Title VI Program

Title VI Statute

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq.) is a federal statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the administration of programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Section 601 of the statute states:

“No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Under Title VI, organizations may not prevent eligible persons from participating in a program or activity supported by federal funds or deny them benefits because of their race, color, or national origin. Furthermore, when providing assistance to the public, organizations are not allowed to base decisions on the quality, quantity, or timeliness of the assistance they offer on the beneficiary’s race, color, or national origin.

Title VI also prohibits policies and administrative actions that appear to be neutral and unbiased on the surface but have a disproportionately negative impact on one group of people.

Several other federal statutes forbid discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, and disability. Together, they make up H-GAC’s comprehensive Title VI/Non-Discrimination Program. These nondiscrimination statutes include Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, the Federal Highways Act of 1973, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Title VI Policy Statement

In keeping with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) assures that no person will be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination in any program or activity conducted by the agency on account of their race, color, or national origin.

For a detailed overview of H-GAC’s Title VI Program, see the Title VI Program report via the link below.

Prohibited Discriminatory Acts

Examples of discriminatory acts prohibited by Title VI include:

• Denying a person or group access to services or benefits that should be available to everyone;
• Providing services or benefits of a lower quality to a person or group while supplying higher quality benefits or services to others;
• The segregation or separate treatment of a person or group while administering a service or benefit;
• Using different criteria or methods of qualification for a specific person or group in order to restrict their access to a service or benefit;
• Restricting a person or group from enjoying a privilege or benefit that is enjoyed by others under a program;
• Denying a person the opportunity to participate as a member of a planning or advisory board;
• Retaliatory or intimidating actions against any person or group because they have complained, testified, or assisted in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing; and
• Failing to provide language assistance services or translations of vital documents for non-English speaking stakeholders when such assistance is needed.

Filing a Complaint

Any person who believes they have experienced discrimination because of their race, color, or national origin may file an administrative complaint with H-GAC’s Title VI Coordinator. The complaint must be filed within 180 days of the incident and include all the important details about what happened.

When a complaint is received, H-GAC first reviews it to determine if the issue relates to Title VI and whether H-GAC is the right organization to investigate the concern. If the review determines the complainant does not relate to Title VI or is not within H-GAC’s jurisdiction, a formal written explanation will be sent to the person who filed the complaint.

After carefully reviewing the complaint, H-GAC will send a written letter explaining the final decision to the person who filed the complaint. For more details about filing a Title VI complaint and access to complaint forms, please use the link below.