The False Claims Act and Civil Rights – What You Don’t Know Could Cost You
By Heather R. Rutland, Shareholder
In case you are running low on things to worry about this semester, never fear. This article is dedicated to the False Claims Act (FCA), another tool the federal government appears happy to point in the direction of public schools.
While typically associated with fraud in healthcare and defense contracting, the FCA is now being used in the education sphere. You may have read about colleges and universities faced with decisions of whether to change their policies or forfeit federal funds. The federal government is making similar demands of K-12 public school districts across the country, with the FCA serving as both carrot and stick (depending on your agenda).
The FCA penalizes those who knowingly defraud the federal government (i.e., make false claims), and as recipients of taxpayer money it makes sense for public school districts to be held to certain standards to safeguard these funds. If your district receives federal funds in any form (child nutrition, special education, grants for vocational programs or technology, etc.), the FCA can be employed to root out fraudulent actions by school districts. More recently, however, the FCA is being used to enforce civil rights at the federal level, namely Title VI and Title IX protections for students and staff.
Title VI and Title IX are antidiscrimination statutes enacted under Congress’ Spending Clause authority. This means that the government will allocate federal money to school districts in exchange for a district’s compliance with federally imposed conditions, in this case, those conditions contained in Title VI and Title IX. In short, school districts must avoid discrimination against protected classes in exchange for federal funds. Thus, in this context, the FCA aims to identify those “defrauding” the government by accepting funds while failing to comply with these statutes.
In April 2025, the U.S. Department of Education released guidance requiring K-12 state education agencies to certify compliance with Title VI as a condition of their federal funding. This action reflects a broader trend of tying federal funds to ensure civil rights compliance with a focus on any formal certifications and representations made by K-12 institutions. In May 2025, the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative was announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ), with the mandate to use the FCA to investigate and pursue claims against schools that violate civil rights laws. The Trump Administration’s shift in compliance enforcement means a failure to follow federal law, specifically civil rights laws under Title VI and Title IX, will result in not only a loss of federal funds, but also in liability under the FCA.
Intended to target intentional fraud, the FCA has not been historically used to punish honest mistakes, but it remains unclear how the Department of Education will interpret noncompliance in the coming months. Examples of FCA violations could include:
- Certifying compliance with Title IX or Title VI without fully meeting regulatory expectations
- Overlooking patterns of non-compliance while affirming adherence in funding applications
- Failing to address known issues while continuing to accept federal funds
- Per the Trump Administration, failing to comply with executive order banning DEI
- Including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in the definition of “discrimination based on sex” in a Title IX complaint, when the current Department of Education has emphasized that “sex” is confined to one’s biological sex at birth
Differing from many laws, the FCA permits and heavily incentivizes private individuals to sue an offending school district on behalf of the federal government. Anyone, be it a student, parent, trustee, community member, who successfully alerts the government to legitimate violations of the FCA or who successfully prevails in a lawsuit on behalf of the government can recover their attorney’s fees and up to 30% of the recovered damages. This is especially enticing when you consider that a jury could allow a recovery of up to three times the implicated federal dollars as penalty for engaging in fraud. Put simply, if a person prevailed on an FCA claim against a school district and showed that the district defrauded the federal government of $300,000, that person would be able to recover nearly $100,000 of the “implicated amount.”
Depending on the size of the district and the extent of the civil rights violation, the FCA could translate into millions of dollars for potential “whistleblowers.” The FCA also differs from agency enforcement actions because lawsuits can be initiated by private individuals and can proceed even if the government declines to participate. Consequently, under the new DOJ initiative, such suits need not be filed by parents or students actually educated by the district – they could be filed by any individual who has purported “knowledge” of the district’s alleged civil rights violation. Thus, the typical jurisdictional requirement that a plaintiff establish his or her “standing” to bring a lawsuit, because he or she has been personally aggrieved by a defendant’s alleged acts, is not required in an FCA claim.
It may no longer be sufficient to re-name district programs and carry on as usual. The DOJ initiative should cause you to look anew at the substance of your activities. Given the emphasis on compliance and reporting accuracy underlying the FCA and the DOJ initiative, school districts would be wise to focus on tightening up processes in these areas, especially where Title VI and Title IX are concerned:
- Documentation of training, prevention efforts, investigation processes, complaint resolution;
- Conducting audits/reviews of federal certifications and assurance procedures;
- Education on compliance for campus leadership, highlighting the impact of institutional integrity;
- Maintaining detailed records of pending and resolved Title VI and Title IX complaints;
- Coordination with legal counsel if compliance concerns arise.
Interpretation of the FCA’s application (and compliance with civil rights law generally) promises to be a moving target in the coming months. As always, any specific inquiries or concerns should be discussed with your district’s legal counsel.
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