The U.S. Department of Education has scrapped decades-old rules that allowed for legal accountability in cases where statistical patterns reveal discriminatory practices, even if intentional bias could not be proven. The move reverses long-standing policies that interpreted federal civil rights laws to address systemic inequities in education, potentially altering how claims of unequal treatment are evaluated. Critics argue the change weakens protections against unintentional but harmful disparities, while supporters say it restores fairness by requiring proof of deliberate discrimination. The decision comes amid broader debates over civil rights enforcement in federal agencies.
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday eliminated regulations going back more than 60 years that recognized liability for disparate impact, such as when statistics demonstrate a discriminatory ...
