Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2016

Summary: Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of Education (ED), when reviewing whether there has been a violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance) based on an individual's actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish ethnic characteristics, to consider the definition of &quot;anti-Semitism&quot; as part of its assessment of whether the alleged practice was motivated by anti-Semitic intent. For purposes of this bill, the definition of &quot;anti-Semitism&quot; is the definition set forth by the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the Department of State in the Fact Sheet issued on June 8, 2010, as adapted from the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism of the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (now known as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights).

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of 
2016''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (referred to 
        in the section as ``title VI'') is one of the principal 
        antidiscrimination statutes enforced by the Department of 
        Education's Office for Civil Rights.
            (2) Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
        color, or national origin.
            (3) Both the Department of Justice and the Department of 
        Education have properly concluded that title VI prohibits 
        discrimination against Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and members of 
        other religious groups when the discrimination is based on the 
        group's actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic 
        characteristics or when the discrimination is based on actual 
        or perceived citizenship or residence in a country whose 
        residents share a dominant religion or a distinct religious 
        identity.
            (4) A September 8, 2010, letter from Assistant Attorney 
        General Thomas E. Perez to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 
        Russlynn H. Ali stated that ``[a]lthough Title VI does not 
        prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, 
        discrimination against Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and members of 
        other groups violates Title VI when that discrimination is 
        based on the group's actual or perceived shared ancestry or 
        ethnic characteristics''.
            (5) To assist State and local educational agencies and 
        schools in their efforts to comply with Federal law, the 
        Department of Education periodically issues Dear Colleague 
        letters. On a number of occasions, these letters set forth the 
        Department of Education's interpretation of the statutory and 
        regulatory obligations of schools under title VI.
            (6) On September 13, 2004, the Department of Education 
        issued a Dear Colleague letter regarding the obligations of 
        schools (including colleges) under title VI to address 
        incidents involving religious discrimination. The 2004 letter 
        specifically notes that ``since the attacks of September 11, 
        2001, OCR has received complaints of race or national origin 
        harassment commingled with aspects of religious discrimination 
        against Arab Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish students.''.
            (7) An October 26, 2010, Dear Colleague letter issued by 
        the Department of Education stated, ``While Title VI does not 
        cover discrimination based solely on religion, groups that face 
        discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared 
        ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection 
        under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common 
        faith. These principles apply not just to Jewish students, but 
        also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, 
        or is perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics 
        (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs).''.
            (8) Anti-Semitism remains a persistent, disturbing problem 
        in elementary and secondary schools and on college campuses.
            (9) Jewish students are being threatened, harassed, or 
        intimidated in their schools (including on their campuses) on 
        the basis of their shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics 
        including through harassing conduct that creates a hostile 
        environment so severe, pervasive, or persistent so as to 
        interfere with or limit some students' ability to participate 
        in or benefit from the services, activities, or opportunities 
        offered by schools.
            (10) The 2010 Dear Colleague letter cautioned schools that 
        they ``must take prompt and effective steps reasonably 
        calculated to end the harassment, eliminate any hostile 
        environment, and its effects, and prevent the harassment from 
        recurring,'' but did not provide guidance on current 
        manifestation of anti-Semitism, including discriminatory anti-
        Semitic conduct that is couched as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist.
            (11) The definition and examples referred to in paragraphs 
        (1) and (2) of section 3 have been valuable tools to help 
        identify contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism, and 
        include useful examples of discriminatory anti-Israel conduct 
        that crosses the line into anti-Semitism.
            (12) Awareness of this definition of anti-Semitism will 
        increase understanding of the parameters of contemporary anti-
        Jewish conduct and will assist the Department of Education in 
        determining whether an investigation of anti-Semitism under 
        title VI is warranted.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the term ``definition of anti-
Semitism''--
            (1) includes the definition of anti-Semitism set forth by 
        the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the 
        Department of State in the Fact Sheet issued on June 8, 2010, 
        as adapted from the Working Definition of Anti-Semitism of the 
        European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (now known 
        as the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights); and
            (2) includes the examples set forth under the headings 
        ``Contemporary Examples of Anti-Semitism'' and ``What is Anti-
        Semitism Relative to Israel?'' of the Fact Sheet.

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 
              1964.

    In reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there has been a 
violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d 
et seq.) on the basis of race, color, or national origin, based on an 
individual's actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish 
ethnic characteristics, the Department of Education shall take into 
consideration the definition of anti-Semitism as part of the 
Department's assessment of whether the alleged practice was motivated 
by anti-Semitic intent.

SEC. 5. CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS.

    Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, shall be 
construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the 
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.