November 19, 2019
Civil Rights: Non-Discrimination Part Two
Submitted by Jennifer R Wilson
Last week’s article discussed the civil rights key element of non-discrimination. In addition to using the non-discrimination statement on publications and displaying the And Justice for All poster in offices and meeting locations, Extension staff must also ensure that partner agencies do not engage in discrimination. We do this by providing partners with written notification of non-discrimination and asking that they return a signed assurance of non-discrimination.
Send notification letters to any club, group or organization with which local units offices cooperate on an on-going basis. This includes but is not limited to 4-H clubs, Master Gardener groups, livestock producer groups, libraries, PRIDE groups, schools, senior centers, and non-profits who are active partners in Extension programs.
Notification should state that K-State Research and Extension cannot provide assistance to any organization that excludes any person from membership or participation in any activity of the organization, or subject any person to discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability. A sample letter is available on the Compliance Resources page of the KSRE Civil Rights website.
Written notification and collection of assurance of non-discrimination should be repeated every four years. Certification of non-discrimination from partner organizations should be kept in the local unit civil rights files.