The "Elementary and Secondary School Civil Rights Survey" machine-readable data file (MRDF) contains data on the characteristics of student populations enrolled in public schools throughout the United States. The emphasis is on data by race/ethnicity and sex in the following areas: stereotyping in courses, special education, vocational education, bilingual education, ability grouping, and student discipline. This survey was conducted on an annual basis beginning with the 1967-68 school year and extending through the 1974-75 school year; since 1976, it has been a biennial survey. Over the years, the survey has undergone many changes in scope, coverage, content, and methodology. These changes have reflected the increased responsibilities of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), as well as shifts in the civil rights issue as a national concern. The scope of this survey has gradually broadened to include discrimination on the basis of sex or hardship, and to address discrimination problems in discipline practices, tracking, ability grouping, or student assignments within schools and classrooms. The primary purpose of the survey is to collect data that can assist OCR in identifying school systems with potential problems. Data is collected via two forms: a district level form (ED-101) and a school level form (ED-102). Each district selected to participate in the survey completes ED-101 (about 3,500 districts) and every school within the selected district completes ED-102 (about 30,000 schools). School districts were selected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The final file contains the actual data submitted by the individual schools, as well as district summary data. School data is recorded by five ethnic categories (Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Asian Americans, Blacks, Hispanics), as well as by sex, giving the total number of pupils/students, those needing or enrolled in language assistance programs, those that are gifted/talented, and those suspended or given corporal punishment. Also provided are total student counts by grades 1 through 6 for each ethnic category and the number of students participating in special education programs (i.e., for hard of hearing, deaf, deaf-blind, educable mentally retarded, health impaired, multi-handicapped, orthopedically impaired, seriously emotionally disturbed, speech impaired, visually handicapped, etc.) by ethnic category, by sex, by part-time or full-time, and by English-speaking level. Numbers of pupils/students receiving high school diplomas are provided by sex and by ethnic category. Enrollments by sex for home economics, industrial arts, and physical education are provided for grades 7 through 9. POPULATION: Public Schools (80,000); Public School Districts (16,000). TYPE OF SURVEY: National Survey; Sample Survey. RESPONDENTS: Principals of Public Schools; Superintendents of Public School Districts. SAMPLE: Public Schools (30,000); Public School Districts (3,500). FREQUENCY: Annual (1968-1975); Biennial (1975--). YEAR OF FIRST DATA: 1968. (CDM/WTB)