The Living Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education - Justice Department Civil Rights Division 70th Anniversary

Oct 15, 2026

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The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division highlights the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, reaffirming a commitment to ensure equal educational opportunities and confront school segregation and race discrimination. The document describes enforcement of desegregation orders under Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, monitoring more than 130 districts and securing consent orders to expand access to programs, magnet options, and gifted education. It also details efforts to protect students from racial harassment, improve nondiscriminatory hiring, transportation, and discipline, and hold schools accountable through settlements and court victories.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Dismantling Racial Segregation in Public Schools

Desegregation enforcement and monitoring

Case examples: St. Martin Parish, Fayette County, Madison County

Case examples: Nettleton, Concordia Parish, South Bend

Protecting Students From Racial Harassment

Settlement agreements in Highland and Toledo

[civilrights.justice.gov](civilrights.justice.gov) The Living Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has worked for decades to ensure equal educational opportunities for all of America’s schoolchildren, as promised by the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education. This year, we recognize the 70th anniversary of Brown’s fundamental guarantee that education is a “right that must be made available to all on equal terms,” and we renew our enduring commitment to confront school segregation and race discrimination through enforcement of Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “School desegregation and equal access to quality education was critically important nearly 70 years ago when the Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board, and it is critically important today,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. DISMANTLING RACIAL SEGREGATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: While Brown was a transformative moment in American history and in the lives of millions of students across the country, too many students are still waiting for its promise to be fulfilled. The Division continues to enforce desegregation orders issued by federal courts against school districts that were formerly segregated by law. “‘Desegregation’ – The assignment of students to public schools and within such schools without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin ” Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U. S. C. § 2000c(b). As of today, the Division monitors more than 130 school districts under desegregation orders to ensure their nearly 900,000 students across more than 1,500 schools can access the building blocks of educational success. The Division has secured significant recent victories and negotiated new court orders to further desegregate school districts and expand access to extracurricular activities, magnet programs, and gifted and advanced education. Attracting a diverse student body to a historically Black school zone in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana: The Division secured a consent order requiring St. Martin Parish Public Schools to promote a majority-tominority student transfer program and develop a robust magnet school to facilitate desegregation. Improving and expanding educational opportunities in Fayette County, Tennessee: The Division secured a consent order requiring Fayette County School District to ensure that all students, including Black students, are properly identified for enrollment in gifted programming and receive gifted services in anondiscriminatory manner. The district is also revising student discipline policies to prevent racial discrimination and support a positive climate, including by ending the use of corporal punishment. [civilrights.justice.gov](civilrights.justice.gov) Expanding opportunities in Madison County, Alabama: The Division secured a new consent order in adesegregation case in Madison County School District , addressing findings that: Black students faced unnecessary barriers to participating in gifted and advanced programs, that they were subjected to racially disparate discipline, and that the district’s recruitment and hiring processes left several schools without a single Black faculty member. Ensuring nondiscriminatory faculty hiring and reducing racial disparities in student transportation in Nettleton, Mississippi: The Division secured a consent order requiring Nettleton Line Consolidated School District to improve efforts to recruit and retain Black teachers, implement and monitor a nondiscriminatory faculty hiring policy, and eliminate or reduce racially identifiable student transportation routes. The order successfully generated stronger and more inclusive policies and procedures for the District’s hiring rubrics, hiring committees, and teacher recruitment and retention; resulted in an increase in the number of Black faculty

FAQs

What is the document’s main purpose regarding Brown v. Board of Education?

It marks the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and renews the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s commitment to confront school segregation and race discrimination by enforcing federal civil-rights laws.

How does the Civil Rights Division support desegregation in public schools?

It enforces desegregation orders issued by federal courts, monitors affected school districts, and negotiates new court orders to expand access to educational programs and extracurricular opportunities.

What actions does the Division take to protect students from racial harassment and discrimination?

It addresses racial harassment and discrimination by enforcing Titles IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and using settlement agreements to require improvements in discipline, housing, campus security interactions, and complaint responses.

Oct 15, 2026

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