The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it has reached a voluntary settlement agreement with the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District in Massachusetts to resolve a federal civil-rights investigation into allegations of antisemitic harassment.
According to the department, the probe stemmed from a federal civil-rights review opened in March 2025 to examine several antisemitic incidents reported at district schools between 2023-25, including the use of the term “Jew” in a derogatory manner, the display of Nazi-style salutes and the drawing of swastikas in school settings.
The public school district has already taken steps to address concerns, including expanded staff training on responding to antisemitic incidents, the department stated.
Under the agreement, which JNS reviewed, the district does not admit liability or wrongdoing. It requires the district to update its policies to ensure antisemitic harassment is prohibited in all forms and that reports of such incidents are investigated “promptly and effectively.” The district must also ensure that conduct creating a hostile environment is addressed under its discrimination policies.
The agreement also bars retaliation against individuals who report harassment and requires the district to appoint a compliance officer to monitor responses to reported incidents across schools. The district will provide additional training for staff and students on harassment prevention.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights, stated that the department “will not tolerate antisemitic harassment of students at any level of education.”
“School districts, like colleges and universities, must take prompt and effective action to address antisemitic harassment when it creates a hostile environment for Jewish students,” Dhillon said. “They must continue to act until Jewish students are once again safe and welcome at their school.”
Laurie Hunter, district superintendent, stated that “antisemitism and harassment of any kind have no place in our schools.”
“We take these issues seriously and have already taken important steps to strengthen how we address them, including staff training on antisemitism, expanded student education and clearer reporting and investigation procedures,” she said. “This agreement builds on that work and helps ensure we continue supporting a safe and respectful learning environment for every student.”
A spokesman for the Anti-Defamation League and Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law told JNS that the organizations “have been advocating for meaningful change” within the school district.
In July, the ADL, Brandeis Center and law firm Mayer Brown filed a brief with the U.S. Department of Education alleging that the district failed to address a hostile environment against Jewish students and faculty.
“The department’s work represents an important step forward, and we are encouraged by provisions aimed at strengthening policies, training and oversight,” the spokesman told JNS, adding that “fully addressing antisemitism in the district will require sustained commitment and comprehensive action.”
“We look forward to seeing these reforms fully implemented and hope for continued collaboration to ensure that Jewish students are afforded the same protections, dignity and sense of safety as all students and that no form of antisemitic alignment or expression, whether overt or coded, is minimized or overlooked,” the spokesman said.
