In a warning to school leaders, the Biden administration's executive branch of the U.S. Department of Education said it was seeing an increase in complaints of discrimination against “Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, and Palestinian students.” He said that The letter does not mention discrimination against Jewish students.
The National Defamation League reported a 360% increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. last year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The “Dear Colleague'' letter does not mention discrimination against Jewish students.
“We are deeply disturbed by the increasing reports of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian harassment in our schools,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a press release Thursday.
“Hate has no place in our nation’s classrooms and university campuses. The Department is committed to providing school communities with the information and resources they need to prevent and combat Islamophobia and related forms of discrimination. ” Cardona continued.
The U.S. Department of Education has opened at least 30 investigations into complaints of anti-Semitism on college campuses since Jan. 1, but those complaints were not mentioned in Thursday's guidance.
The letter from Under Secretary for Civil Rights Kathleen E. Ramon reiterated to public school leaders their obligation to provide an educational environment free of discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“OCR fulfills Title VI’s promise to ensure that all students, including Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, and Palestinian students, have equal access to educational opportunity free of discrimination. “We continue to prepare for this,” Ramon said. Thursday's media release.
The letter specifically mentions those same ethnic groups, but the reference to anti-Semitism remains in a footnote to a previous publication on anti-Semitism in January 2021.
On November 7, OCR reminded school leaders of their “legal obligations under Title VI to address prohibited discrimination against students and others in their schools.” [their campuses] Includes people who are or appear to be Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian in the manner described in this letter. ”
That phrase was nowhere to be found in Thursday's letter.
“Schools receiving federal financial aid from the Department under Title VI may not discriminate against students, including Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, and Palestinian students, by race, ethnicity, or or where the student's ancestry is concerned, there is a responsibility to address discrimination, slurs and stereotypes based on the color of the student's skin, physical characteristics, or style of clothing that reflects both their ethnic and religious traditions. or based on the student's country of origin or perceived origin,” Ramon's latest alert to school leaders reads.
The OCR director provided a definition of discrimination and warned of the potential implications for the federal government.
“If OCR discovers a hostile environment based on common ancestry or ethnic characteristics and determines that the school knew or should have known about the hostile environment, OCR will We will assess whether we are meeting our obligations under Title VI and take reasonably calculated prompt and effective measures to end the harassment, eliminate the hostile environment and its effects, and prevent it from happening again. ” Ramon wrote.
The reminder is part of the Biden administration's “National Strategy to Combat Islamophobia and Related Bigotry and Discrimination,” according to the announcement, and comes ahead of Friday's International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Previous “Dear Colleagues'' since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, a terrorist group designated by the United States, have addressed not only Jewish students but also Muslim and Palestinian American students. It also included information for schools regarding discrimination against children.
