Date of first review: 5 November 2010. The troika consisted of Cameroon, France and Japan.
The national report mentions education a few times.
8. Fairness and equality in education
47. The United States is committed to providing equal educational opportunities to all children, regardless of their individual circumstances, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or disability. Consistent with this commitment, the federal government uses educational programs to ensure that federal dollars assist underserved students and develop strategies that will help such students succeed. The federal government has also taken steps to ensure that students with disabilities have access to technology, and to provide lowincome students and students of color with increased access to early learning and college.
In addition, the Department of Education administers and promotes programs that seek to provide financial aid to all students in need; promotes educational equity for women and students of color; assists school districts in offering educational opportunities to Native Hawaiians, American Indians, and Alaska Natives; and provides grants to strengthen historically Black colleges and universities and other institutions serving previously underserved populations.
48. Additionally, the Departments of Justice and Education enforce numerous laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act of 1972 (Title IX), and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age with regard to education. In this capacity, the Justice Department is a party to more than 200 court cases addressing equal opportunities for students, and is involved in numerous out-of-court investigations, many of which have led to settlement agreements. The Department of Education investigates and resolves civil rights complaints filed by individuals, resolving 6,150 such complaints in the most recent fiscal year, and initiates compliance reviews where information suggests widespread discrimination. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual needs.
49. The federal government is working closely with civil society groups–the representatives of which frequently raised the issue of education in our UPR consultations—and with state and local education authorities in our fifty states to address the factors that contribute to the education “achievement gap,” and to ensure equality and excellence for all children in public schools, and particularly African-American and Hispanic children and children for whom English is a second language, who, like others, find linguistic discrimination a barrier to full participation.
68. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the current Administration has made an unprecedented financial commitment of almost $100 billion to education. In November 2009, the Administration announced the Race to the Top program, a $4.35 billion fund that is the largest competitive education grant program in U.S. history. It is designed to provide incentives to states to implement large-scale, system-changing reforms that improve student achievement, narrow achievement gaps, and increase graduation and college enrollment rates. Additionally, Recovery Act funds are being used to promote high-quality early childhood education, provide an increase in available financial aid and loans for postsecondary school, and provide $12 billion for community colleges to give access to workers who need more education and training..
Joshua Cooper, coordinator of the US Human Rights Network, a coalition of several hundreds NGOs active in the US, believes civil society should start working between 12 and 18 months before the exam and should continue during the years following the UPR, that is during the follow-up phase when the State should implement the recommendations.
Although the United States have ratifies only three international Conventions (ICCPR, CAT, ICERD), civil society's action can be based on different international Human Rights texts such as:
Civil society has started working on the UPR between July and november of 2009.
Creation of an NGO coalition. Many organiyations have been contacted for this purpose. A committee has been set up and important discussions have enabled to establish a list of 25 priorities. Because of the size of the country, consultation has often been carried out by phone or video conference.
Drafting a summary. During one meeting in November, the 25 priorities (which included civil rights, economic responsibility, native peoples, environment, migrants' rights, housing rights, political prisoners etc.) have been condensed in a very short document of less than two pages. Meanwhile, many specific reports of 5-10 pages have been drafted for the HCHR. One of the most interesting aspects of this phase has been the creation of a wide civil society network where an incredible number of actors have been able to communicate and coordinate in order to better point out the indivisibility of Human Rights within the proposed recommendations.
Cooperation with the government. The new government has launched a series of consultations with civil society in twelve cities. The authorities have only listened to the people's issues without promising any actions to tackle problems.
Organizing a press conference. This has been done in April 2010 in the symbolic city of Philadelphia (historically very important for the American revolution) upon the deadline for the submission of civil society contributions for the HCHR summary.
The project « Testify! » has been an initiative through which people could send in amatorial short videos. This has enabled many Americans to denounce cases of injustice which have been posted on YouTube.
In August 2010, four months after the NGOs' mobilization, the government has submitted the its own report. Civil society has reacted to this with a press release criticizing the weal points of the national report. There have been parallel events at the UN in Geneva during the Human Rights Council session, a marathon of meetings with diplomatic missions, some more meetinngs with diplomats at the UN in New York and in Washington.
Lobbying delegates:
Organization of parallel events. It's important to plan these events to be held between 1pm and 3pm in order to attract a large audience.
Participation to events organized by the US in Geneva and Washington.
The network wants to work mainly with the media in order to spread knowledge of the UPR and its recommendations in the USA, so that recommendations may be implemented.
The examples of the action by MBDHP and by the American NGOs coalition show the importance of joint action by national civil society organizations in order to increase the power of the NGO's recommendations. Meanwhile, it is necessary to start to work several months before the UPR, so that actions may be well organized and recommendations chosen according to which are most important.
Excerpts of the summary established by the High Commissioner for Human Rights concerning education.
Right to education and right to participate in the cultural life of the community
67. USHRN indicated that the education system is highly segregated.
(109) Lack of adequate funding and zero-tolerance discipline policies push young people out of school.(110) USHRN called on the US to implement the recommendations of CERD regarding school
segregation and discrimination in educational opportunities. (111) CESR referred to gaps in educational achievements among ethnic groups (112).
68. FFF encouraged the creation of a national human rights education curriculum (113).
(109) USHRN, paragraph 29. See also USHRN separate document on Education and Toward Economic
and Social Rights in the United States: From Market Competition to Public Goods.
(110) USHRN, paragraph 28. See also USHRN separate document on Education.
(111) USHRN, paragraph 39.
(112) CESR, paragraph 10.
(113) FFF, page 2.
Excerpts from the recommendations addressed to the United States relating to education
62. Review, reform and adequate its federal and state laws, in consultation with civil society, to comply with the protection of the right to nondiscrimination established by the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, especially in the areas of employment, housing, health, education and justice. (Bolivia);
67. Take legislative and administrative measures to address a wide range of racial discrimination and inequalities in housing, employment and education (DPR of Korea);
70. Take appropriate legislative and practical measures to improve living conditions through its prisons systems, in particular with regard to access to health care and education (Austria);
87. Incorporate human rights training and education strategies in their public policies (Costa Rica);
100. End all forms of racial discrimination in terms of housing, education, health care, social security and labor (Libya);
109. Promote equal socio-economic as well as educational opportunities for all both in law and in fact, regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, national origin, gender or disability (Thailand)
See all Recommendations http://www.upr-info.org/IMG/pdf/recommendations_to_united_states_2011.pdf
No follow-up to the implementation has been registered to this date.