational opportunities. For more information, see Educational Opportunities Section, Civil Rights Division on the DOJ website. 4 As the Biden-Harris Administration has explained, th

FAQs

What prompted this report on COVID-19’s disparate impacts on students?

The report responds to President Biden’s executive order on supporting the reopening and continuing operation of schools, and to a call for a report from the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights.

What is the Office for Civil Rights responsible for in education?

OCR enforces federal laws that guarantee equal educational opportunity by providing information, investigating discrimination allegations, offering guidance to schools, and collecting and analyzing civil rights data.

How does the document describe COVID-19’s effect on educational opportunity gaps?

It states that, based on early studies, pre-existing educational gaps are widening and disproportionately affecting students who entered the pandemic with the greatest educational needs and fewest opportunities.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Riley West