Chapter 15: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Section 1: Overview
Background
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act provides that no person in
the Unites States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national
origin, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits of
or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or
activity receiving federal financial assistance. Pursuant to
, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) conducts
program reviews, provides recommendations to assure compliance and
adequately supports the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT)
Transportation Planning and Programming Division Title VI requirements
and activities. TPP adheres to any Department-wide goals/policies
set by the Administration or OCR, and are very open to any suggestions
made by OCR staff members or the Title VI Interdisciplinary Team.
TPP’s Title VI Liaison will be responsible for maintaining,
updating, publishing and reporting on a quarterly basis, or as required
by OCR, any language assistance provided or requested in the previous
year, using the LEP Data Collection Report. If there was not any
assistance provided, they will report by email that there were no
instances of assistance provided or requested during the reporting
time to the Business Operations Administrator (BOA).
Purpose of Title VI Monitoring Activities
A key element for addressing Title VI at the planning phase
is having an effective public involvement process that is continuing,
cooperative and comprehensive. Communication and transparency are
critical to building trust with stakeholders and the public.
TPP’s public participation activities include measures for
seeking input from and considering the needs of those traditionally
underserved by existing transportation systems as defined in
(Title VI), such as low-income,
minority, and non-English speaking households who may face challenges
accessing employment and other services.
Laws and Regulations regarding Title VI Monitoring Activities
The Transportation Planning and Programming Division, as a
recipient of federal financial assistance and under Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes, ensures that
no person shall on the grounds of race, religion (where the primary
objective of the financial assistance is to provide employment per
), color, national origin, sex, age, or disability
be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise
be subjected to discrimination under any TxDOT programs or activities.
, titled Improving Access to Services for Persons
with Limited English Proficiency, indicates that differing treatment
based upon a person’s inability to speak, read, write, or understand
English is a type of national origin discrimination in accordance
with requirements of FHWA and Federal Transit Administration.
Title VI Monitoring Activities Frequency
TPP Liaison will provide to the BOA and OCR, on an annual
basis or as changes occur, a list of those employees who are willing
to assist in translation and interpreting services using the Employee
Language Report (ELR) (Form 2491).
Title VI Monitoring Activities Location
Any interaction with the public has the potential to interact
with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals. These could
include, but are not limited to, program applicants and participants; hotline
or information line calls; outreach programs; public meetings and
hearings; public access to agency websites; written materials or
complaints sent in; and brochures intended for public distributions.
It is important to examine the manner in which the agency interacts
with the public or LEP individuals (e.g. in-person consultations
versus correspondence) as this can dictate the type of language
assistance services provided.