Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have introduced legislation requiring universities to more assertively counter bigotry or face stiff financial punishments for their failures.
Rubio announced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act on Tuesday, calling the bill “a critical step toward ensuring that our educational institutions carry out their responsibility to protect Jewish students from hate and discrimination.”
The potential law would extend Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on religion, making an exception for religious organizations’ programs. It would require enforcing Title VI for antisemitic complaints to the full extent of other forms of bigotry and mandate that the Secretary of Education monitor lawsuits filed against colleges, which could include Title VI infractions.
Further provisions of the legislation set penalties for schools found with multiple Title VI violations involving antisemitism. Two infractions within a five-year period could result in a fine of 10% of a school’s federal funding. Three in five years would require a fine of “not less than 33% of the federal financial assistance received.”
Scott said that “any college or university in this nation that’s enabling antisemitism on campus and leaving students terrified for their safety must be held accountable.”
