Toward Intersectionality as Critical Praxis in Federal Civil Rights Enforcement

Reflective of the systemic nature of oppression and discrimination, inequities are long-standing and pervasive in education. To address these concerns, justice-oriented policymakers, education practitioners, advocates, and researchers seek to identify and dismantle systemic inequities through formal and informal mechanisms. One formal channel to address inequities is through the enforcement activities of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). In recent years, OCR has signaled a more explicit and nuanced look at interconnected inequities, gesturing toward intersectionality. We are keenly interested in the ways that OCR can embody this framework in meaningful ways. In this article, we call on OCR and others to harness their power to promote intersectional critical praxis in civil rights enforcement.