/education-data-source-crdc

name: education-data-source-crdc
description: >-
  CRDC — biennial OCR survey of all U.S. public schools (2011-2021). Discipline, course access, harassment, restraint/seclusion by race/sex/disability/EL. Use for civil rights and equity analysis. 2020-21 COVID-impacted; 2011-14 sampled, not universe.
metadata:
  audience: any-agent
  domain: data-source
  skill-authored: "2026-02-09"
  skill-last-updated: "2026-02-09"

CRDC Data Source Reference

Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) — mandatory biennial OCR survey of all U.S. public schools measuring educational opportunity and civil rights compliance (2011-2021). Use when analyzing school discipline disparities by race/disability, course access equity, harassment, restraint/seclusion, or chronic absenteeism. Data disaggregated by race, sex, disability, and English learner status. Note: 2020-21 is COVID-impacted and not directly comparable to other years; 2011-14 are sampled, not universe.

The Civil Rights Data Collection is a mandatory biennial survey of all U.S. public schools measuring educational opportunity and civil rights compliance. It is the only national source for school-level discipline disparities, course access equity, harassment, and restraint/seclusion data disaggregated by race, sex, disability, and English learner status.

> **CRITICAL: Value Encoding** > > The Education Data Portal uses **integer codes**, not the string codes shown in OCR documentation. Always filter using integers. > > | Variable | String Code (Raw) | Portal Integer | > |----------|-------------------|----------------| > | Race: White | `WH` | `1` | > | Race: Black | `BL` | `2` | > | Race: Hispanic | `HI` | `3` | > | Sex: Male | `M` | `1` | > | Sex: Female | `F` | `2` | > > See `./references/variable-definitions.md` for complete encoding tables.

What is CRDC?

The Civil Rights Data Collection is a **mandatory biennial survey** of all public schools and districts that measures educational opportunity and civil rights compliance:

• **Collector**: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
• **Purpose**: Enforce civil rights laws, identify discrimination, monitor equity
• **Coverage**: All public LEAs and schools receiving federal financial assistance
• **Frequency**: Biennial (every 2 school years)
• **Disaggregation**: Race/ethnicity, sex, disability status, English learner status
• **History**: Collected since 1968 (as Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey)
• **Available years**: 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021 (biennial — no data for even-numbered school years)
• **Available through**: Education Data Portal mirrors

Reference File Structure

| File | Purpose | When to Read | |------|---------|--------------| | `civil-rights-context.md` | Legal framework (Title VI, IX, Section 504, IDEA) | Understanding why data is collected | | `data-elements.md` | All data categories and what's collected | Planning analysis, identifying variables | | `collection-methodology.md` | Sampling, universe, timeline, reporting | Understanding coverage limitations | | `variable-definitions.md` | Key variables, codes, disaggregation categories | Coding data, interpreting values | | `data-quality.md` | Known issues, suppression, state variations | Addressing limitations in analysis | | `historical-changes.md` | Evolution across collection years | Time series analysis, year comparison |

Decision Trees

What CRDC data do I need?

Research topic?
├─ School discipline
│   ├─ Suspensions (ISS/OSS) → ./references/data-elements.md#discipline
│   ├─ Expulsions → ./references/data-elements.md#discipline
│   ├─ Referrals to law enforcement → ./references/data-elements.md#discipline
│   ├─ School-related arrests → ./references/data-elements.md#discipline
│   └─ Preschool suspensions → ./references/data-elements.md#discipline
├─ Restraint and seclusion
│   └─ Physical restraint, mechanical, seclusion → ./references/data-elements.md#restraint-seclusion
├─ Harassment and bullying
│   ├─ Allegations by type → ./references/data-elements.md#harassment
│   └─ Disciplined for harassment → ./references/data-elements.md#harassment
├─ Course access and enrollment
│   ├─ AP/IB courses → ./references/data-elements.md#advanced-courses
│   ├─ Gifted/talented → ./references/data-elements.md#gifted-talented
│   ├─ Math/science courses → ./references/data-elements.md#course-access
│   └─ Computer science → ./references/data-elements.md#course-access
├─ Chronic absenteeism
│   └─ Students missing 15+ days → ./references/data-elements.md#chronic-absenteeism
├─ Special populations
│   ├─ Students with disabilities (IDEA) → ./references/data-elements.md#students-with-disabilities
│   ├─ English learners → ./references/data-elements.md#english-learners
│   └─ Preschool enrollment → ./references/data-elements.md#preschool
├─ School staffing
│   ├─ Teacher experience/certification → ./references/data-elements.md#staffing
│   └─ Counselors, nurses, etc. → ./references/data-elements.md#staffing
└─ School safety
    └─ Offenses, violence, weapons → ./references/data-elements.md#school-offenses

Understanding the legal context?

Civil rights law question?
├─ Race/ethnicity discrimination → ./references/civil-rights-context.md#title-vi
├─ Sex/gender discrimination → ./references/civil-rights-context.md#title-ix
├─ Disability discrimination → ./references/civil-rights-context.md#section-504
├─ Special education services → ./references/civil-rights-context.md#idea
├─ Age discrimination → ./references/civil-rights-context.md#age-discrimination-act
└─ OCR enforcement process → ./references/civil-rights-context.md#ocr-enforcement

Data quality concerns?

Data quality issue?
├─ Missing or suppressed data → ./references/data-quality.md#suppression
├─ Definition inconsistencies → ./references/data-quality.md#definition-variation
├─ Year-to-year comparability → ./references/historical-changes.md
├─ COVID-19 impact (2020-21) → ./references/d