The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in November released new civil rights data from the 2020–21 school year, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) since the 2017–18 school year. Accompanying the data are seven data reports and snapshots, including A First Look: Students’ Access to Educational Opportunities in the Nation’s Public Schools, which provides an overview of these data and information.

OCR administers the CRDC and uses the data to enforce civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex and disability. It is also a valuable resource for other federal agencies, policymakers and researchers, educators and school officials, parents and students, and the public.

“The 2020–21 CRDC reflects stark inequities in education access throughout the nation. For example, high schools with high enrollments of Black and Latino students offered fewer courses in mathematics, science, and computer science than schools with low enrollments of Black and Latino students. English learner students and students with disabilities, who received services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), had a lower rate of enrollment in mathematics and science courses when compared to enrollment rates of all high school students,” according to the press release accompanying the data.

Key data points from the 2020–21 CRDC are highlighted in one or more of the data reports or snapshots.

• More than half of high schools nationwide do not offer calculus or computer science.
• Some student groups have fewer opportunities to access courses.
  • Approximately 35 percent of high schools with high enrollments of Black and Latino students offered calculus, compared to 54 percent of high schools with low enrollments of Black and Latino students; about 40 percent of schools with high enrollments of Black and Latino students offered computer science courses, compared to 54 percent of schools with low enrollments of Black and Latino students.
• Student enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses differed by race or ethnicity.
  • Black students represented 15 percent of students enrolled in high school, but 10 percent of students enrolled in AP Computer Science, 8 percent of students enrolled in AP Science, and 6 percent of students enrolled in AP Mathematics.
  • Latino students represented 27 percent of students enrolled in high school, but 20 percent of students enrolled in AP Science, 20 percent of students enrolled in AP Computer Science, and 19 percent of students enrolled in AP Mathematics.
  • White students represented 48 percent of students enrolled in high school, 53 percent of students enrolled in AP Mathematics, 51 percent of students enrolled in AP Science, and 44 percent of students enrolled in AP Computer Science.
  • Asian students represented 5 percent of all high school enrollment, 17 percent of student enrollment in AP Science, 17 percent of student enrollment in AP Mathematics, and 22 percent of student enrollment in AP Computer Science.

• Many students, particularly students of color, did not have access to certified teachers and school counselors.
  • Approximately 522,400 students, or 1 percent of overall student enrollment, attended public schools where fewer than half of the teachers met all state certification requirements. Of students attending those schools, a majority (66 percent) were Black and Latino students.
  • Four percent of high school students attended schools with no school counselors.
• Seven million students attended a school with a school law enforcement officer or security guard, but without a school counselor.

• More than 42,500 allegations of harassment or bullying were reported by students on the basis of sex (40 percent), sexual orientation (19 percent), race (29 percent), disability (9 percent) or religion (3 percent).

• About 786,600 students in K-12 received one or more in-school suspensions, about 638,700 received one or more out-of-school suspensions, and about 28,300 received an expulsion.
  • Both white and Black boys were overrepresented in K-12 school discipline outcomes, but Black boys were nearly two times more likely than white boys to receive an out-of-school suspension or an expulsion.
• Students with disabilities represented 17 percent of K-12 student enrollment but accounted for 29 percent of students who received one or more out-of-school suspensions and 21 percent who received expulsions.
• Districts referred approximately 61,900 K-12 students to law enforcement, and about 14 percent of those referrals resulted in school-related arrests. These disciplinary actions differed by students’ race/ethnicity and disability.
  • Black students represented 15 percent of K-12 student enrollment, but 18 percent of students referred to law enforcement and 22 percent of students subjected to a school-related arrest.
  • White students represented 46 percent of K-12 student enrollment, but 55 percent of students referred to law enforcement and 47 percent of students subjected to a school-related arrest.
  • Students with disabilities represented 17 percent of K-12 student enrollment, but 27 percent of students referred to law enforcement and 28 percent of students subjected to a school-related arrest.