Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia, signed an executive order on Monday that combats antisemitism in the state’s public schools and institutions of higher education.
“No one should be unsafe in the classroom or on campus or feel targeted because of their religion or heritage,” said Youngkin. “This executive order reaffirms and strengthens the commonwealth’s commitment to safe educational environments free from discrimination and continues our actions against antisemitism and anti-religious bigotry in public schools and institutions of higher education.”
The new executive order directs the Virginia Department of Education to create and publish resources and actionable steps to combat Jew-hatred in academic institutions throughout the state. It also requires that schools update their codes of conduct to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism to treat antisemitic or other forms of religious bigotry “in the same manner” as any other form of discrimination.
It further directs the Virginia Secretary of Education to work with government officials to establish a new working group to “design a comprehensive reporting and tracking mechanism for alleged incidents of antisemitism and other anti-religious bigotry.”
That group must report its findings by Sept. 1.