Antisemitic incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools remained essentially unchanged in 2025 despite a sharp decline nationwide, prompting five major Jewish organizations to release a “Jewish Students’ Bill of Rights” outlining six steps schools should take to protect Jewish students.
The document, released on Wednesday, calls for school administrators and staff to be equipped to “identify antisemitism and the ways it manifests in modern educational environments” and for schools to have a clear process for reporting and responding to antisemitic incidents.
It also calls for teaching about Jewish culture, diversity, history, the Holocaust, antisemitism and Israel to be accurate and representative. Other provisions call for schools to treat religious observances as excused absences, avoid scheduling events on widely celebrated Jewish holidays and protect Jewish students’ ability to express their identities without bullying or pressure to distance themselves from their connection to Israel.
The final provision calls for educators and curricula to present contested issues in a balanced manner rather than using classrooms to advance specific political or ideological viewpoints.
The bill was created by the Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and StandWithUs.
“No child should have to choose between their education and their identity,” Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Jewish Federations of North America, stated. “We are not asking schools for special treatment. We are asking them to give Jewish students the same seriousness and the same protection that every other student in that building already receives.”
The Anti-Defamation League recorded 825 antisemitic incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools in 2025, compared with 860 in 2024. Nationwide, the ADL recorded 6,274 antisemitic incidents in 2025, a 33% decline from 9,354 in 2024. The organization said incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools were among the few categories that did not experience a meaningful decline.
“When a school does not know how to identify or respond to antisemitism, the lesson for every Jewish student in that building is that they do not belong,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and national director of the ADL, stated. “Not one child should be taught that lesson in the classroom. These six standards will set the textbook for what to do.”
“Our schools should be places where students are able to learn not only academics, but also how to be good citizens and good neighbors,” Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, stated. “This Bill of Rights outlines common-sense principles that will help ensure that Jewish students, like all students, are able to safely, fully and proudly participate in school life.”
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents, said that while the beginning of the school year is typically “a time of excitement and possibility,” recent years have brought “harassment, bullying, and anxiety in the classroom” for many Jewish students.
“This Bill of Rights makes clear that Jewish students deserve what every student deserves—to learn openly, proudly, and safely,” Daroff stated.
Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, said that “far too many Jewish students carry the weight of educating others and defending their community against bias and bigotry in K-12 schools.”
“This Bill of Rights sends a vital message—that responsibility should not fall on students alone,” Rothstein stated. “It is time for the adults in the room, educators and administrators, to meet this moment with courage and moral clarity.”
