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Schools and universities are legally required to guard college students from antisemitism and Islamophobia, the Schooling Division reminded establishments Tuesday.
“Hate-based discrimination, together with primarily based on antisemitism and Islamophobia amongst different bases, don’t have any place in our nation’s colleges,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon wrote in a Expensive Colleague letter.
The letter is the second reminder within the final six months {that a} college will likely be in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it fails to handle prohibited discrimination in opposition to college students. Campuses are seeing an increase in antisemitic incidents and protests, in addition to elevated Islamophobia, because the begin of the Israel-Hamas warfare final month. The Biden administration has been underneath stress from Congress and others to do extra to handle campus antisemitism and shield Jewish college students.
Schooling Secretary Miguel Cardona and different Biden administration officers met final week with Jewish college students, in addition to representatives of U.S. Jewish organizations. The administration additionally stated final week that it will begin monitoring antisemitic threats and work with faculties to reply.
“The rise of stories of hate incidents on our faculty campuses within the wake of the Israel-Hamas battle is deeply traumatic for college kids and ought to be alarming to all People,” Cardona stated in a press release. “Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all different types of hatred go in opposition to all the pieces we stand for as a nation … School and college leaders have to be unequivocal about condemning hatred and violence and work tougher than ever to make sure all college students have the liberty to be taught in protected and inclusive campus communities.”
Cardona informed CNN that the Workplace for Civil Rights has acquired “eight or 9” complaints regarding antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents on campuses. The workplace has investigated a number of establishments for allegedly failing to reply to discrimination primarily based on race or nationwide origin. Earlier this 12 months, investigators discovered that the College of Vermont had mishandled antisemitism complaints, probably making a hostile surroundings for some Jewish college students—a sign of how the workplace may strategy comparable complaints.
“Via this letter we urge college communities to be vigilant of your college students’ rights underneath Title VI, understanding that we in OCR are and will likely be,” Lhamon stated in a press release. “Jewish college students, Israeli college students, Muslim college students, Arab college students, and Palestinian college students, and all different college students who reside inside our college communities have the correct to be taught in our nation’s colleges free from discrimination.”
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