Chapter 15: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Anchor: #i999028Section 1: Overview
Anchor: #i999033Background
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 23 CFR Part 200.9(b)(6), 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).
Anchor: #i999052Purpose 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 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), such as low-income, minority, and non-English speaking households who may face challenges accessing employment and other services.
Anchor: #i999071Laws 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 42 U.S.C. § 2000d-3), 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. Executive order 13166, 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.
Anchor: #i999088Title 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).
Anchor: #i999098Title 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.