The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Bay District Schools in Florida, which has nearly 30,000 students in 50 schools, over allegations that it failed to address “particularly egregious antisemitic harassment of students,” the department said on Friday.
The district allegedly did not take proper action against instances of Jew-hatred, including students engaging in Nazis salutes, wearing kippahs in a derogatory manner and sharing “highly offensive antisemitic imagery” during an in-class presentation, violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, according to the department. (JNS sought comment from the district.)
Kimberly Richey, assistant U.S. secretary of education for civil rights, stated that “a learning environment that permits bullying, leaves harassment unpunished and tolerates antisemitic hatred is not only unsafe for students. It is unlawful.”
“School districts have an affirmative obligation under federal law to step in, fix the problem and take action to ensure it does not happen again,” Richey stated. “When districts fail to meet that basic obligation, they will face consequences.”
“Such institutional neglect will not be tolerated, and the Trump administration will fully investigate these abhorrent allegations to ensure the equal treatment of all students,” she added.
The Anti-Defamation League had filed a Title VI complaint with the department in February, alleging that a Jewish student was subjected to two presentations in class that the district determined were antisemitic and inappropriate. The district had stated it would discipline the students involved and reprimand a teacher, but didn’t take any further meaningful action, according to the complaint.
Mark Goldfeder, CEO and director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, told JNS that “Jewish students aren’t asking for special rules. They’re asking for the same basic protection every other child gets.”
“This was not subtle at all. Students promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories in class, with teachers right there in the room,” Goldfeder said. “The district knew, and federal law required it to act. The question was never whether Jewish students were being targeted. Clearly, they were. The question is why nothing was done about it. I’m glad to see DOE stepping in.”
