Office for Civil Rights

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education that is primarily focused on protecting civil rights in federally assisted education programs and prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual identity, handicap, age, or membership in patriotic youth organizations.

For assistance related to civil rights, you may contact the OCR headquarters office in Washington D.C. or the OCR enforcement office serving your state or territory.

In Indiana, the Office for Civil Rights is:

Chicago Office
Office for Civil Rights
U.S. Department of Education
Citigroup Center
500 West Madison Street, Suite 1475
Chicago, IL 60551-4544
Telephone: (312) 730-1560
Fax: (312) 730-1576
TDD: (800) 877-8339
Email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov

We encourage students and parents, representatives of education institutions, and other OCR customers to use e-mail or fax to communicate with OCR when possible. For those without current e-mail accounts, Internet access may be freely available from your local public library, and free e-mail accounts are available from several large providers. 

OCR has released a short video (6 minutes) on the basics of OCR entitled, “OCR 100: An Introduction to Federal Civil Rights Protections in Education.” Click here for a video that discusses  jurisdiction, discrimination laws enforced by OCR, how to file a complaint and how complaints are resolved by OCR.