Annual Report to Congress FY 2004 |MS Word (417 KB)| MAKING A
DIFFERENCE Congress enacted the civil rights laws as a mandate
to bring the formerly excluded into the mainstream of American
education. These laws also are designed to carry out the U.S.
Department of Education's commitment to assuring access to equal
educational opportunity for every individual. The federal civil
rights laws have helped bring about profound changes in American
education and improved the educational opportunities of millions
of students. Many barriers that once prevented minorities, women
and girls, and individuals with disabilities from freely
choosing the educational opportunities and careers they would
like to pursue have been eliminated. While we applaud this
progress, we recognize that there are persons who continue to be
denied equal access to quality education. However, behind
statistical data and research findings is a human face—a student
hoping for a chance to learn and excel. This hope is expressed
eloquently in the let