update deskSchools & Higher Education

CA district agrees with US Education Department to resolve complaint alleging Jew-hatred

The Carmel Unified School District in California failed to effective steps to remove a hateful environment that arose from incidents like a call “to kill all Jews and burn them in their homes.”

School bus. Credit: NoName_13/Pixabay.
School bus. Credit: NoName_13/Pixabay.

The Carmel Unified School District in central California sought to find and discipline those responsible for hateful incidents, including drawn swastikas and a call “to kill all Jews and burn them in their homes,” but did not take necessary steps to “eliminate the known hostile environment and to prevent its recurrence,” the U.S. Department of Education stated on Friday.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights announced the resolution of a complaint against the district under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. “OCR found that in some instances the district failed to evaluate whether a hostile environment existed for affected students and if they needed remedies to address the effects of that environment,” it said. “OCR also identified a compliance concern that the district appears not to have met its Title VI obligation to maintain the records related to the district’s responses to notice of antisemitic harassment.”

The 15 incidents in question dated back to 2021 and extended into 2024.

The resolution agreement between the district, based in the tony city of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Calif., and the federal government states that the district will review incidents over the last three years to determine additional action; analyze policies for responding to harassment reports; implement new forms of tracking bigotry; assess hostile environments district-wide; train staff; and educate students and parents for how to identify abusive behavior.

The district will also need to report to the department about its responses to hate reports during the next two school years.

The American Jewish Committee welcomed the resolution of the complaint which it said “sends an unequivocal message that the district has fallen short in its obligations to Jewish students and their families.” It added that it hopes the district “views the conclusion of this investigation as a teachable moment that will lead to its schools becoming more inclusive and welcoming to all students of all backgrounds.”

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