The Israel-Hamas war has led to a nationwide increase in discrimination, antisemitism and hate crimes. The discord has been particularly rampant on college campuses. As universities struggle to address the conflict, the Department of Education released a letter on November 7, 2023, reminding schools of their legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide all students a school environment free from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.
Any school that receives federal funding has a duty to address discrimination pursuant to Title VI. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin and extends to students who experience harassment based on their actual or perceived: (i) shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; or (ii) citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin against students of any religion, such as students who are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, or Buddhist, when the discrimination, for example, involves:
• racial, ethnic, or ancestral slurs or stereotypes;
• how a student looks, including skin color, physical features, or style of dress that reflects both ethnic and religious traditions; and
• a foreign accent; a foreign name, including names commonly associated with particular shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; or speaking a foreign language.
“Hate-based discrimination, including based on antisemitism and Islamophobia among other bases, have no place in our nation’s schools.” Every student has the right to learn in an environment that is free from discrimination based on race, color or national origin. Conduct that is considered harassment or discriminatory need not be directed at a single individual but can be conduct that creates a hostile environment that limits a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the school or university programs or activities. For example:
- A Jewish middle school student reports to a teacher that the student feels unsafe at school because classmates routinely place notes with swastikas on the student’s backpack, perform Nazi salutes, and make jokes about the Holocaust. The teacher advises the student to “just ignore it” and takes no steps to address the harassment.
- Students report concerns about comments made by classmates during history and cultural lessons related to Sikhism, Islam, and other traditions prevalent in South Asia. Muslim students describe, for example, being told by peers in class that “you started 911” and being called “terrorist.” The school is alleged to have not taken effective action to address these reports.
- Sikh students who wear a turban (head covering) are repeatedly called “turban” and other names at school, and a student tries to physically remove a turban that a Sikh student is wearing. Students report that the district does not take effective actions to document and address these reports.
“Through this letter we urge school communities to be vigilant of your students’ rights under Title VI, understanding that we in OCR are and will be,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “Jewish students, Israeli students, Muslim students, Arab students, and Palestinian students, and all other students who reside within our school communities have the right to learn in our nation’s schools free from discrimination.”
OCR also recently released an updated complaint form specifying that Title VI protects against discrimination based on race, color, or national origin and extends to students who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh, or based on other shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. This update will help individuals understand how to file a Title VI complaint.
Anyone who believes that a school has discriminated against a student based on race, color, or national origin can file a complaint of discrimination with OCR. The person who files the complaint does not need to have been the target of the alleged violation, but could be a family member, or faculty, staff, or any other concerned community member who is aware of possible discrimination.
To file a complaint, visit https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html.
References
colleague-202311-discrimination-harassment-shared-ancestry.pdf