Active Citizens 101 - National Service Inclusion Project

Procedures, cont.
11. Review the civil rights laws
studied, divide participants
into groups, and review the instructions
for the activity on
Handout 4.1 (c) Civic Rights
Laws “Can They Do This”
Depending on your group,
you can ask a participant from
each group to summarize the
problem and give the two-sentence
decision, or you can do
a “jig-saw.” To do this, have participants in
each group count off from one to the total
number of participants in the group. Then
have all the “ones” form a group, the “twos,”
etc. Since participants in the new groups will
have worked on different situations, each
can now teach the group about their particular
problem situation and explain how a civil
rights law does or doesn't apply to the case.
When you use the jig-saw, all participants
hear all situations and the applicable laws,
and all have an opportunity to make a short
oral presentation.
Facilitator Answers:
(1) 1. “Equal pay for equal work for men and
women.” Ann and Joe do essentially the
same work even though their titles are different.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires
equal pay when the work is equal even if different
job titles are given.
(2) 9. “No discrimination by sex in schools
(sports, teachers, college loans, etc.).” Since
these laws are summarized rather generally
for students, choosing 4. “No discrimination
by race, color, religion, sex or national origin
by state and local governments,
public schools, and
universities” is also logical. Title
IX of the Education Act
Amendments of 1972 requires
school athletic programs to
accommodate both sexes, although
spending equal money
on men's and women's sports
is not required.
(3) 6. “No discrimination by race, color, religion
or national origin in selling or renting
most houses and apartments.” It is true that
landlords and sellers can require that a person
have sufficient income to pay and good
references. However, under the Fair Housing
Act, landlords may not discriminate
against people in the categories listed (“protected
categories”) if a housing unit is over
four units. The 1968 Act was amended in
1988 to include families with children as well
as the disabled in the protected categories.
Restricting housing to a certain group is only
allowed for the elderly.
(4) This example does not violate any of the
civil rights laws; it is possible to specify an
age of maturity, and 21 is an accepted
measure.
(5) 4. “No discrimination by race, color, religion,
sex or national origin by state and local
governments, public schools, and universities.”
This example is modeled on an actual
Supreme Court case, Keyes v. Denver
School District # 1, 1973.
DRAFT
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