42 U.S.C. § 2000D
Section 2000d · Civil rights remedies equalization
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 437 court decisions — leading case Alexander v. Sandoval (2001)
Most recently applied in E.R. v. Beaufort County School District (June 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (33 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 29 U.S.C. § 794 · 42 U.S.C. § 1983 · 42 U.S.C. § 2000D
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(1) A State shall not be immune under the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of the United States from suit in Federal court for a violation of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [29 U.S.C. 794], title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 [20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.], the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 [42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.], title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.], or the provisions of any other Federal statute prohibiting discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance.
(2) In a suit against a State for a violation of a statute referred to in paragraph (1), remedies (including remedies both at law and in equity) are available for such a violation to the same extent as such remedies are available for such a violation in the suit against any public or private entity other than a State.
The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall take effect with respect to violations that occur in whole or in part after October 21, 1986.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The Education Amendments of 1972, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is Pub. L. 92–318, June 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 235, as amended. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is classified principally to chapter 38 (§1681 et seq.) of Title 20, Education. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1972 Amendment note set out under section 1001 of Title 20 and Tables.
The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is title III of Pub. L. 94–135, Nov. 28, 1975, 89 Stat. 728, as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 76 (§6101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6101 of this title and Tables.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), is Pub. L. 88–352, July 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 241, as amended. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is classified generally to this subchapter (§2000d et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2000a of this title and Tables.
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986, and not as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, title VI of which comprises this subchapter.