Monday, May 5, 2025
2:00 – 3:30 pm ET

Practical Strategies to Strengthen Your Compliance Efforts & Mitigate Risk

Many educational institutions and other federally funded entities face challenges ensuring compliance with Title VI, especially in light of evolving case law and active investigations by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). There is significant concern about financial penalties, loss of federal funding, and reputational damage from OCR enforcement actions.

The intensified focus on Title VI enforcement has led to a rise in complaints and federal investigations. Institutions are struggling to interpret shifting legal standards and apply them. Outdated and incomplete Title VI policies have also made institutions vulnerable to non-compliance findings.

Join us on May 5, 2025, when our expert presenter will equip you with practical strategies to strengthen your compliance efforts and mitigate risk. She will explore allegations institutions have faced regarding racial disparities in student discipline, faculty hiring, and distribution of resources, leading to litigation and reputational harm.

Anticipate future enforcement priorities. Rather than maintaining a reactive approach, explore how to emphasize proactive compliance to avoid investigations. You won’t just learn about legal requirements—you will walk away with a concrete roadmap for strengthening your Title VI compliance.

Topics Covered

Explore crucial, actionable takeaways that will help you: 

• Adopt a proactive compliance mindset by shifting from a reactive approach to a proactive approach that includes regular self-audits and preemptive policy improvements.
• Navigate OCR Investigations with confidence by ensuring you establish a clear protocol for handling complaints and maintaining detailed records of complaints, investigations and resolutions to demonstrate compliance efforts in the best way possible.  
• Strengthen your Title VI training and institutional awareness for administrators, faculty and staff in key areas including implicit bias, non-discriminatory practices and how to recognize and appropriately respond to potential violations.
• Conduct periodic equity audits and use data-driven decision-making to identify and address racial disparities in areas like student discipline, faculty hiring and resource allocation.
• Mitigate reputational and financial risks by establishing a Title VI compliance task force to ensure ongoing oversight and accountability.
• Leverage lessons from OCR investigations – update anti-discrimination policies to reflect recent case law and OCR guidance and ensure that grievance procedures are well-documented, accessible, and followed consistently across the institution.
  

Presenter

Daiquiri Steele, J.D., Ph.D. currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Alabama Law School.
Click here for full bio.