What is my obligation to make sure that all students regardless of race, color, or national origin are treated in a nondiscriminatory manner in admissions?
A5. You may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin in determining whether an applicant satisfies any admissions requirements. Students with limited-English proficiency must have the opportunity to meet any appropriate minimum eligibility criterion for admission, consistent with the mission of the charter school. Eligibility criteria must be nondiscriminatory on their face and must be applied in a nondiscriminatory manner. If such criteria have a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin, then the criteria should be examined to ensure that they are educationally justified and that no alternative criteria exist that would equally serve your goals and have a lesser disparate impact. It is important to understand that disparities alone do not constitute discrimination under Federal law. For more information and technical assistance, contact the OCR office that serves your state. If your charter school receives funds under the federal Public
