This position serves on a Program Legal Team that provides policy and legal guidance and information to the Assistant Secretary and the civil rights compliance and enforcement program that supports the missions of the Department and OCR’s Strategic Plan.
Summary
This position serves on a Program Legal Team that provides policy and legal guidance and information to the Assistant Secretary and the civil rights compliance and enforcement program that supports the missions of the Department and OCR’s Strategic Plan.
The incumbent serves as a General Attorney in the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Program Legal component. This position is located in the OCR Headquarters office. OCR operates under the jurisdiction of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title ll of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and their implementing regulations.
The incumbent performs the following duties:
Serves as a legal and policy advisor to the incumbent’s supervisor/team leader, National Methods of Administration (MOA) Coordinator, PLG Director and Deputy Director, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy; and serves as an expert resource for other managers within OCR. In conjunction with other OCR components, formulates responses to legal or policy-related requests of significant complexity from the Secretary, Congress, and other individuals or organizations. Provides legal and policy advice to other OCR components in preparing such responses.
Provides guidance on a wide range of legal problems of significant complexity concerning civil rights compliance, including legal research to support the development of legal standards and policies and the collection and analysis of data on civil rights in schools; and reviews reports by and provides technical assistance to state career and technical education agencies as part of the Methods of Administration Program. Reviews memoranda and other documents that present pertinent legislative history, legal precedents, potential influence on OCR policies, and makes recommendations for the resolution of problems.
Develops or reviews policy issuances, legal standards, legal memoranda, guidelines, and proposed regulations pertaining to civil rights compliance, the conduct of investigations and compliance reviews, and the provision of technical assistance. Identifies the need for new or revised legal standards and policies. Reviews the Department’s and other agencies’ regulations and proposed legislation to determine the potential effect on OCR’s regulations and enforcement activities and to ensure conformance with civil rights requirements. Develops policy issuances, guidelines, and legal standards for OCR regional enforcement offices, the Department, recipients of Federal financial assistance, and the general public.
Serves as a liaison between OCR and outside stakeholders, including schools, state education agencies, advocacy groups, and other members of the public. Assists stakeholders and other OCR components in interpreting legal standards and regulations and in applying OCR policy in the conduct of investigations, monitoring and other compliance-related activities, such as compliance reviews conducted by state education agencies. Prepares policy guidance for cases where policy is unresolved or the application of policy is unclear. Drafts letters, memoranda, and legal documents evaluating the legal adequacy of reports, plans, resolution letters, and resolution agreements.
Develops training materials and manuals and presents training to stakeholders and other OCR staff on significant policy and legal issues, complex statutory and regulatory standards, changes in case law, new policy developments, and other related matters. Participates in planning, developing, and providing training at national conferences.
Coordinates or assists in administrative proceedings and Federal Court litigation in coordination with other components of OCR and the Department. Carries out OCR’s pre-grant reviews of the civil rights compliance of applicants for certain U.S. Department of Education grants where necessary or appropriate, e.g., as required pursuant to the Magnet Schools Assistance Program statute and regulations.
APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 300 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 300th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first.
We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.
Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
Must be a US Citizen
You must serve a trial period.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.
Qualifications
Basic Requirements:
You must be a graduate from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
Proof of admission to the Bar of the highest court of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and current membership in such Bar as would permit the practice of law. You must be a member in good standing of a state, territory of the United States, District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico bar.
PROOF MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH APPLICATION.
Professional Legal Experience Requirement:
Applicants must have the years of professional legal experience as shown below. For appointment at the GS-12 level, the following qualification requirements are needed:
One year of professional legal experience. You must have one year of specialized experience at a level close to the work of this job that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform. Typically we would find this experience in work within this field or a field that is closely related. This experience must be equivalent to that of the duties of a GS-11 Attorney in Federal service.
Specialized Experience:
Experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.
Evaluating the legal adequacy of case resolution documents and reports on civil rights compliance.
Drafting training materials and planning training conferences.
Developing recommendations on program management and legal policy issues.
Additional information
Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email Iwork@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email).
Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.
Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.
Financial Disclosure: This position requires financial disclosure.
Telework: This position is telework eligible.
Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the excepted service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
ED is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, federal holidays, health and life insurance, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). For more information about the many benefits available to Federal employees, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/
As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include telework and alternative work schedules.
You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a minimum of 12 months.
You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a minimum of 12 months.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
We will review your application and documentation submitted to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will refer the best qualified candidates to the Selecting Official of the job for further review and consideration. You will be evaluated to determine if you meet qualifications required, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities associated with this position as defined below. Please be sure to give examples in your resume and explain how often you used these skills, the complexity of the knowledge you possessed, the level of people you interacted with, and the complexity and sensitivity of the issues you handled.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
ED is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including paid vacation and sick leave, federal holidays, health and life insurance, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). For more information about the many benefits available to Federal employees, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/
As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a productive balance between work and home, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include telework and alternative work schedules.
You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a minimum of 12 months.
You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a minimum of 12 months.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Proof of bar membership - i.e., providing a copy of a bar membership card
If you are claiming Veterans’ Preference you must submit:
A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).
Veteran's Preference:
Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.
Please Note: If an applicant is deemed "Best Qualified" and is referred for this position a writing sample, transcript, and/or list of references may be required of selected applicants at later stages in the selection process.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
EDUCATION-OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
400 Maryland Ave. S.W.
Attn: Human Resources Services
Washington, District of Columbia 20202
United States
Next steps
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process. 1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received. 2. After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official. 3. Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled).
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Proof of bar membership - i.e., providing a copy of a bar membership card
If you are claiming Veterans’ Preference you must submit:
A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge, member copy 4 (Separated Members only); OR
A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR
The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR
Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces).
Veteran's Preference:
Department of the Education attorney positions are in the excepted service, not the competitive civil service. There is no formal system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of the Education considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor consideration in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include that information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documentation.
Please Note: If an applicant is deemed "Best Qualified" and is referred for this position a writing sample, transcript, and/or list of references may be required of selected applicants at later stages in the selection process.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.
Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.
Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).
Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.
NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.
In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.
EDUCATION-OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
400 Maryland Ave. S.W.
Attn: Human Resources Services
Washington, District of Columbia 20202
United States
Next steps
As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time. We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process. 1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received. 2. After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official. 3. Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled).
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
