```

[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                   CONFRONTING PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM
                            IN K-12 SCHOOLS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                     SUBCOMMITTEE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD, 
                     ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY EDUCATION

                                 OF THE

                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

              HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 8, 2024

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-49

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
  
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Available via: edworkforce.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov
        
                               __________

                   U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
57-462 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2024                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------             
       
                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

               VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina, Chairwoman

JOE WILSON, South Carolina           ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, 
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania             Virginia,
TIM WALBERG, Michigan                  Ranking Member
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin            RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York          JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia               GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
JIM BANKS, Indiana                     Northern Mariana Islands
JAMES COMER, Kentucky                FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania          SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
BURGESS OWENS, Utah                  MARK TAKANO, California
BOB GOOD, Virginia                   ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina
LISA McCLAIN, Michigan               MARK DeSAULNIER, California
MARY MILLER, Illinois                DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
MICHELLE STEEL, California           PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
RON ESTES, Kansas                    SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana              LUCY McBATH, Georgia
KEVIN KILEY, California              JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
AARON BEAN, Florida                  ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota
ERIC BURLISON, Missouri              HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, Oregon          KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York           FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana
ERIN HOUCHIN, Indiana                JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York
VACANCY

                       Cyrus Artz, Staff Director
              Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director
                                 ------                                

  SUBCOMMITTEE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD, ELEMENTARY, AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

                     AARON BEAN, Florida, Chairman

GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania         SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon,
BURGESS OWENS, Utah                    Ranking Member
LISA McCLAIN, Michigan               RAUL GRIJALVA, Arizona
MARY MILLER, Illinois                GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
MICHELLE STEEL, California             Northern Mariana Islands
KEVIN KILEY, California              JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York           FREDERICA WILSON, Florida
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina        MARK DeSAULNIER, California
                                     DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
                        
                        C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on May 8, 2024......................................     1

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

    Bean, Hon. Aaron, Chairman, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, 
      Elementary, and Secondary Education........................     1
        Prepared statement of....................................     2
    Bonamici, Hon. Suzanne, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Early 
      Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.............     3
        Prepared statement of....................................     5

                               WITNESSES

    Banks, David, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools, New 
      York City Department of Education..........................     7
        Prepared statement of....................................     9
    Silvestre, Karla, President, Montgomery County Board of 
      Education, Montgomery County Public Schools................    11
        Prepared statement of....................................    12
    Sykes, Emerson, Senior Staff Attorney, American Civil 
      Liberties Union............................................    13
        Prepared statement of....................................    16
    Ford Morthel, Enikia, Superintendent, Berkeley Unified School 
      District...................................................    24
        Prepared statement of....................................    26

                         ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS

    Ranking Member Bonamici:
        NYC Department of Education's code of conduct entitled 
          ``Citywide Behavioral Expectations to Support Student 
          Learning Grades 6-12''.................................    92
        CNN article entitled ``Sheriff's office says antisemitic 
          messages in Jacksonville were not crimes''.............   212
        ADL article entitled ``Hate in the Lone Star State: 
          Extremism & Antisemitism in Texas''....................   219
        Montgomery Advertiser article entitled ``Five or more 
          Jewish congregations receive bomb threats in Alabama''.   245
    DeSaulnier, Hon. Mark, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of California:
        Letter of support dated May 3, 2024, from the Association 
          of California School Administrators....................   143
        Multiple letters in support of Superintendent Ford 
          Morthel from Jewish parents............................   145
    Williams, Hon. Brandon, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of New York:
        Comments from the Committee..............................   249

                        QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD

    Responses to questions submitted for the record by:
        Mr. Emerson Sykes........................................   251

 
                   CONFRONTING PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM
                            IN K-12 SCHOOLS

                              ----------                              

                         Wednesday, May 8, 2024

                  House of Representatives,
  Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and 
                               Secondary Education,
                  Committee on Education and the Workforce,
                                                    Washington, D.C
    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15, a.m., 
in Room 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Aaron Bean 
(Chairman of the Subcommittee) presiding.
    Present: Representatives Bean, Owens, McClain, Kiley, 
Williams, Foxx, Bonamici, Sablan, Hayes, Bowman, DeSaulnier, 
and Scott.
    Also present: Walberg, Stefanik, Manning.
    Staff present: Cyrus Artz, Staff Director; Nick Barley, 
Deputy Communications Director; Mindy Barry, General Counsel; 
Isabel Foster, Press Assistant; Daniel Fuenzalida, Staff 
Assistant; Sheila Havenner, Director of Information Technology; 
Amy Raaf Jones, Director of Education and Human Services 
Policy; Julianne Jones, Intern; Georgie Littlefair, Clerk; 
Hannah Matesic, Deputy Staff Director; Eli Mitchell, 
Legislative Assistant; Rebecca Powell, Staff Assistant; Brad 
Thomas, Deputy Director of Education and Human Services Policy; 
Maura Williams, Director of Operations; Ari Wisch, Senior 
Counselor to the Chairwoman; Brittany Alston, Minority 
Operations Assistant; Ilana Brunner, Minority General Counsel; 
Rashage Green, Minority Director of Education Policy & Counsel; 
Christian Haines, Minority General Counsel; Stephanie Lalle, 
Minority Communications Director; Raiyana Malone, Minority 
Press Secretary; Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director; 
Jamar Tolbert, Minority Intern; Banyon Vassar, Minority 
Director of IT; Samantha Wilkerson, Minority CBCF Fellow.
    Chairman Bean. Ladies and gentleman, and a very good 
morning. Welcome to your nation's capital. The Subcommittee on 
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education will come 
to order. A quorum is present. Without objection, the Chair is 
authorized to call a recess at any time.
    The Holocaust ended in 1945. The hate behind it has not. 
Antisemitism is repugnant in all its forms, but the topic of 
today's hearing is particularly troubling. It is hard to grasp 
how antisemitism has become such a dominant force in our K 
through 12 schools. Some kids as young as second grade are 
spewing Nazi propaganda, which begs the question who has 
positioned these young minds to attack the Jewish people?
    The very need for this hearing is a travesty. The aftermath 
of October 7th has revealed some of the ugliest, most deprived 
ideas, once marginalized from polite society, and our education 
system has failed to stop it. It is not just anti-Israel, it is 
anti-American, it is anti-democracy.
    Our witnesses today represent--three of our witnesses 
represent some of the largest school districts in the Nation 
where there has been some vile antisemitism in their districts. 
Just a few minutes ago we heard from students, parents, and 
even a teacher who said this is happening without an 
appropriate or any response at all.
    Jewish students in their districts fear riding the bus, 
wearing their kippah to school, or just eating and breathing as 
a Jewish student. Today we get to hear from the leaders of 
these districts to tell us what are you doing, what are they 
doing to keep students safe. New York City, and I just met Mr. 
Banks, is the home to the largest, most vibrant Jewish 
community in the Nation, so the stories coming out of the New 
York City public schools are harrowing.
    Reports that we have surface that students marched through 
the halls disrupting class chanting, ``Kill the Jews.'' One 
student was caught on a security camera appearing as Hitler 
performing a Nazi salute. Three Swastikas were drawn on 
teachers walls in 1 week. Antisemitism has occurred within 
Montgomery County Public Schools. It hits close to home. It is 
just 15 miles from here.
    MCPS schools have been home to student walkouts, featuring 
calls to kill the Jews, bring Hitler back, and what is worse, 
the administrator's approved excused absences for the walkouts 
in violation of district policy. Finally, Berkeley Unified 
School District was thrust into the national spotlight in 
perhaps the most public fashion of the group.
    The allegations are most serious. While not exhausting the 
details of the piece includes kids playing Nazi salute songs to 
their Jewish classmates, chants of Kill Israel, and KKK, and 
telling Jews to pick up pennies. In light of these reports, I 
will tell you what my question is going to be to the 
witnesses--what are you doing to keep students safe, and how 
can we stop this?
    How can we stop this? You have been accused of doing 
nothing and turning a blind eye. We are going to give you a 
chance to say exactly what you are doing, and what are you 
doing to keep students safe. Middle and high school students 
are hard enough. It is just hard enough being a kid in middle 
and high school without the added fear of being Jewish.
    I can hardly fathom sending one of my sons to school 
knowing he will be exposed to violence, hate filled 
discrimination, yet parents are faced every day with this 
struggle. It does not have to be this way. This is the moment 
for all of us to take a stand against hate, against the 
indoctrination and radicalization of the next generation of 
future leaders. With that, I yield to the Ranking Member for 
her opening statement.
    [The Statement of Chairman Bean follows:]

     Statement of Hon. Aaron Bean, Chairman, Subcommittee on Early 
             Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education

    The Holocaust ended in 1945. The hate behind it did not.
    I would like to start by saying that I find antisemitism to be 
repugnant in all its forms, but I find the topic of today's hearing 
particularly troubling.
    It is impossibly hard to grasp how antisemitism has become such a 
dominant force in our K-12 schools. Some kids as young as second grade 
are spewing Nazi propaganda, which begs the question, who has 
positioned these young minds to attack the Jewish people?
    The very need for this hearing is a travesty. The aftermath of 
October 7 has revealed some of the ugliest, most depraved ideas once 
marginalized from polite society, and our education system has failed 
to stop it.
    It is not just anti-Israel. It is anti-American. It is anti-
democracy.
    Three of the witnesses here today represent public school districts 
that have allowed vile antisemitism to spread unchecked. Now, thousands 
of Jewish students in their districts fear riding the bus in the 
morning, wearing their kippah to school, or just eating and breathing 
as a Jewish student.
    You are here today to answer for your role in this national 
tragedy.
    Beginning with Mr. Banks, New York City is home to the largest, 
most vibrant Jewish community in the nation, so the stories coming out 
of New York City Public Schools are uniquely harrowing.
    At your schools, students march through halls disrupting class and 
chanting ``Kill the Jews.'' One student was caught by a security camera 
appearing as Hitler and performing a Nazi salute. Three swastikas were 
drawn on teachers' walls in one week.
    Moving to Ms. Silvestre, the antisemitism that has occurred within 
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) under your watch hits closest 
to home--your school district is headquartered a mere 15 miles from 
here.
    MCPS schools have been home to student walkouts featuring calls to 
``Kill the Jews'' and ``Bring Hitler Back.'' What is worse, the 
administrators approved excused absences for the walkouts in violation 
of district policy.
    Finally, Ms. Ford Morthel, Berkley Unified School District was 
thrust into the national spotlight in perhaps the most public fashion 
of the group. The allegations are also among the most serious.
    Franklin Foer penned a piece for The Atlantic titled ``The Golden 
Age of American Jews is Ending,'' which details the horrific 
experiences of Jewish children in your district.
    While not exhaustive, the details of the piece include kids playing 
Nazi salute songs to their Jewish classmates, chants of ``Kill Israel'' 
and ``KKK,'' and telling Jews to pick up pennies.
    There are many issues precipitating these events that we will 
discuss further, including antisemitic teachers, curriculum, and 
unions. You control these things. The buck stops with you.
    I will say one more thing, which is this: my heart goes out to 
these Jewish students. Middle and High school are hard enough for kids 
without the added fear of being Jewish. As a dad, I can hardly fathom 
sending one of my sons to school knowing he will be exposed to vile, 
hate-filled discrimination. Many parents are faced with this struggle 
every day. It does not have to be this way.
    This is the moment for all of us to take a stand against hate, 
against the indoctrination and radicalization of the next generation of 
our future leaders.
                                 ______
                                 
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. There is 
no question that we must do more to combat antisemitism, not 
just in schools, but everywhere. We must do more to protect 
Jewish students and Jewish Americans who are threatened and 
harassed and attacked because of who they are.
    Every student deserves to feel safe and be safe at school. 
At the same time, we must do more to address the rise in 
Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination and hate as 
well. I have said multiple times, I hope this Committee can 
work together on constructive ways to address this scourge of 
antisemitism.
    I will express that hope again today, that we seek 
solutions that recognize the seriousness, and scope of the 
challenge, the importance of keeping students safe at school, 
and the need to balance the civil rights of students to be free 
from discrimination under Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act, with 
the First Amendment right to free speech and expression.
    This is the Education Committee, and I hope we will discuss 
the important role of education and importantly, prevention. In 
fact, at the top of the list on the Biden administration's U.S. 
national strategy to combat antisemitism is to increase school-
based education about antisemitism, including the Holocaust and 
Jewish American heritage.
    Antisemitism is not a new problem. The ADL, the Anti-
Defamation League has been working on it for decades, and in 
fact, they even have a center for antisemitism research. AJC, 
the American Jewish Committee has an action plan, a toolkit for 
public school administrators. Lesson plans and other teaching 
materials are widely available through other organizations like 
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
    Like New York, and several other states, my home State of 
Oregon requires Holocaust and genocide studies with age-
appropriate curriculum available. I remember and thank my late 
friend, Holocaust survivor Alter Weiner, who when he was in his 
80's and early 90's told his story of survival to hundreds of 
audiences and universities, colleges, middle schools and high 
schools, places of worship, prisons and clubs, personally and 
through his book, From a Name to a Number.
    That is the kind of unforgettable education that makes a 
real difference. May his memory be a blessing. I also want to 
emphasize and emphasize strongly, it is important for leaders 
to stand up to antisemitism no matter where it comes from.
    Many of my colleagues claim to care about the rise in 
antisemitism in this country, but when white supremacists 
marched in Charlottesville, Virginia with burning torches and 
chanting, ``Jews will not replace us,'' the President at the 
time, Donald Trump, said they were very fine people on both 
sides.
    One of the participants of that Unite the Right Rally was 
Nick Fuentes, a vile antisemite, who among other statements has 
denied the scope of the Holocaust, while comparing Jews 
exterminated in concentration camps to cookies being baked in 
an oven. Former President Trump hosted Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-
Lago in November 2022.
    General John Kelly, who served as then President Trump's 
Chief of Staff, has stated the former President spoke favorably 
about Hitler, including the statement that Hitler had done a 
few good things. Just a few months ago Donald Trump had said, 
``Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their 
religion.''
    Despite these persistent examples of comments that others 
have called antisemitic, and continued relationships with well-
known antisemites, I have not heard one word of concern from my 
colleagues across the aisle. In fact, what we have seen is 
consolidation of support for the former President.
    If my colleagues care about antisemitism they would condemn 
and denounce these comments from the leader of their party. I 
will offer my colleagues on the other side of the aisle the 
opportunity right now to condemn these previous comments. Does 
anyone have the courage to stand up against this?
    Let the record show that no one spoke up at this time. I 
look forward to the testimony and conversation today, again 
with the hope that we can have a constructive dialog about how 
to fight back against antisemitism, so all students can be 
safe, and feel safe at school, whether that is a K-12 school, a 
college or a university, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
    [The Statement of Ranking Member Bonamici follows:]

  Statement of Hon. Suzanne Bonamici, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on 
          Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    There is no question that we must do more to combat antisemitism--
not just in schools but everywhere. We must do more to protect Jewish 
students and Jewish Americans who are threatened and harassed and 
attacked because of who they are.
    Every student deserves to feel safe and be safe at school. At the 
same time, we must do more to address the rise in Islamophobia and 
other forms of discrimination and hate as well.
    I have said multiple times that I hope this committee can work 
together on constructive ways to address the scourge of antisemitism.
    I will express that hope again today, that we seek solutions that 
recognize the seriousness and scope of the challenge, the importance of 
keeping students safe at school, and the need to balance the civil 
rights of students to be free from discrimination under Title VI of the 
Civil Rights Act with the with the First Amendment right to free speech 
and expression.
    This is the education committee, and I hope we will discuss the 
important role of education and importantly, prevention.
    In fact, at the top of the list of the Biden Administration's U.S. 
National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism is to ``Increase School-Based 
Education about Antisemitism, Including the Holocaust, and Jewish 
American Heritage.''
    Antisemitism is not a new problem; ADL, the Anti-defamation League, 
has been working on it for decades and in fact, they even have a Center 
for Antisemitism research.
    AJC, The American Jewish Committee, has an action plan with a 
toolkit for public school administrators. Lesson plans and other 
teaching materials are widely available through organizations like the 
US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
    Like New York and several other states, my home state of Oregon 
requires Holocaust and Genocide Studies, with age-appropriate 
curriculum available. I remember and thank my late friend, Holocaust 
survivor Alter Wiener, who when he was in his 80s and early 90s told 
his story of survival to hundreds of audiences in universities, 
colleges, middle and high schools, places of worship, prisons, and 
clubs, personally and through his book, From a Name to a Number. That 
is the kind of unforgettable education that makes a real difference. 
May his memory be a blessing.
    I also want to emphasize--and emphasize strongly--that it is 
important for leaders to stand up to antisemitism no matter where it 
comes from. Many of my colleagues claim to care about the rise of 
antisemitism in this country. When white supremacists marched in 
Charlottesville, Virginia with burning torches and chanted ``Jews will 
not replace us,'' the President at the time, Donald Trump, said there 
were very fine people on both sides.
    One of the participants at that Unite the Right rally was Nick 
Fuentes, a vile antisemite who among other statements has denied the 
scope of the Holocaust while comparing Jews exterminated in 
concentration camps to cookies being baked in an oven. Former President 
Trump hosted Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago in November 2022.
    General John Kelly, who served as then President Trump's Chief of 
Staff, has stated that the former President spoke favorably about 
Hitler, including that Hitler had done ``some good things.''
    Just a few months ago Donald Trump said, ``Any Jewish person that 
votes for Democrats hates their religion.''
    Despite these persistent examples of comments that others have 
called antisemitic and continued relationships with well-known 
antisemites, I have not heard one word of concern from my colleagues 
across the aisle; in fact, what we have seen is consolidation of 
support for the former President.
    If my colleagues cared about antisemitism they would condemn and 
denounce these comments from the leader of their party.
    I want to offer any of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
the opportunity right now to condemn Donald Trump's previous comments. 
Does anyone have the courage to stand up against this?
    Let the record show that nobody spoke up at this time.
    I look forward to the testimony and conversation today--again with 
the hope that we can have a constructive dialogue about how to fight 
back against antisemitism so all students can be safe and feel safe at 
school--whether that is a K-12 school, a college or university.
    I yield back the balance of my time.
                                 ______
                                 
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much, Ranking Member 
Bonamici. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8-C, all Committee members 
who wish to insert written comments into the record may do so 
by submitting them to the Committee Clerk electronically in 
Microsoft Word format by 5 p.m. after 14 days from the date of 
this hearing, which is May 22, 2024.
    Without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 
14 days after the date of this hearing to allow such statements 
and other materials referenced during the hearing to be 
submitted for the official record. I note that the 
Subcommittee, for the Subcommittee, there are members of 
colleagues that are not a permanent part of the Subcommittee, 
who may be waving on for the purposes of today's hearing.
    Now let us get to the introductions of our distinguished 
panel. Our first witness is Mr. David Banks, he is the 
Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools for the New York 
City Department of Education in New York, New York. The New 
York City Public Schools is the largest, the largest system in 
the Nation. He was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams on January 1, 
2022, but he started his career as a school safety officer, 
after which he began his first teaching job at PS, Public 
School 167.
    Chancellor Banks serves as Assistant Principal at PS 191, 
before becoming a founding Principal at the Bronx School for 
Law, Government and Justice. He is a native New Yorker, and 
graduate of New York City Public School System. He holds a 
bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and earned his JD 
from St. John's University of Law.
    Our second witness is Karla Silvestre, Silvestre, who is 
the President of the Montgomery County Board of Education for 
the Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Maryland. 
Ms. Silvestre was elected to her second 4-year term on November 
8, 2022. She is currently serving a second term as President of 
the Board of Education.
    Ms. Silvestre's education policy experience began at the 
University of Pennsylvania, where she worked at the Penn-Merck 
Collaborative for Science Education, working as a teacher, 
professional development and hands on science education in West 
Philadelphia schools. She served as Vice President for Children 
and Youth for a large nonprofit managing preventive school year 
and summer youth programs.
    Ms. Silvestre graduated from Florida State University with 
a bachelor's degree in biology and received her master's degree 
in education from the University of Pennsylvania. Greetings 
from the Sunshine State, Ms. Silvestre. We are glad to see 
where you are.
    Let us yield to Ms. Bonamici for the introduction of a 
witness.
    Ms. Bonamici. I welcome to the Committee Mr. Emerson Sykes, 
a Senior Staff Attorney with the American Civil Liberties 
Union, who works on the speech, privacy and technology project. 
He focuses on First Amendment free speech protections, and 
among other things he previously served as a legal advisor for 
Africa at the International Center for Nonprofit Law, and 
served as an Assistant General Counsel to the New York City 
Council.
    Mr. Sykes holds a bachelor's degree in political science 
from Stanford University, a master's in public affairs from the 
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and a 
Juris Doctorate from the New York University School of Law. 
Welcome to the Committee, Mr. Sykes.
    Chairman Bean. Our final witness is Ms. Enikia Ford 
Morthel, Morthel, absolutely is--she is the Superintendent of 
the Berkeley Unified School District in Berkeley, California. 
Ms. Morthel is an urban educator and community activist with 
over 21 years of experience. Aside from serving as 
Superintendent of Berkeley Unified School District, she is a 
Professor, Senior Lecturer at the Urban Education at Loyola 
Marymount University. She is active in the community, serving 
as a Board member for organizations such as 826 Valencia, West 
Ed, and other nonprofit organizations with missions aligned to 
hers.
    She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Beta Sorority 
Incorporated. Ms. Ford Morthel holds a bachelor's degree and 
master's in education from the University of California at 
Berkeley. Welcome to all our witnesses. We thank you for being 
here and look forward to your testimony.
    Pursuant to Committee rules, I would ask that you limit 
each of your oral presentations to 5 minutes, a summary of your 
written statement. Your full written statement is in the 
record, but just like us up here, you get 5 minutes. That is 
what our little timer system will do it. If by chance you go 
past, I will give you a little time, and that is a great way to 
say wrap it up.
    I want to recognize you of your responsibility to provide 
accurate information to the Subcommittee. With that, let us get 
started. It is now a pleasure to recognize Mr. Banks for his 5-
minute testimony. Welcome, you are recognized.

STATEMENT OF MR. DAVID BANKS, CHANCELLOR, NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC 
         SCHOOLS, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

    Mr. Banks. Okay. I hope I did not lose my time. Thank you 
so much, again. Good morning, Chairwoman Foxx, Chairman Bean, 
Ranking Member Scott, Ranking Member Bonamici, and 
distinguished members of the Committee and the Subcommittee. 
Thank you for inviting me to address the horrific rise in 
antisemitism.
    The No. 1 religious based hate crime in America. I also 
want to thank Devorah Halberstam, Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, 
Michael Cohen, and Reverend Jacques DeGraff for joining me here 
today. Today I will share how we are confronting the scourge of 
antisemitism in our New York City public schools.
    The New York City school system, which is our Nation's 
largest, is a community of over 1 million students and staff. 
We speak over 180 different languages in our schools. Our 
diversity, however, means that our classrooms are not insulated 
from the global stage. Since October 7th, our students and 
staff, Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian, have 
suffered immensely.
    I too have felt deep pain, reflecting on my own two trips 
to Israel, with the Jewish Community Relations Council. Again 
and again, my mind has returned to my visit to Yad Vashem, a 
profoundly moving experience for me. In the immediate aftermath 
of October 7th, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made very 
powerful remarks condemning the terror attacks.
    I too sent messages to our school community strongly 
condemning the heinous acts of Hamas. Words are not enough. 
There have been unacceptable incidents of antisemitism in our 
schools. When Jewish students or teachers feel unwelcome or 
unsafe, that should sound the alarm for us all. I recognize the 
urgency of addressing this crisis from my seat. As an educator 
of 30 plus years, as the leader of the system nurturing the 
next generation of New Yorkers.
    It is not only my job to produce good readers and writers. 
Our schools must also build good people. People who demonstrate 
respect and appreciation for our shared humanity. When it comes 
to routing out antisemitism, our public schools must be part of 
the answer.
    Let me tell you about our work to meet this moment, which 
are focused on safety, engagement, and education. No. 1, safety 
is a precondition for learning. I started my career as a school 
safety officer, and my father was a proud decades long officer 
of the New York City Police Department. Keeping schools safe is 
in my DNA.
    When antisemitism rears its head, I believe we must 
respond, and we have. We have removed, discipline, or are in 
the process of disciplining at least a dozen staff and school 
leaders, including removing a principal in the middle of a 
school year. We have suspended at least 30 students. We have 
involved the NYPD when hate crimes are committed, and we 
retrain all 1,600 principals on our discipline code to ensure 
that it is enforced property.
    Second, we have engaged dozens of partners to help us 
design longer term solutions. My instinct as a leader in 
moments of crisis is never to shy away from an issue, but 
rather to lean into it to understand it better. New York City 
is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, and 
many of the Nation's foremost Jewish institutions, so we have 
strengthened our relationships with these partners, which 
include the UJA Federation, the JCRC, the Anti-Defamation 
League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance, the 
Jewish Children's Museum, Project Witness, and many more.
    I also launched, for the first time in our history, an 
interfaith advisory council, because we must model for our 
students how to build bridges, engage in genuine dialog, and 
share each other's pain in challenging times. Finally, 
education. We cannot simply discipline our way out of this 
problem.
    The true anecdote to ignorance and bias is to teach. My own 
children learned about antisemitism firsthand from our next 
door neighbors who were Holocaust survivors in Teaneck, New 
Jersey. As survivors pass on, and in light of current events, 
the need for education becomes even more pressing. Our students 
cannot grow up to view anyone as the ``other''.
    In addition to covering the Holocaust in the 8th, 10th, and 
11th grades, we are creating a robust Holocaust educator guide 
with the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and we are building a brand 
new curriculum highlighting the culture and contributions of 
the Jewish community because the history of the Jewish people 
extends far beyond the Holocaust.
    We have also partnered with the Office for the Prevention 
of Hate Crimes, and a new hate crimes curriculum. We have 
expanded our antisemitism resources and workshops. Finally, let 
me just say this. At New York City public schools, we are 
focused on our charge to fight hate, and foster inclusion 
through safety, engagement and education.
    We are working hard, and we have a long way to go. There is 
always more to do. I hope in New York we can be a candle in the 
darkness. Thank you.
    [The Statement of Mr. Banks follows:]

Statement of Mr. David Banks, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools, 
                 New York City Department of Education

    Good morning, Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member Scott, Chairman Bean, 
Ranking Member Bonamici, distinguished members of the Subcommittee, and 
the honorable members who have waived onto this hearing today. Thank 
you for inviting me to address antisemitism, the number one religious-
based hate crime in America. I am horrified at the resurgence of this 
age-old hate, and, today, I plan to share concrete actions we are 
taking at New York City Public Schools to confront the scourge of 
antisemitism head-on.
    As Chancellor of the New York City school system--our nation's 
largest--my job is to ensure the safety and learning of nearly 1 
million students. I am also tasked with supporting over 140,000 staff 
members. Our community includes a wide range of faiths, nationalities, 
and backgrounds. We speak, incredibly, over 180 languages in our 
schools.
    We have honored and uplifted this diversity for many years. For our 
New York City Jewish community, the largest outside of Israel, that 
means our schools observe major Jewish holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom 
Kippur, and Passover. We provide kosher school food options. We 
celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month. We do the same for the dozens 
of other communities that make up the rich tapestry of New York City.
    I believe our multiculturalism is a blessing. The whole world lives 
in New York City. It is a phenomenon I experienced growing up in Crown 
Heights, Brooklyn and later in Cambria Heights, Queens, both home to 
many cultures and communities, including the Jewish community.
    Our diversity, however, means that our classrooms are not insulated 
from the global stage. On the contrary, they are steeped in it. For New 
Yorkers, world events inevitably hit home.
    Since October 7, our students and staff--Jewish and Muslim, Israeli 
and Palestinian--have suffered immensely. They have experienced deep 
pain, trauma, and fear--reactions I have heard directly from our 
teachers, students, and families. I, too, have felt this mix of 
emotions, reflecting on my own two trips to Israel with the Jewish 
Community Relations Council. One cannot visit the Western Wall or Yad 
Vashem without feeling profoundly changed. As a person of faith, these 
trips deepened my appreciation of the Jewish religion, culture, and 
experience.
    In the immediate aftermath of October 7, New York City Mayor Eric 
Adams, in whose administration I proudly serve, made powerful, poignant 
remarks condemning the terror attacks, remarks that resonated with 
Jewish communities both here and in Israel. I, too, sent a letter to 
our staff, along with a social media statement to families, strongly 
condemning the heinous attacks by Hamas. My team and I followed up with 
multiple other communications promoting respect, including reminders 
about our regulations around political activity in schools and a joint 
statement with Mayor Adams denouncing hate speech.
    Words are not enough. There have been unacceptable incidents of 
antisemitism in our schools. I know just how distressing these 
incidents are. They surface deep-rooted, generational scars; 
antisemitism has impacted the lives and stories of every Jewish person 
I know.
    I recognize the unique urgency of addressing this crisis from my 
seat, as the leader of the system responsible for nurturing the next 
generation of New Yorkers. It is not only our job to produce good 
readers and writers. We must also build good people, people who 
demonstrate respect and appreciation for our shared humanity.
    To meet this moment, we initiated a comprehensive plan focused on 
the safety of our students and staff, engagement with our community, 
and education as the long-term antidote to ignorance, bias, and 
bigotry. In all three areas, we are taking strong, decisive action 
because every student, family, and staff member deserves to feel 
welcomed in our schools.
    Let me begin with safety. Safety is our most fundamental 
responsibility and a precondition for learning. I was a school safety 
agent, teacher, and principal. Perhaps most importantly, I am a father 
of four. I know we cannot have safe and inclusive schools if there is 
no accountability when students or staff act inappropriately. When hate 
or prejudice rears its head, we must respond--it is our legal 
obligation under the Civil Rights Act. We have responded, facilitating 
school leadership changes, suspending students when appropriate, 
disciplining and removing staff, and involving the NYPD as necessary. 
We also retrained all our approximately 1,600 NYC Public Schools 
principals on our Discipline Code, including the need for tangible 
consequences when this code is violated.
    Ultimately, we are not going to suspend our way to inclusion and 
acceptance. I believe that hate is learned--and to reverse it, we must 
start a conversation. To that end, we have engaged dozens of Jewish and 
Muslim partners, so that the communities most impacted by this crisis 
have a seat at the table in designing solutions.
    From the Jewish community, the organizations I have continued to 
consult include the UJA Federation, the Anti-Defamation League, the 
Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance, the Jewish Children's 
Museum, Project Witness, and many others. I also launched an interfaith 
advisory council because it is critical to demonstrate for our students 
how to engage in meaningful dialogue and build bridges across 
communities.
    This work takes patience, thoughtfulness, and skill. It is not 
easy. As I have told our educators, when crises occur, we cannot bury 
our heads in the sand. This leads me to the final component of our 
strategy: education. Education is the key to rooting out hate.
    In collaboration with our longtime, highly regarded Social Studies 
partner, Facing History & Ourselves, we have trained every middle and 
high school principal--approximately 900 school leaders--on how to 
navigate conversations on difficult topics, events, and issues, such as 
antisemitism. We are requiring these principals to deliver this same 
workshop to their staff this spring.
    We are not only focused on how to have conversations either. The 
content matters, too. As I have also told our educators, we cannot 
inject our personal politics into the classroom. Nor can we abandon our 
students to the falsehoods and vitriol of social media, especially at 
such a young and impressionable age. Children--and for that matter, 
many adults--are not getting their news from newspapers; they are 
getting it from social media.
    To ensure our students and staff have access to credible sources 
and varied viewpoints about complex issues, we have expanded our vetted 
instructional materials and resources focused on the Middle East 
crisis, antisemitism, and Islamophobia. Over the coming months, we are 
providing an array of in-depth teacher workshops on these topics. 
Additionally, in direct response to family feedback, we are building a 
brand-new curriculum focused on the Jewish American community and the 
myriad contributions American Jews have made to our country and world.
    We must also educate about the Holocaust. It is state law in New 
York-- it is the right thing to do. For a number of years, my family 
and I lived next door to Holocaust survivors in Teaneck, New Jersey and 
learned about their stories firsthand. As survivors pass on, it is 
essential that we actively work to preserve the memory of this dark 
chapter in our history. As Yom HaShoah earlier this week reminded us, 
we must never forget. That is why we include the Holocaust in our 
Social Studies curriculum in grades 8, 10, and 11 and why we are 
currently creating a robust Holocaust teaching guide for our educators 
in collaboration with the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
    Of course, there is always more to be done, and this work is not 
without its challenges. Leaning into these challenges is the only way 
to make change. That is exactly what we are seeing in many of our 
schools. We have had Jewish and Muslim students band together to write 
solidarity statements. We have had schools connect with Jewish 
organizations to partner on fighting hate. We have had teachers and 
leaders rebuild trust in their communities after trust has been broken.
    This is what it means to create a shared society in a city as 
diverse as New York. This is how we foster respect, acceptance, and 
empathy. This is how we are meeting this moment.
    Thank you again to the Committee for inviting me to testify on this 
critical topic, and I welcome your questions.
                                 ______
                                 
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much Mr. Banks. Ms. 
Silvestre, you are recognized for 5 minutes. Welcome.

STATEMENT OF MS. KARLA SILVESTRE, PRESIDENT, MONTGOMERY COUNTY 
     BOARD OF EDUCATION, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 
                      ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND

    Ms. Silvestre. Chairman Bean, Ranking Member Bonamici, and 
members of the Subcommittee, good morning. My name is Karla 
Silvestre, and I am the President of the Board of Education for 
Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. I appreciate the 
opportunity to speak with you today about our efforts to 
address antisemitism in our school system.
    Let me begin by assuring the Committee the Board of 
Education I lead is committed to combatting antisemitism, hate 
speech, and racism, wherever and whenever we see it. I cannot 
tell you we have gotten it right every time. As a Board, we are 
committed to working with our administrators, and our community 
to constantly improve our processes and our outcomes.
    Montgomery County Public Schools is the 15th largest school 
district in the country with 160,000 students, and nearly 
25,000 employees. We are one of the most diverse districts in 
the Nation, and our families and students come from every major 
religion and ethnicity, and speak over 162 languages at home.
    More than a third of our county residents are foreign born. 
In Montgomery County we have an elected part-time Board of 
Education with a governance and oversight role. The Board sets 
the standard for achievement and accountability. Our core 
mission is education. This is the lens through which we 
approach our relationships with students, employees and the 
community.
    This is the perspective I bring to today's hearing. I also 
bring the perspective of my history, when I was just 8, I came 
to this country to escape the violence stemming from 
Guatemala's Civil War. I became a proud U.S. citizen in 2007 
and went on to be elected to serve on the Board of Education by 
the citizens of Montgomery County.
    I am also the parent of a student in our school system, and 
incidents of antisemitism and hate based language are extremely 
important to me. With that in mind, I know the Committee is 
aware of recent press reports and public complaints around 
antisemitic imagery, language and vandalism in our district.
    Let me be clear, we do not shy away from imposing 
consequences for hate based behavior, including antisemitism. 
Our policies to initiate an investigation each time the school 
system receives a complaint, or we witness particular, 
antisemitic hate filled or racist language or actions.
    There are a range of consequences for teachers and staff. 
If our investigation finds a staff member cannot uphold the 
employee code of conduct and support a safe learning 
environment for all students, they will not remain in 
Montgomery County Public Schools. Student discipline follows 
the student code of conduct, and students' rights and 
responsibilities.
    We are taking affirmative steps to address antisemitism and 
other forms of hate. First, in the past year we revised 
policies and procedures to strengthen our response to 
antisemitism, hate and racist behavior. Second, we have put in 
place a clear reporting process and training for school leaders 
and staff. We are empowering students and families to report 
incidents of harassment, so that we can take action.
    Third, we are working to prevent antisemitic incidents from 
happening in the first place through education. We enhance the 
curriculum throughout K to 12 to expand on topics related to 
the Jewish experience.
    Fourth, we are strengthening our relationships and 
partnerships with our community. We participated in listening 
sessions in synagogues, and this year 12 community 
organizations joined us to form a hate bias advisory group to 
support our collective effort to address hate-based speech and 
incidents, including antisemitism.
    Fifth, starting this summer, we will have mandatory hate 
based training for all staff. In closing, antisemitism has no 
place in Montgomery County Public Schools. The suffering caused 
by antisemitism, hate and racism, interferes with students 
learning and well-being. I want to do everything in my power to 
make sure all students can pursue their education without 
worrying about antisemitic or racist, or hate filled threats.
    We will continue to evaluate our policies and our actions 
to ensure all students and families, every single one of them, 
feel safe, valued and welcome in our school system. I welcome 
the opportunity to continue this important discussion. Thank 
you.
    [The Statement of Ms. Silvestre follows:]

Statement of Ms. Karla Silvestre, President, Montgomery County Board of 
    Education, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, Maryland

    Chairman Bean, Ranking Member Bonamici, Members of the 
Subcommittee, good morning. My name is Karla Silvestre, and I am the 
President of the Board of Education for Montgomery County Public 
Schools in Maryland. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you 
today about our efforts to address antisemitism in our school system.
    Let me begin by assuring the Committee that the Board of Education 
I lead is committed to combating antisemitism, hate speech, and racism 
wherever and whenever we see it.
    I cannot tell you we have gotten it right every single time. As a 
Board, we are committed to working with our administrators and our 
community to constantly improve our processes and outcomes.
    Montgomery County Public Schools is the 15th-largest school 
district in the country, with over 160,000 students and nearly 25,000 
employees. We are one of the most diverse school districts in the 
nation. Our families and students come from every major religion and 
ethnicity, and speak over 162 languages at home. More than a third of 
county residents are foreign born.
    In Montgomery County, we have an elected, part-time Board with a 
governance and oversight role. The Board sets the standard for 
achievement and accountability. Our core mission is education. This is 
the lens through which we approach our relationships with students, 
employees, and our community. This is the perspective I bring to 
today's hearing.
    I also bring the perspective of my history. When I was just eight, 
I came to this country to escape the violence stemming from Guatemala's 
civil war. I became a proud U.S. citizen in 2007 and went on to be 
elected to the Board of Education by the citizens of Montgomery County.
    I am also the parent of children in the school system, and 
incidents of antisemitism and hate-based language are extremely 
important to me.
    With that in mind, I know the Committee is aware of recent press 
reports and public complaints about antisemitic imagery, language, and 
vandalism in our district.
    Let me be clear: We do not shy away from imposing consequences for 
hate-based behavior, including antisemitism. Our policy is to initiate 
an investigation each time the school system receives a complaint or we 
witness particular antisemitic, hate-filled, or racist language or 
actions.
    There is a range of consequences for teachers and staff, and if our 
rigorous investigation finds that a staff member cannot uphold the 
Employee Code of Conduct and support a safe learning environment for 
all students, they will not remain in Montgomery County Public Schools. 
Student discipline follows the Student Code of Conduct and Student 
Rights and Responsibilities.
    We are taking affirmative steps to address antisemitism and other 
forms of hate.
    First, in the past year, we revised policies and procedures to 
strengthen our response to antisemitism, hate, and racist behavior.
    Second, we have put into place a clear reporting process and 
training for school leaders and staff. We are empowering students and 
families to report incidents of bullying and harassment so that we can 
take action.
    Third, through education, we are working to prevent antisemitic 
incidents from happening in the first place. We have enhanced the 
curriculum throughout the K-12 experience to expand on topics related 
to the Jewish experience.
    Fourth, we are strengthening relationships and partnerships with 
our community. We have participated in listening sessions in 
synagogues. This year, 12 community organizations joined us to form the 
Hate-Bias Advisory Group to support our collective effort to address 
hate-based speech and incidents, including antisemitism.
    Fifth, starting this summer, we will have mandatory hate-bias 
training for all staff.
    In closing, antisemitism has no place in Montgomery County Public 
Schools. The suffering caused by antisemitism, hate, and racism 
interferes with students' learning and well-being. I want to do 
everything in my power to make sure all students can pursue their 
education without worrying about antisemitic, racist, or hate-filled 
threats.
    We will continue to evaluate our policies and our actions to ensure 
all students and families, every single one of them, feel safe, valued, 
and welcome in our school system.
    I welcome the opportunity to continue this important discussion.
                                 ______
                                 
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much, Ms. Silvestre, well 
done. Mr. Sykes, welcome to the Committee. You are recognized.

STATEMENT OF MR. EMERSON SYKES, SENIOR STAFF ATTORNEY, AMERICAN 
           CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

    Mr. Sykes. Thank you. Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member 
Scott, Subcommittee Chair Bean, Subcommittee Ranking Member 
Bonamici, and members of the Subcommittee, on behalf of the 
ACLU thank you for the privilege of testifying today.
    I want to start by acknowledging that today's topic, 
confronting antisemitism is a gravely important one. By many 
accounts, antisemitic incidents have been more common in recent 
years, and Jewish colleagues and friends have been struggling.
    I am close with the Law School Dean, and a New York City 
Public High School Principal, both Jewish, who understand full 
well the impact of antisemitism. These Jewish school leaders 
are themselves being accused of antisemitism, or at least 
failing to do enough to stop antisemitism in their school 
communities.
    They are truly in unenviable positions. These are deeply 
complicated and confusing times. I have been invited here not 
to opine on antisemitism, nor to condemn or defend my fellow 
witnesses. Rather, I would like to use my time to make three 
key points. First, I will briefly describe the First Amendment 
and its key principles.
    Second, I will describe how the First Amendment applies in 
the schools. Third, I will suggest more productive ways to deal 
with controversial speech. The text of the First Amendment is 
short, so I will just read it. ``Congress shall make no law 
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the 
free exercise thereof, or bridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.''
    As you notice, the very first word of the First Amendment 
is Congress. You all are the stars of the show. The First 
Amendment is primarily about restricting the government's 
authority related to five related freedoms, religion, speech, 
the press, assembly, and the right to petition.
    Without government action the First Amendment does not 
apply. This is why the First Amendment applies in public 
schools, but generally not in private ones. Bert Newborn, a 
legendary figure at the ACLU has described the poetry behind 
the ordering of the five freedoms protected by the First 
Amendment.
    First, the government cannot regulate your religion. That 
is what you believe, your thoughts, your ideas, and your faith. 
Second, the government cannot abridge the freedom of speech. 
Now you have gone from having an idea, to communicating that 
idea to others around you.
    Third, the government cannot abridge the freedom of the 
press. Now you have gone from an idea, to speaking that idea, 
to those who are within shot, ear shot, to using the press, 
which really means publishing, or otherwise disseminating ideas 
to a wider audience. Fourth, is the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble. Now, you are not just thinking 
something, or saying something, or writing and publishing 
something.
    Now you are gathering and mobilizing people around this 
idea because people like to feel solidarity and share physical 
and digital space. Fifth, is the right to petition the 
government. This means that you have the right not only to have 
an idea, not only to speak that idea, or to publish that idea, 
and not only to galvanize people around this idea, but you have 
the right to bring that idea to the seat of power to redress 
grievances.
    The First Amendment, looking closely at the text, can be 
read as facilitating the journey from an idea to a movement. 
Notwithstanding the strong protections of the First Amendment, 
not all speech is protected. True threats, fighting words, 
incitement and obscenity are categories of unprotected speech 
that we allow the government more leeway in regulating.
    What does all this mean in the K-12 context? The Supreme 
Court has famously said that students and teachers do not lose 
their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate. The Court 
has also recognized that public schools necessarily have more 
authority to regulate speech at school than the government 
would normally have in other contexts.
    The government can regulate official school content, like 
curriculum, as long as its decisions are reasonably related to 
a legitimate educational purpose. Authorities may punish 
student speech only if it will lead to substantial disruption 
within the school environment.
    Outside school students' speech is fully protected by the 
First Amendment. The First Amendment also protects the right to 
access information, including a student's right to access 
information through school library shelves. Despite this, 
school board officials, lawmakers, and others across the 
country have recently stepped up efforts to ban books from 
circulation in libraries.
    Government employees at work are generally not protected by 
the First Amendment, but teachers do maintain their First 
Amendment rights when they are outside of school, just like 
students. Parents also have an important role to play in K-12 
schools. Families may have the right to opt their child out of 
select teachings, but no family has the right to control what 
all children are allowed to learn, including content about 
racism, sexuality, and gender expression.
    Finally, I hope we can remember that when exposed to more 
speech and more information we can and do change our minds. I 
submit that between throwing up our hands and saying there is 
nothing we can do to address controversial speech, and 
excommunicating people because of what they have said or 
thought, are all the good ideas for how schools and communities 
can heal and grow together.
    I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you 
today.
    [The Statement of Mr. Sykes follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much, Mr. Sykes. Ms. Ford 
Morthel, you are recognized. Welcome to the Committee.

STATEMENT OF MS. ENIKIA FORD MORTHEL, SUPERINTENDENT, BERKELEY 
          UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, BERKLEY, CALIFORNIA

    Ms. Ford Morthel. Thank you. Chairman Bean, Ranking Member 
Bonamici, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for asking 
me to participate in this critical conversation about 
antisemitism in K-12 schools.
    I hope to share the ongoing work we are doing in Berkeley 
Unified, to oppose antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of 
hate, and to provide every student safe, welcoming, and 
humanizing classrooms during these challenging times.
    My name is Enikia Ford Morthel, and I am the Superintendent 
of Berkeley Unified School District. I am honored to be the 
steward of the District's powerful mission to enable and 
inspire our diverse student body to achieve academic 
excellence, and make positive contributions to the world.
    I grew up in Inglewood, California, and witnessed how 
naturally brilliant and curious black and brown children, 
thirsty for engagement, were trapped by a narrative that left 
them misunderstood and often ignored. These experiences formed 
the roots of my belief that schools must nurture the heart, 
soul, purpose and intellect of each child.
    In Berkeley Unified, we work to ensure that each and every 
child is seen, valued and educated. We embrace this work every 
day, and it is what called me to do this work in this district. 
Berkeley is a small, diverse, urban school district, serving 
around 9,100 students, in our 11 elementary schools, 3 middle 
schools, and 2 high schools.
    Many know that I often describe our students as our babies. 
As young as 4, they are all someone's baby. Their most prized 
creation. It is a privilege and an awesome responsibility to 
serve them. Public schools reflect the values and aspirations 
of their local communities. Berkeley is no different.
    Our history of activism, social justice, diversity and 
inclusion is alive and well today. We recognize the need to 
teach students to express themselves with respect and 
compassion. This is why we passed a policy against hate speech 
last year. True equity and inclusion requires deep listening, 
ongoing reflection, engagement, and continuous learning.
    As I have engaged members of our Jewish community, some 
have shared painful experiences of antisemitism. Antisemitic 
incidents in our schools are never acceptable, and they are not 
who we are.
    The conflict in the Middle East has directly impacted our 
schools. Students and staff have family and friends who died, 
or were kidnapped during the October 7th Hamas attack, and many 
have deep concern for what is happening in Israel. Berkeley 
born Israeli American Hirsche Goldberg Poland was kidnapped on 
October 7th.
    Members of our community wear tape on their shirts with the 
number of days he, and other hostages have been held captive. 
Today is day 214. Other Berkeley students and staff have family 
and friends who have died, been injured, are missing, or living 
under horrific conditions in Gaza.
    Most heartbreakingly, in both Israel and Gaza, the death 
and suffering includes children. As educators, too often we are 
called upon to address heart wrenching events that occur far 
beyond the walls of our classrooms.
    Our young students with ties to either Israel or Gaza, some 
deeply traumatized by the horror they see and hear, sit side by 
side in our Berkeley classrooms. They are friends. We work hard 
to make sure they are all seen and all safe. Our babies 
sometimes say hurtful things.
    We are mindful that all kids make mistakes. We know that 
our staff are not immune to missteps either, and we do not 
ignore them when they occur. Within days of October 7th, we 
began providing resources to our families and our educators 
about how to support our children, and each other.
    Since October 7th, the District has had formal complaints 
alleging antisemitism arising from 9 incidents within our 
jurisdiction. However, antisemitism is not pervasive in 
Berkeley Unified School District. When investigations show that 
an antisemitic event has occurred, we take action to teach, 
correct, and redirect our students.
    We do not publicly share our actions because student 
information is private, and legally protected under Federal and 
State law. As a result, some believe we do nothing. This is not 
true. Likewise, when an investigation shows that one of our 
educators has crossed the line, we take appropriate action.
    In California, personnel actions are also private and 
legally protected, so a nondisclosure can again be confused 
with inaction. We work proactively to cultivate respect, 
understanding and love in our diverse districts, modeling how 
to uplift and honor each individual that makes up the beautiful 
fabrics of our schools.
    This month for the third year, we are celebrating Jewish 
American Heritage Month. We are a community with differing, 
deeply held beliefs in this challenging moment, and it is and 
can be uncomfortable. As I speak to you right now, our families 
are packing school lunches, students are heading to bus stops, 
and educators are turning on classroom lights.
    Soon the bells will ring, and our students will begin 
learning side by side. I look forward to this conversation this 
morning, but I also look forward to getting back to them, our 
babies, to do and continue to do the work that needs to be done 
in Berkeley. Thank you.
    [The Statement of Ms. Morthel follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Ford Morthel, thank you very much. Under 
Committee Rule 9, we will now question witnesses under the 5-
minute rule. Put the clock on Bean, because I am going to begin 
right now with just some opening yes or no questions to our 
school district leaders. Mr. Banks, does Israel have the right 
to exist as a Jewish state?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Silvestre.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes. Absolutely.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Ford Morthel.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes.
    Chairman Bean. Is the phrase, ``From the river to the sea, 
Palestine will be free.'' Is that antisemitic?
    Mr. Banks. I think most Jewish people experience that as 
antisemitic, and as such, it is not allowed in our schools.
    Chairman Bean. You would say it is?
    Mr. Banks. I would say it is antisemitic.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Silvestre.
    Ms. Silvestre. It is if the intent is the destruction of 
the Jewish people, yes.
    Chairman Bean. It is. It is. I would say I would put you 
down as a yes. Are you okay with that? A yes?
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Ford Morthel. You can just go yes or no.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. It is if it is calling for the 
elimination of the Jewish people in Israel, and I will also say 
that I recognize that it does have different meaning to 
different members of our community.
    Chairman Bean. Yes. I will put you down as a yes. I have 
got to boogie because 5 minutes goes by so fast. Were Hamas 
actions on October 7th, was that a terrorist attack Mr. Banks?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Silvestre.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Ford Morthel.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes.
    Chairman Bean. Is terrorist ever justified?
    Mr. Banks.
    Mr. Banks. I do not think so. Not terrorism, no.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Silvestre.
    Ms. Silvestre. No.
    Chairman Bean. Ms. Ford Morthel.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. I would agree, no.
    Chairman Bean. Congratulations, you all have--you all from 
Florida, you all have all done a remarkable job testifying, but 
just like some college Presidents before you that sat in the 
very same seats, they also in many instances said the right 
thing, but then we watched the TV monitors, and America watched 
the monitors of their campuses on fire with hatred, really 
reversing everything they said that they are protecting 
students, and when they were really not.
    This morning, I attended a gathering, a press conference, 
just a chance for students and teachers and parents in your 
school districts that have said nothing is being done, some 
really horrible things. We have gotten reports in your school 
districts across America, over 246 very vile antisemitic acts 
that have happened.
    Mr. Banks, what are you doing with teachers? Teachers that 
are teaching hate? Have you fired any? Have you gotten rid of 
any? What are your actions say because you are a man that has 
his basis in school safety, and you have said that earlier, but 
have you fired teachers in this?
    Mr. Banks. Anyone that would suggest, I cannot speak for my 
colleagues, but anyone who would suggest that we have not done 
anything that is certainly not correct. We have done quite a 
bit. Again, you have to remember, this is a very large system. 
When incidents arise, we investigate every single one of them. 
We take them very, very seriously.
    We have taken a wide range of disciplinary actions on all 
of these issues, and so----
    Chairman Bean. Have students been fired, expelled?
    Mr. Banks. We do not fire students.
    Chairman Bean. Yes. I stand corrected.
    Mr. Banks. We have given appropriate discipline. I said in 
my opening testimony, a wide range of students who have been 
suspended from school. We have taken action against employees. 
We have terminated people as well.
    Chairman Bean. You have terminated people?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Chairman Bean. Mr. Banks, thank you so much. Ms. Silvestre, 
I met with one of your students this morning who, here is one 
thing, bullies exist. Bullies exist, but this student has said 
but for being Jewish, why he suffered, suffered physical harm. 
Have you expelled students and teachers?
    Ms. Silvestre. In terms of speaking first about teachers. 
We have taken action in some cases. We put them [cut off] --
    Chairman Bean. You have gotten rid of teachers? You said 
they do not belong in Montgomery County Schools. You are 
teaching hatred, and we are going to get rid of you. Has that 
happened?
    Ms. Silvestre. We have taken disciplinary action. Yes.
    Chairman Bean. Have you fired anybody?
    Ms. Silvestre. No.
    Chairman Bean. With--so you allow them to continue to teach 
hate. One of the teachers, one of the people in this--at this 
meeting I gathered was one of your teachers. One of your 
teachers, who is Jewish, who is scared for her life, and has 
suffered greatly because she is reporting antisemitism on your 
campus at one of your schools, yet she is the one that is 
suffering. Are you aware of this?
    Ms. Silvestre. I do not have all the details of that case, 
but retaliation against teachers is not acceptable in our 
school district.
    Chairman Bean. You have not fired anybody. Do you think 
people need to be fired if they are teaching hate, hatred, and 
letting people?
    Ms. Silvestre. Absolutely. As part of our process the 
teachers that have been disciplined know that if this happens 
ever again there will be deeper consequences up to and 
including termination.
    Chairman Bean. You are going to have to face these people, 
and I am telling you they are fired up, and they have stories 
that are heartbreaking, heartbreaking. It is hard enough to go 
to school as a kid without suffering. It is just a shame. I 
think we are better than this as a Nation. It is time to all 
stand together.
    I have got so many questions, and I will now yield to 
Ranking Member Bonamici for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much Chairman. Thank you to 
the witnesses. As I stated in my opening statement, there is a 
need to balance the civil rights of students to be free from 
discrimination under Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act, with the 
First Amendment right to free speech and expression.
    I want to reiterate that we must stand together against 
antisemitism and do more to combat the harassment of Jewish 
students. First and foremost, we must support the Department of 
Education's Office of Civil Rights. OCR is the primary office 
for investigating and intervening in Title 6 violations, and 
that is true both in K-12 schools, and on college campuses.
    OCR continues to investigate a record number of incidents 
of discrimination and hate, receiving more than 19,000 
complaints in 2023. 2024 the office has already seen about a 26 
percent increase in complaints. Despite those challenges and 
increasing cases, OCR has only half the staff that it had when 
it was established 45 years ago.
    Half the staff, but a significant increase in the number of 
cases. There is no question that more resources are needed to 
hire additional staff and increase the capacity of the office 
to fulfill its mission. Unfortunately, the Appropriations 
Committee majority has proposed a 25 percent cut to the program 
for Fiscal Year 2024.
    We cannot cut a program when there is increased need, and 
there is already only half the staff it had 45 years ago. Well 
thankfully, this cut was not enacted, but as other members of 
this Committee would agree, maintaining funding at the current 
level is still not enough given the volume of discriminatory 
instances in our Nation's school.
    I am going to start with a question for Chancellor Banks.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Ms. Bonamici. What steps has your school system taken to 
address antisemitism proactively before it becomes a problem? 
For example, can you tell us more about your meeting the moment 
plan, and the ways that it addresses safety, education and 
engagement?
    Mr. Banks. Yes. First of all, as we talk about safety 
because we really start with that, and that is reinforced by 
the fact that we take action in every single one of these 
cases. Whenever an issue is brought to our attention, I cannot 
State that I can prevent every incident from ever happening, 
but our role as leaders are to make sure that once it is 
brought to our attention that we respond in an appropriate 
fashion, and that is what we have been doing.
    Since this time, we have had 281 incidents since October 
7th. Approximately 42 percent were antisemitic, and 30 percent 
were Islamophobic. This is an issue that ranges on both sides. 
We take every single one of those very, very seriously. We 
investigate, and then we initiate the appropriate level of 
conduct.
    I have got a--this is our student code of conduct. It is a 
40 plus page document that is been developed over many, many 
years. We certainly would seek to enter this into evidence for, 
or put this on the record for this Committee, but----
    Ms. Bonamici. I ask that that be admitted into the record.
    Chairman Bean. Without objection.
    [The Information of Ms. Bonamici follows:]
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    Mr. Banks. Thank you. There are a wide range of 
disciplinary processes that take place. We also have to follow 
a process of due process. Teachers are represented by unions, 
they have rights, and we engage them in that process.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you. I do want to get to the other 
witnesses.
    Mr. Banks. Sure.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you so much. I know you have all 
expressed a desire to work with outside groups to address 
antisemitism in your school district, so both Ms. Silvestre and 
Ms. Ford Morthel, what is your approach? How do you anticipate 
that it will help prevent issues of and instances of 
antisemitism, please start with Ms. Silvestre, and then Ms. 
Ford Morthel.
    Ms. Silvestre. Our partnerships with our community 
organizations bring expertise, cultural expertise, that maybe 
some of our school leaders do not have, and so they help 
enhance the work that we do with our, in this case, a hate bias 
action plan. We have 12 different community groups from various 
perspectives to make, to help us get it right.
    We want to get it right, and these community groups will 
help us do that.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you.
    Ms. Ford Morthel.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Thank you. I would agree with Ms. 
Silvestre that it is both bringing expertise, but it is also 
bringing what I think is really important, the opportunity to 
really listen and learn and understand different perspectives 
and experiences.
    That is something that we do in Berkeley that we really 
value, and we do believe in the value of collective, coming in 
and sharing different ideas, perspectives, and different ways 
to address issues.
    We truly believe that not just the expertise, and sharing 
of experiences, but the collaboration, and bringing together of 
different minds and hearts will lead us to the best way to 
address it.
    Ms. Bonamici. I am almost out of time, but in my remaining 
35 seconds, Mr. Sykes, if you could just summarize what is the 
interplay between Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act and the First 
Amendment in schools?
    Mr. Sykes. Sure. Thank you. The schools must act when there 
is a hostile educational environment under Title 6. That means 
there is unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic 
that is subjectively, or objectively offensive, and so severe 
or pervasive that it limits or denies a person's ability to 
participate in, or benefit from an educational program.
    The law is clear that these schools must act in those 
situations, notwithstanding the tinker test that we described 
before.
    Ms. Bonamici. Do you agree that we need funding to do that?
    Mr. Sykes. Absolutely.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you. I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much Ranking Member. We will 
now go to the great State of Utah, Mr. Burgess, you are 
recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Owens. Thank you. First of all, thank you for the 
witnesses for being here today. It is one thing to hear about 
the bigoted behavior present on today's college campuses. It is 
appalling to hear that teachers are doing the same in our 
classrooms. Spreading the vitriol of hate to our children, and 
classrooms throughout our Nation.
    Unfortunately, and all too often these carriers of hate are 
teachers and school administrators, and this is going down to 
our kids they are supposed to be teaching. Children as young as 
second grade are being taught to hate Jews. How did this come 
about?
    Mr. Banks, I have a quick question.
    Mr. Banks. Sure.
    Mr. Owens. In the press release shortly after the events of 
Hillcrest High School where students stormed the building 
demanding a teacher's resignation, and attempted to enter the 
teacher's room where she said where she hid. You said this 
notion that this place, these kids are radicalized, and 
antisemitic is the height of your responsibility.
    Do you think that these kids were not radicalized? Do you 
stand by that statement?
    Mr. Banks. First of all, let me say this. Hillcrest High 
School is the school that I graduated from, so that school is 
very personal.
    Mr. Owens. I am sorry. I only have a few minutes. This 
statement, do you still stand by this statement?
    Mr. Banks. My statement at that time was that yes, I stand 
by that statement. The entire school is not radicalized. Yes.
    Mr. Owens. All right. If this is a black teacher, and these 
are kids coming in because of her skin, because of her 
background, hiding out for 2 hours in a classroom, these are 
high school kids.
    Mr. Banks. I know that.
    Mr. Owens. Would you still say that this is not 
radicalized? There is something wrong with this?
    Mr. Banks. Those kids engaged--the kids who were 
responsible who led that effort engaged clearly in an act of 
antisemitism. I dealt with that in response to it.
    Mr. Owens. I really have to cut to the chase. My question 
is if this is a black teacher being threatened and pushed by 
some white bigots, would you still say that these kids are not 
a problem, that is it is not being radicalized?
    Mr. Banks. No. If it was a black teacher that was being 
targeted, absolutely unacceptable, and this was unacceptable. 
We absolutely took action, including removing the principal of 
the school.
    Mr. Owens. I am sorry. Were there any consequences? I mean 
I am hearing nice words, really nice words here, teaching, 
redirecting, directing, what I am missing is discipline, and I 
am missing the word ``fired.'' Has anything happened to these 
kids that did this? This teacher is hiding out for 2 hours.
    Mr. Banks. Well, I am not sure if you heard clearly from 
what I said. What I said was very clear. We suspended a number 
of students who were the leaders at Hillcrest High School, No. 
1. No. 2, we removed the principal of that school for a lack of 
leadership and oversight. I do not know how to make it much 
clearer.
    I condemn clearly what happened at Hillcrest was a complete 
act of antisemitism. It will not stand on my watch. We 
responded, and I do not know how to make it any clearer.
    Mr. Owens. Okay. Thank you so much. I am glad to hear that 
somebody was fired in that. Was the principal fired, or just 
transferred to another school?
    Mr. Banks. The principal was removed from the school.
    Mr. Owens. Was he taken to another school?
    Mr. Banks. He is not in another school. No. He is not in 
front of any more children.
    Mr. Owens. Okay, okay. Ms. Morthel, the Brandeis Center as 
reported at most, misguided administrators have attempted to 
resolve problems involving teachers by moving students, Jewish 
students and Israeli students into new classes. As a result, 
antisemitism, antisemitism is normalized.
    A quick question. How does this work? You find teachers 
that are bigots, and instead of firing them you transfer them 
to another school where they can still remain bigots? Is that 
the way this works?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. I am a little confused by the question. 
You start with students being moved, and then you went to 
teachers being moved. I will tell you that it is not something 
that we normalize. It is not something that we agree with, and 
we take action every time, if there is any concern.
    Mr. Owens. Okay. Yes. I am just trying to understand how 
this works. When you have teachers that are teaching hate to 
our kids, and showing it, and our students are feeling fearful 
for this, are they fired, or are they just transferred to 
another school? It appears that they are just moving to another 
place.
    In this case here, yes, I guess that is the question that I 
have. How is this being resolved?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. If we have a concern or a complaint about 
antisemitism, or any form of hate we take it very seriously. We 
investigate and we take action pending the outcome of that 
investigation.
    Mr. Owens. Okay. All right. I guess the action is not 
firing them, it is just moving them someplace. The word action 
is very subjective, obviously. Ms. Silvestre, real quickly, 
there have been several complaints filed by the Department of 
Education of Civil Rights, and again what resulted in what 
administrative leave, and the three others merely being 
transferred.
    I am going to ask you the same questions. How is this 
working out? Do we have a process in which you actually get bad 
teachers out of the classroom, bad administrations that are 
teaching our kids to hate like this? Are you addressing that at 
all?
    Ms. Silvestre. In all of those cases the teachers were put 
on leave, so that we could do a thorough investigation. 
Disciplinary action was taken.
    Mr. Owens. I guess I am just concerned. We want results. We 
want discipline. We see what has happened to our kids, and we 
are not taking out the cancer, which is these teachers coming 
in, and administrators that's pushing down their hate.
    Every day in these classrooms is a bad day for our kids, so 
are we getting rid of any of these people, or just taking 
action, other actions?
    Ms. Silvestre. Disciplinary action has been taken in all of 
those cases and they understand any other further action will 
lead up to termination.
    Mr. Owens. Okay. My time has expired.
    Chairman Bean. Representative Owens, thank you very much. 
Let us go to the great Northern Mariana Islands where Mr. 
Sablan is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Sablan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and good 
morning to our witnesses. Welcome. This is a really difficult 
issue. It is an issue difficult for me also because it has 
happened in my District in the past, but in my observation, and 
I visit schools very frequently, on almost every trip I take 
home.
    I do not see that existing in our schools, and there is a 
diversity of different ethnicities, different people. I am not 
sure why. There may be something in there, there has got to be. 
There is bullying I am aware of. I have two teachers in my 
family, there is bullying. I am not sure about antisemitism, or 
Islamophobia. There must be, but it is not obvious.
    I have to ask a question of Mr. Sykes for starters, may I 
sir? Institutions that are owned or acting on behalf of the 
government and the State, such as K12 school, must respect 
Constitutional free speech of individuals, but that does not 
mean that some schools must allow their campuses to become 
institutions for hate speech if it is pervasive.
    Given the First Amendment speech protections, how can a 
public school work to make its campus a welcome space for all 
students in the face of the incidents of hate speech, of any 
kind on campus generally?
    Mr. Sykes. Thank you. As the only noneducator on the panel. 
I will do my best to answer, but I think the work of creating 
an inclusive environment where students feel free to express 
themselves, and to learn and grow happens long before any of 
these particular incidents.
    I think it is a part of establishing a school community 
that is accepting and welcoming. As I said, we at the ACLU 
believe strongly in the importance of protecting the free 
speech rights of students, of teachers, and of parents, but 
those are not unlimited. As I mentioned, Title 6 says that the 
schools must act when there is a hostile educational 
environment.
    If I can just respond to the previous questions, it does 
not say that someone must be fired. I think we need to think a 
little bit more creatively about how we can respond to 
antisemitism and root out this idea.
    Mr. Sablan. I do not want anyone fired, sir.
    Mr. Sykes. Firing may be appropriate in certain 
circumstances, but I think we need to think about how we can 
address antisemitism, change hearts and minds, make children 
safe, without only looking to the most punitive tool in our 
toolbox.
    Mr. Sablan. I yield my remaining time to Ms. Manning. Thank 
you. I yield.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you, Mr. Sablan. First, I want to thank 
you all for your testimony and your condemnation of 
antisemitism and the steps you are taking. As we all know, we 
are facing a particularly difficult time for Jewish students 
and their parents.
    I have talked with Jewish students in my District, who are 
experiencing antisemitism in North Carolina. This is 
traumatizing kids, it is distressing parents, it is putting 
pressure on teachers and principals and superintendents. I feel 
strongly that this can be a powerful teaching moment.
    This is the time when schools should do what we expect them 
to do. They should teach. They should teach the facts. They 
should teach understanding. They should teach empathy, and they 
should teach critical thinking skills. Many students--many 
teachers, rather, are struggling to figure out how to handle 
the different kinds of antisemitism that is going on.
    Not only to teach the Holocaust, but also in discussing 
what is going on in the Middle East. Sadly, some teachers are 
simply getting the facts wrong, and they are adding to the 
distress of students and parents.
    I would like to start and I am going to have to pick up 
when my time picks up later, if each of you could describe what 
resources are your teachers using to navigate the difficult 
questions about antisemitism, or the Israel Gaza conflict? Mr. 
Banks, let us start with you.
    Mr. Banks. I know we only have a short amount of time, but 
this is where we engage our partners. I am joined today by 
Devora Halberstam, who is here, whose son Ari was killed in one 
of the most heinous acts of antisemitism, almost 30 years ago.
    She created the Jewish Children's Museum to teach the 
history. I have sent thousands of students to this museum, and 
we were going to continue to send even more. I am joined by 
Michael Cohen from the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance. 
They are in our schools. They have gone to Hillcrest, and they 
are engaged in this process.
    We are trying to avoid just casting aspersions, we are 
trying to lean in to how you teach. That is how you will solve 
for antisemitism.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you. My time--this time has expired. I 
will be back later, thank you so much.
    Chairman Bean. Let us go to the great State of Michigan, 
where Representative McClain is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. McClain. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I just have to make 
one comment, Mr. Sykes, therein lies the problem. Your ability 
to tolerate this behavior is completely unacceptable, and 
sometimes you do need to use the stick because disincentives 
work.
    With that, I was just appalled by that answer, but at any 
rate. Mr. Banks, I appreciate your passion. I love it. It is so 
refreshing to see. I am going to ask a couple questions. I 
think they are really simple, but then I want to move to 
outcomes, and what we can do to actually make change, because I 
think you said something very inciteful.
    We need to get to the root of the problem and change the 
curriculum, and change how we teach, right? I am assuming you 
are going to agree with me, but let me just--``Death to 
Israel,'' is that antisemitic?
    Mr. Banks. Of course it is.
    Mrs. McClain. Of course. ``Kill the Jews.'' Antisemitic?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Mrs. McClain. Absolutely. Drawing swastikas or mimicking 
Hitler, is that antisemitic?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely. A hate crime in New York, yes.
    Mrs. McClain. Of course. All of these activities are 
antisemitic, vandalism of school property, right? Rioting, we 
agree on that, right? We talk about taking action, right? 
Action is a vague term, so let us move from actions to outcomes 
because sometimes when we take action, we do not get the 
desired outcome we appreciate, or we want, right?
    Mr. Banks. Sure.
    Mrs. McClain. Let us take a look at what actions you have 
taken, and what has been the result of reducing the 
antisemitism in your schools?
    Mr. Banks. Let me give you an example. An example of what 
was raised was Hillcrest High School, very passionately brought 
up. My alma mater that I went to where a Jewish teacher was 
targeted in a frightening episode. We did not accept that. We 
pushed back on that tremendously.
    Mrs. McClain. Can you give me an example of pushback, 
because to me pushback is that those people are dealt with 
swiftly, but what is your definition of pushback?
    Mr. Banks. In terms of outcomes, what I meant was we 
suspended students, we removed the principal of the school, we 
engaged the Simon Wiesenthal Center for a deeper dive into 
education of those kids. The teacher who was targeted made a 
decision, I think one of the most heroic things I have ever 
heard, to actually come back.
    She could have gone to another school. She made a decision 
to say if I am going to change this----
    Mrs. McClain. You fired the people? You fired the----
    Mr. Banks. Yes. We moved people, absolutely. The outcome is 
that what is happening at that school now has transformed in 
significant ways. We are not fully arrived. This is a work in 
progress.
    Mrs. McClain. I get it. I get it. What have you done to 
change your curriculum?
    Mr. Banks. Yes. We have engaged in a wide range of new 
resource guides teaching about antisemitism, and teaching about 
the Holocaust.
    Mrs. McClain. What are those resource guides?
    Mr. Banks. Excuse me?
    Mrs. McClain. What are those resource guides?
    Mr. Banks. The resource, we are working together with the 
Museum of Jewish History.
    Mrs. McClain. Okay.
    Mr. Banks. In New York City, who is helping us to create an 
educated guide for teachers.
    Mrs. McClain. I would offer one solution as well, because a 
lot of times we come up here and we just talk about problems. 
One solution is Morris Life does a really good job of teaching 
antisemitism, and really ruling out hate around the Holocaust 
and what not.
    I think where everyone gets frustrated is we use these 
words like pushback, and I think we have to have a real clear 
definition of if X happens, if you vandalize school property, 
if you perform antisemitic acts, then here is a clear policy 
that will be dealt with swiftly and justly. Am I hearing you 
say today that those policies are in place?
    Mr. Banks. Those policies are in place. Here is the 
challenge.
    Mrs. McClain. Okay.
    Mr. Banks. These things do not always come down to so clear 
yes and no. I will give you an example. We had a school where a 
teacher hung up a map of the Middle East that eliminated Israel 
from the map. The question is, is that antisemitic? To me that 
is antisemitic, and we had it removed.
    Others have said did you fire her? She said essentially, I 
made a mistake. I did not intend it to be antisemitic, and she 
had a reason for it.
    Mrs. McClain. Just a moment. How do your administrators 
respond to students that ignore authority, right? I think we 
have three perpetrators here. We have the students, we have the 
teachers, and we have the administrators, right?
    Mr. Banks. Right.
    Mrs. McClain. I think all three of those people need to be 
dealt with, and need to be dealt with swiftly and justly, so 
with that I apologize, I am out of time, but I would like to 
see your written response to how you deal with antisemitism as 
it pertains to those three entities, students, administrators 
and teachers.
    Mr. Banks. Sure.
    Mrs. McClain. With that, thank you Mr. Chairman. I yield 
back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. From the great State of 
California, Representative DeSaulnier is recognized for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank 
the witnesses. Sorry, we were having a conversation, a 
collegial conversation here. Let us start by everything, 
everyone in this room I believe agrees to and you stated, 
antisemitism is unacceptable.
    All students deserve to be free from hate and be safe to 
learn and thrive. We need to support all students who are being 
threatened on school campuses and stand against all forms of 
hate. Any student who feels unsafe, or discriminated against, 
deserves to have their case investigated, and the Department of 
Education's Office of Civil Rights should take all credible 
claims seriously and investigate.
    Superintendent, I am a neighbor. I represent the district 
just to the east of Berkeley. I used to own a business in 
Berkeley. I love the atmosphere in Berkeley, the openness, but 
it does create certain frictions, openness, I think you would 
agree. Is that happening right now? Is the Department of 
Education investigating civil rights complaints?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes. There is an open investigation now 
from the Office of Civil Rights for Berkeley Unified.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. You are cooperating with that fully, 
correct?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. We are fully intending to cooperate. We 
just received the letter yesterday actually informing us 
officially of that complaint, and we do see it as an 
opportunity to reflect and grow and continue to move toward our 
mission and values.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. You and your Board have done everything to 
reasonably stop a complaint from coming, and you believe that 
the process will show that?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. We believe the process will show that.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I would like to 
insert into the record letters from Berkeley parents and 
community members, teachers, detailing the difficulties that 
schools face in addressing the war in Gaza, and in support of 
the Superintendent and the Board to build and maintain a safe 
and learning environment.
    There are also letters from Jewish parents about Berkeley 
Unified School District's support for Jewish students. I would 
like to submit that for the record.
    Chairman Bean. Without objection, so ordered, without 
objection.
    [The Information of Mr. DeSaulnier follows:]
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    Mr. DeSaulnier. Mr. Emerson cites the balance between free 
speech and protecting students is what we are challenged by. 
Justice Holmes and Justice Brandeis wrote about this 
extensively. Justice Holmes talked about screaming fire in a 
crowded room. Justice Brandeis, the first Jewish member of the 
Supreme Court, talked about the antidote to this. I am 
paraphrasing, to challenges of irrational fear is more speech, 
not less speech.
    Could you talk to a little bit of that? He actually has a 
quote where he talks about the threat of violence alone, and I 
am quoting from him now from memory, ``Should not stop free 
speech.'' In that quote, he talked about men burnt women as 
witches, and we cannot condone that either.
    This balance that Brandeis and Holmes struggled with all 
those years ago, is your forte. How are we balancing that right 
now?
    Mr. Sykes. Thank you. The rules that apply according to the 
Constitution and statutes differ whether you are in a crowded 
movie theater, or in a public square, or in a K-12 school. In 
the context that we are talking about today, on the one hand we 
have robust protections for the free speech rights of Velez. 
The Supreme Court has also said you do not lose your 
Constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gates.
    You have the right to hold your opinions, to share your 
opinions, so long as they are within the bounds of the school 
context. The school must act, as I have said, when there is a 
hostile educational environment. A lot of what we are dealing 
with today is how have schools responded in those situations. I 
think as a husband of a public school teacher, and the parent 
of public school students, I understand that when they make 
mistakes, we do not send them to their room. We try to help 
them understand what they have done wrong.
    We try to help them understand the impact that they have 
had on others, try to figure out how to make the people who 
have been harmed feel whole, and try to change behaviors in the 
future. I know that good teachers and administrators across the 
country are doing their best to do that now, and this is the 
everyday work of schools.
    Trying to nurture students, trying to help them grow, while 
also making them safe.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. Do you believe listening to testimony of 
your fellow panelists today that they are doing that?
    Mr. Sykes. I can only assume that they are doing the best.
    Mr. DeSaulnier. I find it interesting that some of the 
members of the Committee are prejudging, for instance, the case 
in Berkeley, at the same time we have a court case in New York 
about people complaining about being prejudged in that one. I 
think really what I hope comes out of this conversation today, 
and continues in the spirit of bipartisanship, is that we all 
again say that hatred in any form, particularly in schools, is 
completely unacceptable from the U.S. Congress.
    That we would adhere to the laws as they are, and if there 
is something wrong with them, we would work together to correct 
that. Thank you, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much Representative. Let us 
stay in the great State of California, and Representative Kiley 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Kiley. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Is it Dr.--I am sorry, I 
am having trouble reading your last name, Ford. Yes, Ms. Ford. 
I do not know if we have an answer to you as to whether there 
have been any professors terminated at your school for 
antisemitic words or conduct?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. The answer was that I am not able to 
speak about personnel matters, but what I can say to you is we 
investigate every complaint and concern thoroughly and 
thoughtfully, and we take action.
    Mr. Kiley. Sure. I am not asking you to give us names or 
anything, but can you just tell us in general has anyone been 
terminated?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. In general, I can say to you that I can't 
speak about personnel matters, but I can tell you that we do 
up, and we take action.
    Mr. Kiley. I am pretty sure your colleague, Mr. Banks, gave 
us an answer, so you cannot?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. I respect and appreciate that, but I am 
not going to be able to do that. I can let you know that again 
when any issue comes up, we investigate it, and pending the 
outcome of that investigation, we do take action. Those actions 
range.
    Mr. Kiley. Okay. Thank you. You gave us a statement in your 
testimony where you said that any suggestion or assertion that 
antisemitism is pervasive in BUSD, that is your district, is 
false. However, the Brandeis Center and the Anti-Defamation 
League have, as we mentioned, filed a complaint.
    For the sake of brevity I will read from their release, 
summarizing what is in it. It says incidents include students 
repeatedly hearing antisemitic comments in classrooms and 
hallways, such as ``Kill the Jews.'' Non-Jewish students asking 
Jewish students what their number is, referring to numbers 
tattooed on Jews during the Holocaust.
    Jewish students being derided for their physical appearance 
and demonized as evil. Students have also had to endure 
antisemitic teacher rants and class activities, teacher 
promoted walkouts and praise Hamas, and even a second-grade 
teacher leading a classroom activity, or children were writing, 
``Stop bombing babies'' on sticky notes to display in the 
building.
    Jewish students report being worried about mob violence, 
including being jumped at school. Many have said they remove 
their Stars of David, and no longer wear Jewish camp t-shirts. 
They are learning to keep their heads down, hide their Judaism, 
and move through their school days in fear.
    Some students have left the district due to pervasive 
bullying. Parents have repeatedly reported antisemitic 
incidents to the administration, but the USD has done nothing 
to address, much less curtain, the hostile environment. The 
eruption of antisemitism in Berkeley's elementary and high 
schools is like nothing I have ever seen before, said Kenneth 
Marcus, Chairman of the Brandeis Center, and former U.S. 
Assistant Secretary of Education.
    You testified today, any suggestion or assertion that 
antisemitism is pervasive at the USD is false. My question is 
if you are not willing to acknowledge the problem, why can we 
be confident that it is being adequately addressed?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. You can be confident that I am there in 
my schools every day, in the schools and the classrooms with 
the babies. I am very clear that antisemitism, there have been 
incidents of antisemitism in Berkeley Unified School District, 
and every single time that we are aware of such an instance, we 
take action and we up, and we take appropriate action at that.
    Mr. Kiley. Okay. Can I ask you about the Israel Palestine 
curriculum that has been introduced in some classes in the wake 
of October 7th? Did you approve this curriculum?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. We do have a controversial policy that 
says if something is instigated or incited by our students, 
which was the case with this, that our teachers can respond. 
Yes, in response to both student interest and parent interest, 
sorry, parent interest to discuss this in our classrooms, we 
did have a group of teachers who did try to create lessons to 
respond to the moment and engage our students in conversations.
    Mr. Kiley. You approved it? You approved the curriculum?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. That our teachers did create. Yes.
    Mr. Kiley. Okay. If one of the slides in this curriculum 
said for some Palestinians from the river to the sea is a call 
for freedom and peace, and then cited a supported quote from 
Congresswoman Tlaib, who was censured by this body in a 
bipartisan vote. Do you think that is an appropriate thing to 
have on the slide for students?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. What was on the slide? Say it again, 
please.
    Mr. Kiley. It said for some Palestinians from the river to 
the sea is a call for freedom and peace. Do you think that is 
appropriate?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. We definitely believe that it is 
important to expose our students to a diversity of ideas and 
perspectives. If it was presented as a perspective, I do think 
it is appropriate.
    Mr. Kiley. You do. You think, I mean, I think is it any 
wonder, you said earlier you thought this was antisemitic, and 
you know, you put this on a slide in the classroom, and then 
students go around the halls saying it. I do not think there is 
anything surprising about that.
    I wanted to also ask you about the ethnic studies 
curriculum you have, because I think you contract with a group 
called The Liberated Ethnic Studies Consortium, is that right?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes.
    Mr. Kiley. This consortium as I understand it grew out of 
the initial working group from California's model ethnic 
studies curriculum, and the original version of that was 
universally condemned as antisemitic. 14 members of the 
legislature, all Democrats, said it is difficult to fathom why 
the State of California would want to actively promote a 
narrative about Jews that echoes the propaganda of the Nazi 
regime.
    Even Gavin Newsom said the curriculum was offensive in so 
many ways it would never see the light of day. It was revised, 
but this Liberated Ethnic Studies Consortium was those--offers 
the original version of it. They split off through the group 
and said we are going to stick with the original antisemitic 
version, and that is the version that you went out and decided 
to have in your classrooms. Is that right?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. That is actually incorrect, Congressman. 
I thank you for the opportunity to clarify.
    Mr. Kiley. Okay, please.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Berkeley Unified School District has not 
purchased any curriculum from Liberated Ethnic Studies 
Consortium. In fact, our ethnic studies curriculum is created 
in house if you will. We pride ourselves on having----
    Mr. Kiley. Oh, I am sorry. Maybe I misunderstood you. I 
thought you said you contracted with the Liberated Ethnic 
Studies Consortium.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. We have Liberated Ethnic Studies as a 
thought partner. Our teachers and our staff and our community 
members actually create our curriculum, so we are not 
purchasing or buying any curriculum from Liberated Ethnic 
Studies.
    Mr. Kiley. I do not understand what the difference between 
a thought partner and working with them on curriculum is.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Oh, for sure I can explain it to you. 
Liberated Ethnic Studies is one of two experts in the field of 
ethnic studies that Berkeley Unified School District evaluated 
to partner with. Our curriculum, our units that are being 
created, the ethnic studies units, are created by our 
educators, in partnership with community members, et cetera.
    Mr. Kiley. Thank you very much. My time has expired, but I 
will just say, Mr. Chair, that you specifically chose to work 
with a group whose work product was rejected by political 
leaders throughout California as antisemitic, and so I do not 
think it is any wonder then that you see antisemitism suddenly 
become rampant.
    Chairman Bean. The gentleman's time is expired.
    Mr. Kiley. Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. Let us go to the great 
State of New York, Representative Bowman, you are recognized 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Bowman. Thank you so much. Chancellor Banks, you did 
not just roll out of bed and become a Chancellor. Your 
background is not only in school safety, but you were also a 
classroom teacher, and you are also the founder of two highly 
regarded high schools, the School of Law, Government and 
Justice, in the Bronx, and the first all-male school in the 
Bronx as well, the Eagle Academy for Young Men.
    I want you to speak to us briefly about the curriculum that 
is being implemented in New York City schools to address the 
issue of antisemitism and all hate. Please be as concise as 
possible because I have at least two more questions to ask.
    Mr. Banks. Sure. Thank you so much for the question. No. 1, 
teaching about the Holocaust, first of all is required by New 
York State Law, it is important to know. We also covered the 
Holocaust in grades 8, 10, and 11, and our social studies 
curriculum, as well as in a range of our ELA classes, including 
literature, like the Diary of Anne Frank, Night, and many other 
literary pieces.
    We are also now working on the Holocaust resource guide, 
which is going to be available this fall in collaboration with 
the Museum of Jewish Heritage. The thing I think we are really 
super excited about is we are developing a very robust 
comprehensive curriculum, new curriculum, it is going to be 
about a year before it is ready to go that is going to cover 
the entire range of Jewish history.
    Children need to understand deeply about the history of the 
Jewish people if we ultimately want to solve for this issue of 
antisemitism.
    Mr. Bowman. I appreciate that, because that was going to be 
my suggestion because Jewish history did not start with the 
Holocaust.
    Mr. Banks. It is beyond the Holocaust.
    Mr. Bowman. The entire persecution that our kids need to 
learn about. There is also a part of history where the Jewish 
people and Muslims and Christians lived together in harmony in 
the Middle East in different parts of the world, and I want to 
suggest you teach that as part of the curriculum as well.
    Mr. Sykes, can you talk about the distinction between 
antisemitic speech and speech that expresses solidarity with 
Palestinians, or criticisms of Israel? Why is it dangerous to 
conflate the two?
    Mr. Sykes. Thank you. The ACLU has spoken out against the 
Antisemitism Awareness Act, not because we have any problem 
with antisemitism awareness, obviously, but because it 
incorporated a definition of antisemitism that includes 
criticism of Israel. Just as it is totally legitimate to 
criticize the U.S. Government, or U.S. Government officials 
without necessarily casting aspersions on any particular 
individual, the government of Israel is certainly subject to 
criticism just like all others.
    Where that goes into ethnic based hatred, or targeting of 
particular individuals, obviously schools and communities can 
and should respond. The right to dissent against our government 
and against others is core to free speech.
    Mr. Bowman. Thank you so much. I just have a closing 
comment to make. Thank you all for being here. Thank you for 
your testimony and thank you for your clarity around when you 
identified antisemitism, you respond swiftly and decisively 
because it needs to be condemned, and it needs to be handled 
accordingly.
    I appreciate you all for being here and sharing that with 
us. What I am going to ask of you because I have been very 
disturbed by some of the language that has come from the other 
side of the aisle, language around teaching hate. Our teachers 
and our schools are not teaching hate, the majority of them.
    When I say majority, I mean 99.9 percent. I am a former 
educator in New York City schools, I have never seen that. 
Teachers make mistakes, and teachers need to be educated and 
disciplined when necessary, when they do make those mistakes. 
Yes or no question, just going down the line starting with Mr. 
Banks.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Mr. Bowman. Can we fight against antisemitism, and other 
forms of hate simultaneously, yes, or no?
    Mr. Banks. Not only can, we must.
    Mr. Bowman. Okay.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes.
    Mr. Sykes. Yes.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Of course.
    Mr. Bowman. Yes. It is really important because there has 
also been reports in the rise of Islamophobia, in New York City 
schools, and across the country. Do you all agree with that, 
yes or no?
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes.
    Mr. Sykes. Yes.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes.
    Mr. Bowman. Yes. Does sexism still exist in our society?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes.
    Mr. Sykes. Of course.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes.
    Mr. Bowman. Does anti-black racism still exist in our 
society?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes.
    Mr. Sykes. Yes.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes.
    Mr. Bowman. We must fight hate in all its forms at the same 
time. I have Members of Congress talking about teachers 
teaching hate, none of them have an education background by the 
way, it is all about teachers teaching hate. I work in 
Congress. When you go in the rotunda and you look at American 
history, you see colonists coming in, and taking over America 
from the Native Americans.
    There is no reference to the black people who built this 
country in our rotunda, but we are scolding you about teaching 
hate. Do you know how many black statues there are in the 
Capitol? Three. Do you know how many confederate statutes there 
are in the capital? Twelve.
    I work in an institution that teaches hate and with our 
policy. We are scolding you as educators who have been doing 
a--statutory role, thank you,--yet we are scolding you as 
educators who have been doing an exemplary job fighting against 
hate in our schools, so thank you for your work, please 
continue to educate us.
    Chairman Bean. Let us stay in the State of New York where 
Mr. Representative Williams, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Williams. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for 
holding this critically important and timely hearing. I believe 
it is the moral issue of our time. When I was elected to 
Congress less than 2 years ago, I was alarmed that threats of 
violence against synagogues, Jews, and Jewish institutions were 
on the rise.
    In March of last year as one of my first legislative acts, 
right here in this very room, I introduced an amendment to 
House Bill Number 5, requiring and I quote, ``It is the sense 
of Congress that all public elementary schools and secondary 
school students should have the opportunities to learn the 
history of the Holocaust and antisemitism.''
    All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good people 
to do nothing, and 7 months before the horrific events on 
October 7th, this Committee had the opportunity to speak up and 
take steps to prevent the growth and spread of antisemitism by 
educating our children.
    Every single one of my Democrat colleagues voted against 
that amendment. Every single one. We submit to the voting 
results for the record. Now, out of the other sides of their 
mouths they pretend to be outraged, yet they do nothing. On 
October 7th, Hamas announced that it was open season on Jews in 
Israel.
    Mr. Banks, kids in your school district got the idea that 
it was okay to have open season on Jews in New York City public 
schools. Instead of a reduction in antisemitic events in your 
schools, in the wake of this profound immorality of a Holocaust 
like massacre of Jews, we have seen an explosion of shocking 
antisemitic events.
    Mr. Banks, now you say that you are leaning in on 
combatting antisemitism. Have the episodes of rape and murder 
of October 7th been presented to your students of examples of 
Jew hatred?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely. Heinous events on October 7th, 
antisemitic, and they have been taught now in our schools, and 
are continuing to be taught across many of our schools.
    Mr. Williams. Is the former principal at Hillcrest still 
drawing a salary from New York City Public Schools today?
    Mr. Banks. Yes, he is.
    Mr. Williams. I am sorry. Can you say that again?
    Mr. Banks. I said yes, he is.
    Mr. Williams. You are still paying the former----
    Mr. Banks. He is no longer the principal of the school.
    Mr. Williams. How can Jewish students feel safe at New York 
City Public Schools when you cannot even manage to terminate 
the principal of an open season on Jews high school, or even 
endorse suspension of student harassment? How can Jewish 
students go to school knowing that he is still on your payroll, 
your payroll, sir?
    Mr. Banks. I know whose payroll it is, sir, and it is not 
open season on Jews school. It is called Hillcrest High School. 
That is the name of the school, and at that school we 
considered his leadership, not strong enough to be the leader 
in that school.
    Mr. Williams. Wow. He is still strong enough to participate 
in your school district. He is still strong enough to be on 
your payroll?
    Mr. Banks. He is no longer in a school as the leader of 
that school.
    Mr. Williams. Is he still strong enough a leader to be on 
your payroll, sir?
    Mr. Banks. Every one of the----
    Mr. Williams. Is that what you are saying? You are 
endorsing him to continue on your payroll.
    Mr. Banks. Actually, has due process rights.
    Mr. Williams. He has the moral authority to lead students. 
Is that what you are saying, Mr. Banks?
    Mr. Banks. That is just what I said is what I just said.
    Mr. Williams. That is what you are saying. You are saying 
he still has the moral authority to be on----
    Mr. Banks. I did not say that. That is what you said.
    Mr. Williams. That is what I am asking you. You are 
justifying his continued employment.
    Mr. Banks. That is not correct.
    Mr. Williams. I am trying to challenge how can that be?
    Mr. Banks. Every employee who works in our schools has due 
process rights, sir.
    Mr. Williams. Due process.
    Mr. Banks. We do not have the authority just because I 
disagree to just terminate someone.
    Mr. Williams. There are egregious crimes.
    Mr. Banks. That is not the way that it works in our school 
system.
    Mr. Williams. There are egregious crimes that have been 
committed under your watch. I want to give you the opportunity. 
We have 1 minute remaining, to speak directly to the parents of 
Jewish students in New York City. As Jewish--think of this, as 
Jewish parents walk their children to school tomorrow morning, 
what can we say? What should they say to their children to 
allay their children's fears?
    How should they reassure their children that this 
antisemitic nightmare in your school, sir, has come to an end? 
Please?
    Mr. Banks. I speak to Jewish parents on a regular.
    Mr. Williams. Great. Speak to them now.
    Mr. Banks. I am speaking to them now.
    Mr. Williams. Cameras are rolling right here, speak to them 
now.
    Mr. Banks. I speak to Jewish teachers and parents and 
families every day.
    Mr. Williams. What do you say?
    Mr. Banks. Every single day.
    Mr. Williams. What do you say?
    Mr. Banks. What I say to them is that we do everything that 
we can to ensure that your child, or that you even as a 
teacher, are going to be safe in our schools. We do not always 
get it right. Part of the reason that happened at Hillcrest 
High School was what I considered a lack of proper supervision 
in that school.
    That is why the principal was removed from the school, so 
the teachers in that school are not unsafe. We removed the 
leader of the school.
    Mr. Williams. My time has expired. I doubt very much that 
they are comforted that this nightmare is over under your 
leadership.
    Mr. Banks. I am sorry you feel that way.
    Chairman Bean. Let us go to the great State of Connecticut, 
where Representative Hayes is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mrs. Hayes. Thank you and thank you to our witnesses for 
being here today to testify. I would just like to say that I 
agree with my colleague that those who have committed egregious 
crimes should not have the moral authority to lead a school, or 
a nation.
    Also, as an educator, I just--I do not know what people 
think it is that teachers do. I do not know what people think 
it is that teachers inside of a classroom, or people who choose 
this as a profession do. I acknowledge and recognize that there 
has been an unprecedented rise in antisemitism in our K-12 
schools.
    We have had multiple hearings on this Committee and the 
full Committee, in this full Committee on antisemitism. As an 
educator, I remind you that we have to teach children that all 
forms of hate are unacceptable. I listened to my colleague go 
down the list of all of the things we deal with, that teachers 
deal with in schools.
    I can remember. I mean the only parallel I have is I am not 
in the classroom right now, but I remember after September 
11th, going to my department head and saying we need some 
professional development on the Muslim experience. I need to be 
able to support our students, and make sure that other students 
understand their perspective.
    We had parents come in describing this is what this holiday 
means. We had students come in saying this is why I wear a 
hijab. Really doing a deep dive and helping students to 
understand the background and perspective of their peers. We 
are doing a disservice to students if we are not teaching them 
about the backgrounds and perspectives of all people.
    Teachers have the impossible job of bringing students 
together from different races, religions, ethnicities, 
socioeconomic backgrounds, into one classroom and creating a 
space where all students feel safe. I really hope that on this 
Committee that we spend some time really looking at these 
intersections between what is happening in our classrooms, so 
that kids--it is a lot harder to hate someone that you know.
    It is a lot harder to diminish or devalue someone's 
experience when you know what it means, or why a person 
practices a certain religion, or whatever. According to 
research conducted by the ADL Center on Antisemitism Research, 
there is a direct relationship between deficiencies in 
Holocaust education, and heightened prejudicial antisemitic 
beliefs.
    Ms. Silvestre, in your testimony you mentioned that your 
district is taking affirmative steps to address antisemitism, 
and other forms of hate by enhancing the curriculum for K-12 
students to expand on topics related to the Jewish experience. 
Can you tell us a little bit about what your district has done 
to enhance the curriculum, and additionally, why you believe 
the teaching of this education is important?
    Before you answer, I just want to add one thing about the 
comment about members of this Committee not voting for--
Congress does not set curriculum, you do, so can you let us 
know what you have done to make sure that students understand 
the Jewish experience?
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes. Curriculum, teaching and learning is 
the bread and butter of what we know how to do well. We have 
been looking to have our social studies curriculum better 
reflect our student population, and we have enhanced our Jewish 
experience education, starting, going younger, going into the 
elementary grades, training teachers, so that they could 
implement Holocaust education in 6th grade.
    Training, as I mentioned in my statement, for the first 
time we are having hate bias training starting this summer for 
all staff, 25,000 employees in our school system.
    Mrs. Hayes. Do you think it would be important for students 
to understand why a statement like, ``From the River to the 
Sea, Palestine will be Free,'' could be harmful to some of 
their peers, or why displaying a map in the classroom that does 
not have the State of Israel could be hurtful and antisemitic 
to their friends, because that is what kids are. Their friends 
around them.
    Ms. Silvestre. Absolutely, Congresswoman. That is our role 
is to educate them on the history, so that they can understand 
why our Jewish students might find that phrase antisemitic.
    Mrs. Hayes. Thank you. Ms. Ford Morthel, can you--it was 
not your testimony, it was actually Mr. Bank's testimony where 
he talked about, we cannot suspend or expel our way out of this 
problem. Can you talk to us about some of the direct actions 
that you have taken when these things do occur?
    It has been my experience as an educator that often times 
young people repeat what they have heard from other people at 
home, and really do not understand the consequences, or the 
history behind what they are saying or doing.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes. Thank you for the opportunity to 
respond. I appreciate you saying that. First and foremost, we 
do believe our role is to educate, and so we engage our 
students in conversation. We want to make sure that our babies 
can actually evaluate and reflect on their actions and their 
words, to think about their intent, and also to think about the 
impact.
    Conversations are something, a tool that we use as 
educators a lot. We also believe in restorative conversation, 
so that students sit with their peers, who they have hurt or 
caused harm to, to hear from them and their perspective about 
what happened, and why it was hurtful. All of these are efforts 
to again change and redirect and correct behavior.
    Then of course education. We talk to students about 
history, about how and why, for example, the term that you just 
used might be hurtful to other students when they hear it. 
Again, that is what we believe is really the way to change 
behaviors for the long run, not a short-term solution, but one 
that could actually keep in step with them as they get older.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. The gentlelady's time 
has expired. Let us go to the great State of New York again 
where Representative Stefanik is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Ms. Stefanik. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Mr. Banks, 
there has been many questions on Hillcrest, and I just want to 
make sure it is very clear for the record. The principal of 
Hillcrest High School is still employed by the Department of 
Education, correct?
    Mr. Banks. Correct.
    Ms. Stefanik. What is his role?
    Mr. Banks. He has been serving in a role working on one of 
the teams, under one of our Deputy Chancellors.
    Ms. Stefanik. I am told that he is Director of Teacher 
Development and Evaluation. Is that accurate?
    Mr. Banks. That I do not know his official title right now, 
I would have to doublecheck that.
    Ms. Stefanik. That is concerning to me that you have him in 
a senior position, and what is very concerning about these 
hearings is that we are getting lip service, but a lack of 
enforcement, a lack of accountability. These rules and policies 
matter, whether it is teachers, administrators, or students 
violating the rules.
    I want to switch to Origins High School. In October, 40 to 
50 students marched through Origins High School chanting, 
``Death to Israel,'' and ``Kill the Jews.'' In addition, an 
independent investigation found that a teacher who teaches 
global history, was told by a student, ``I wish you were 
killed.'' Another student called her, ``A dirty Jew.''
    The student said he wished Hitler could have hit more Jews 
including her. What disciplinary actions have been taken 
against those students who chanted ``Death to Israel'' at 
Origins High School, and against the student who harassed, with 
antisemitic slurs that teacher?
    Mr. Banks. Two things. First of all, when we have done our 
investigation we have found no evidence that there was any 
movement through the halls saying death to the Jews. We looked, 
and I treat that very, very seriously. That was reported in the 
papers. We have found no evidence that that actually happened.
    What we have found a wide range--deeply troubling 
antisemitic things that have happened at Origins High School. 
This is the one case that has troubled me the most, 
Congresswoman, I will tell you that.
    Ms. Stefanik. What are the enforcement actions?
    Mr. Banks. I am trying to tell you. We have in fact 
suspended a number of students at that school, but currently 
this case now is under litigation, and I am being advised not 
to speak to the specific things that have happened there. Just 
know that I visited that school after these allegations have 
come up.
    I met with parents, families, staff, students--I am deeply 
troubled by what has happened there, and we are going to get to 
the bottom of it. I cannot say more because it is now under 
litigation.
    Ms. Stefanik. You understand our concern though as 
policymakers when we have witnesses testify whether it is 
Columbia University, Penn, Harvard, or New York City 
Chancellor, when there is a lack of enforcement and 
accountability, that there is a set of rules, but that 
individuals who violate those rules are not held accountable.
    Mr. Banks. We have held a lot of people accountable. That 
was part--you were not here when I gave my opening statement.
    Ms. Stefanik. You did not, you said you fired the 
principal, and it turns out the former principal of Hillcrest.
    Mr. Banks. I never said I fired the principal.
    Ms. Stefanik. You did. A member, you can check the 
testimony. Ms. McClain asked if you fired her, you said yes.
    Mr. Banks. I fired the principal of who?
    Ms. Stefanik. Hillcrest.
    Mr. Banks. I never said I fired the principal. You check 
the record. I never said that.
    Ms. Stefanik. I will check the record. I will check the 
record.
    Mr. Banks. I said removed the principal.
    Ms. Stefanik. Mr. Banks, Mr. Banks, she said, has he been 
fired? You said yes, and then we moved on.
    Mr. Banks. I did not say that.
    Ms. Stefanik. You did. You said he was removed.
    Mr. Banks. I would beg to differ on that.
    Ms. Stefanik. We now know though that he is still employed 
by the Department of Education.
    Mr. Banks. He is no longer at the school. He has been 
removed from his position as the principal of the school. That 
is not the same thing.
    Ms. Stefanik. Now he is employed at the Department of 
Education, you testified to that.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Ms. Stefanik. You also said--I believe we have been told he 
is Director of Teacher Development and Valuation, and you are 
not sure if that is the case? Our expectation is we will get an 
answer by the end of today whether that is the case or not.
    Mr. Banks. You will. Absolutely.
    Ms. Stefanik. My next question is there have been multiple 
teacher-led anti-Israel walkouts during school time. What are 
the consequences for those teacher walkouts, and do those 
violate the policy of DOE?
    Mr. Banks. I am not sure what teacher walkouts. We have had 
a number of walkouts of students out of school, including 
several of our high schools, which are also very troubling for 
me.
    Ms. Stefanik. What disciplinary action was taken in that 
case?
    Mr. Banks. The challenge that we have in that case is we do 
not have any rules within our code of conduct that will prevent 
a child from actually walking out of the school. When they walk 
out of the school they are marked absent, they are essentially 
cutting from school.
    There are consequences for cutting school, and we notify 
the parents.
    Ms. Stefanik. It is your testimony today that there was no 
teacher involvement in those walkouts because independent media 
reports say that there is teacher involvement in those 
walkouts.
    Mr. Banks. I do not have any evidence of that. We have 
evidence of one where the principal assigned a teacher to go 
with a student to a protest, completely inappropriate. That 
principal was disciplined, the teacher was disciplined in that 
particular case.
    Ms. Stefanik. What was the form of the discipline?
    Mr. Banks. I am not at liberty to tell you, there is a very 
specific--they were not fired, but we have a wide range of 
discipline that takes place in those cases, and we did take 
action.
    Ms. Stefanik. My last question is you had a teacher at 
Gotham Tech High School in Queens, and you have spoken out 
publicly against this. He posted images of a Hamas paraglider 
to his social media, repeatedly refers to so-called Israel, 
again this is highlighting a Hamas paraglider who slaughtered 
Jews.
    We all have seen the horrific footage of those who cooked 
babies. These are terrorists. What disciplinary action was 
taken against this teacher?
    Mr. Banks. Again, action was taken. First of all, I want to 
just say, I think what that employee did is absolutely 
disgusting, absolutely disgusting
    Ms. Stefanik. What action?
    Mr. Banks. We took action.
    Ms. Stefanik. What was the action?
    Mr. Banks. I cannot give you the specifics on the action 
that was taken.
    Ms. Stefanik. Yes, you can. You are in front of Congress, 
what is the action.
    Mr. Banks. I cannot give you on this specific employee.
    Ms. Stefanik. You can give us the answer, you choose not 
to.
    Chairman Bean. The gentlelady's time has expired.
    Ms. Stefanik. That is unacceptable.
    Chairman Bean. Time has expired. Let us go to the great 
Commonwealth of Virginia, Representative Scott, very good. Let 
us go to the great State of North Carolina, Representative 
Manning, you are recognized.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to set the 
record straight. Mr. William's amendment that he mentioned 
followed the failure of every Republican on this Committee to 
vote for my amendment to prohibit the banning of books on the 
Holocaust, which I offered because schools in many states are 
banning books like the Diary of Anne Frank, which is an 
incredible tool for teaching students about the perils of 
discrimination.
    Mr. Banks, I was pleased to hear that your schools are 
still teaching the Diary of Anne Frank. Ms. Silvestre, I am 
pleased to hear your description of the training your teachers 
are getting to infuse your K through 12 schools with teaching 
about what antisemitism is, and why it is so dangerous not just 
to Jews, but to our whole society.
    Ms. Ford Morthel, can you talk about the resources you use 
to train your teachers about antisemitism?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Yes. We have a number of resources that 
we use in Berkeley. One, first and foremost, just to unite us 
against hate. In November we celebrate Unite Against Hate month 
and week and have a number of resources that equipped our 
educators with facilitating conversations with our students 
about what hate is, what it looks like, and just the impact of 
hate.
    The fact that at Berkeley Unified, we stand firmly against 
hate. We also have a number of curriculums. Our social-
emotional learning curriculums for our students that talk about 
harassment, and bullying, how to be an ally, and just how to be 
in community.
    Our upper grades, particularly our 10th grade educators do 
have curriculum on the Holocaust, but to the point of a 
previous Congressman, that is not the beginning or the end of 
the story of Jewish people. We also integrate curriculum 
throughout our grade levels with texts and readings about the 
richness of the Jewish heritage, and Jewish culture in our 
schools.
    Then generally, I just want to make sure that our teacher's 
pedagogy, their approach to teaching, is really about centering 
diverse ideas and needs of the students, and bringing those 
ideas to the center so that they can engage in those critical 
conversations, and come to truths and understanding on their 
own.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you. Let me suggest the U.S. Holocaust 
Memorial Museum has many readily available resources to teach 
about the Holocaust, and the history of antisemitism. They are 
formulated specifically for K through 12 classrooms. They are 
available online. They have courses your teachers can attend 
during the summer.
    It is a wonderful resource, and I highly recommend using 
the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. In fact, I have introduced 
a bipartisan bill, The Countering Antisemitism Act, which 
includes in it opportunities and frankly, obligations for 
schools across the country to work with the U.S. Holocaust 
Museum, teaching antisemitism, teaching what hate does to all 
of us.
    I hope that all of my colleagues on this Committee will 
cosponsor my Countering Antisemitism Act, it is a bipartisan 
bill, and it is important that my colleagues on this Committee 
do more than just talk before the cameras about antisemitism, 
but actually sign on to a bill like the Countering Antisemitism 
Act, so that we can actually do something and build the 
structures to combat that.
    Now, an important pillar of the U.S. national strategy to 
combat antisemitism, which was issued for the first time ever 
by President Biden. An important issue of that is media 
literacy. We know that many students are exposed to harmful 
misinformation online every day, by social media, which in many 
cases has inflamed tensions and led to antisemitic incidents.
    In fact, I recently viewed a video on Tik-Tok that was 
probably the most horrifying thing I have heard. A young person 
talking about why it's appropriate to hate Jews. I would like 
to ask each of you, how are your schools teaching young people 
to check their sources, to be savvy, critical consumers of 
online content because that is one way that hate is being 
spread.
    Mr. Banks, can I start with you?
    Mr. Banks. Yes, please. It is a very, very complicated 
issue. We actually have a social media policy. Every one of our 
schools gets a level of training in digital literacy, so that 
they understand how to think critically through these issues. 
That is easier said than done.
    What we are seeing in our schools, and in fact many of 
these cases of antisemitism are a result of young people not 
fully developing their ability to process what they are seeing 
on social media, and then emotionally responding to that in a 
way, particularly students of Muslim and Arabic background who 
are seeing horrific acts happening themselves and are 
responding to that. It is a difficult ongoing process.
    Ms. Manning. Ms. Silvestre, any thoughts, in 13 seconds?
    Ms. Silvestre. It is my understanding that the social media 
literacy is taught in our health curriculum, and also just as a 
critical thinking strategy throughout all of our classes.
    Ms. Manning. Thank you. I would encourage all of you to do 
everything you can to figure out how we teach our students to 
be critical thinkers, and then maybe they will teach their 
parents how to be critical thinkers. Thank you so much for your 
testimony. I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you very much. Let us go to the great 
State of Michigan, Representative Walberg, you are recognized 
for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Walberg. I thank the Chairman. I thank the panel for 
being here. I am sorry I had to leave. I was speaking at a 
quick luncheon--I did not get the lunch--for a number of higher 
education institutions. An important time to speak to them as 
well. I was not here for the question I believe that my 
colleague, Representative Stefanik asked about the principal at 
Hillcrest.
    We had checked ourselves after hearing your response, Mr. 
Banks, seeing some of the room shaking their head strongly that 
this person was not as a principal removed, and did go on in 
the New York education system. We came to find information that 
this person went to the New York Department of Education, am I 
correct on that?
    Mr. Banks. What is the question again? I am not sure? That 
he----
    Mr. Walberg. That he is the principal from Hillcrest.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Mr. Walberg. That you said was removed.
    Mr. Banks. Right.
    Mr. Walberg. Did not go in--was not just transferred to 
another school in the system.
    Mr. Banks. Right.
    Mr. Walberg. We want to check on that because I saw 
indications in this room that that was not the right answer.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Mr. Walberg. He went to the New York Department of 
Education as I understand it?
    Mr. Banks. Well, all of our schools come under the 
Department of Education. I oversee the Department, the entire 
Department of Education. We have schools, and then we have 
other administrative offices.
    Mr. Walberg. Yes. Well, that concerns me that this guy is 
still in education in New York, when he had an egregious 
response at Hillcrest, and so I just wanted to make that clear.
    Mr. Banks. I understand.
    Mr. Walberg. Make sure I understood it as well.
    Mr. Banks. He was removed from the school, but he is still 
an employee.
    Mr. Walberg. He is still in education, New York.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Mr. Walberg. That worries me.
    Mr. Banks. I understand.
    Mr. Walberg. Following the attack on Israel on October 7th, 
our Nation's institutions of higher education have been rocked 
by antisemitic protestors. We are talking about, and direct 
harassment of Jewish students. While a critical eye must be 
placed on the teachings and policies at these institutions, we 
cannot overlook our K-12 system, and so thanks for holding this 
hearing today.
    In fact, we know that the teachers that had been trained in 
our higher education institutions to be change agents in the 
world are in our K-12 systems, and they have been for years 
been trained to be antisemitic themselves. Critical theories 
that they have been trained in, oppressor and oppression.
    Important as well, anti-American. It is a challenge that we 
have to look at our K-12 system. It is during this 
developmental phase that students start to grasp the difference 
between right and wrong, and critically begin to realize that 
other people have their own feelings that might not match 
theirs. If we fail students at this scholastic phase, then it 
is no wonder we are seeing the level of intolerance, and 
violent rhetoric later in their studies, and even in our K-12 
system.
    I recently met with educators who have used the Morse Life 
Holocaust Learning Experience to help educate their students 
about the realities of the Holocaust and the antisemitism 
history, and I encourage our institutions to look into that 
training.
    I would like to pose for our educators in the room just 
this one question and answer as briefly as possible. What have 
you done specifically to teach critical thinking in classrooms, 
and promote reason, and the underpinnings of moral and civil 
behaviors that mitigate hate? I guess I will start, because I 
have a W for a name, I will start at the end of the table 
first.
    Ms. Ford Morthel.
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Thank you, Congressman. This is something 
that we integrate in our instruction starting from the youngest 
of grades. First of all, we engage our students in open ended 
questions, and prompts that allow them to bring their ideas to 
the table. Then we share information with them as well, but we 
are not a direct teach type of organization.
    That is one way that we facilitate and actually build our 
students muscle to be critical thinkers, and critically 
engaged. We have norms in our classroom. For example, we talk 
to our students about being present, being respectful, being 
brave, being open and being aware to different perspectives, 
being flexible and being sensitive, so it is a muscle they 
build throughout their grades at Berkeley Unified School 
District.
    Of course, we teach them to be critical consumers and 
evaluate and analyze the information that is coming to them 
through a number of perspectives, so that ultimately again they 
can make decisions on their own.
    Mr. Walberg. We will hope we see the impact of that in an 
exemplary way.
    Ms. Silvestre.
    Ms. Silvestre. Yes, similarly I am not a teacher or 
principal or superintendent myself. As a school board member, 
it is my understanding that we follow the Maryland State 
curriculum. Excuse me, the Maryland State standards. We have a 
comprehensive curriculum that integrates critical thinking 
throughout, offering multiple perspectives, so that students 
can see history and facts through different perspectives, that 
is my understanding sir.
    Mr. Walberg. Mr. Banks.
    Mr. Banks. First of all, critical thinking starts with 
learning how to read. We have leaned into a very significant 
way with our NYC Reads, and making sure that all kids are on 
grade level. Beyond that, we have a wide range of things, a 
socratic method to project based learning, all of that.
    Finally, I would also like to say, sir, that you know, I 
would be careful to casting aspersions on an entire system. We 
have some teachers who have had some of these challenges. We 
have had Members of Congress who have made antisemitic 
statements, and I certainly would not cast aspersions on this 
entire institution.
    Similarly, I will stand in defense of New York City 
educators, as well. We have some, and when we see it rear its 
head, we deal with it.
    Mr. Walberg. Well, I would stand with you on that, but I 
also think that----
    Chairman Bean. The gentleman's time has expired. Now we go 
to the great Commonwealth of Virginia, Representative Scott, 
you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you, thank you Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, 
earlier in the hearing a gentleman from New York raised 
questions about this side of the aisle in terms of a commitment 
to fight antisemitism. I just remind him after what was pointed 
out, the context of because we voted against his amendment, the 
context of the amendment was pointed out.
    After the UVA Alt-Right Rally, we asked for hearings on 
antisemitism and could not get it. We have also been unable to 
get any hearings on other forms of hate. I would ask Chancellor 
Banks, do you deal with other forms of hate, other than 
antisemitism, like homophobia, racism? Do transgender students 
have a right to be safe in school?
    Can you talk about other forms of hate?
    Mr. Banks. Yes. Hate rears its head every single day. As a 
black man who has had to deal with my people, and the history 
of racism in America as well, this is something that is every 
present. As the Chanceller of the New York City Public Schools, 
the work that we see, the aspersions that are cast against the 
LGBTQ community, the aspersions that are cast against Asian 
Americans.
    Homosexuals, it is--there is no end to this scourge of 
hate. That is why I say antisemitism does not simply affect 
Jews. Antisemitism affects all of us, particularly all people 
of goodwill. I stand up not only against antisemitism. I stand 
up against Islamophobia, and all other forms of hate.
    You cannot put them in siloes, that is not the way that we 
can be responsible about how we are going to approach this. We 
have to deal with all forms of hate. The whole world lives in 
New York City, and I have a responsibility to be the champion 
and the Chancellor for everybody.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Just as a side, is it your practice 
to determine facts, and sanctions based on media reports or due 
process?
    Mr. Banks. Is that for me?
    Mr. Scott. That is for you.
    Mr. Banks. We are responsible. Just because something was 
written on the front page of a tabloid does not make it true. 
We have to investigate. We do that responsibly, and then we 
move appropriately to deal with those situations on a case-by-
case basis.
    Mr. Scott. You indicated that you cannot discipline 
yourself out of the problem. What did you mean? Could you say a 
little bit more about that?
    Mr. Banks. Yes. What I mean is that ultimately if we really 
care about solving for antisemitism, and I believe this deeply. 
It is not about having ``got you'' moments, it is about 
teaching. You have to raise the consciousness of young people. 
The challenge we have as a system is that we do have some 
adults who bring their own bias into the classroom, and we have 
got to figure out how do we impact all of it at the same time?
    The ultimate answer for antisemitism is to teach. To expose 
young people to the Jewish community, so that they understand 
our common humanity. I would certainly ask that my colleagues 
from across the Nation, and I would call on Congress, quite 
frankly, to put the call out to action to bring us together, to 
talk about how we solve for this.
    This convening for too many people across America in 
education feels like the ultimate got you moment. It does not 
sound like people are actually trying to solve for something 
that I believe we should be doing everything we can to solve 
for.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you. Mr. Sykes, we have not heard anything 
about the context of any of these events, the seriousness of 
the problem, whether there is antisemitism or a comment on a 
position on the war in Gaza. Can you say another word about why 
it is so hard to determine whether or not expressions are 
protected under the First Amendment, or a violation of the 
criminal code, or a violation of Title 6, or campus policy?
    Mr. Sykes. Yes, Congressman. These are all situations that 
are evaluated based on the totality of the circumstances. There 
are words that we might agree here that we all agree are 
offensive, but we also can understand that certain words depend 
on how they are used, when they are used, to whom they are 
used, and how often they are used.
    All of those are relevant to determining whether speech is 
protected or creating a hostile educational environment. If I 
might, I meant just to add onto the question about how do we 
promote critical thinking, and exposure to a variety of ideas. 
One of the things that we are doing at the ACLU is fighting 
back against bans on inclusive education.
    This was started by an executive order by the former 
President and has now been copied and pasted in multiple 
states, 18 million Americans now live under an education gag 
order, where certain ideas are being prohibited from 
classrooms. This is the epitome of trying to crack down on 
critical thinking, and so we think that this legitimate threat 
to free speech and free inquiry needs to be addressed urgently 
as well.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you. Thank you very much, 
Representative Scott. Let us go to North Carolina where the 
Chair of Education and Workforce Committee is Dr. Virginia Foxx 
is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Dr. Foxx.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank our 
witnesses for being here today. I am going to ask Ms. Silvestre 
to pull her mic a little closer to her mouth, so I can--I was 
having trouble hearing you before. President Silvestre, you 
said in your opening statement, ``Our policy is to initiate 
investigation each time the school system receives a complaint, 
or we witness particular antisemitic hate filled or racist 
language or actions.''
    On average, how long does each antisemitism investigation 
take?
    Ms. Silvestre. I do not have an exact number of weeks that 
it takes, but I think I believe that we do a very thorough job, 
so we take as long as is needed to investigate.
    Mrs. Foxx. Okay. Are the victims always notified of the 
results?
    Ms. Silvestre. The victims are notified that an action has 
been taken, but not specifics of what consequence was doled 
out.
    Mrs. Foxx. Will you pledge to notify people when you have 
done the investigation?
    Ms. Silvestre. We are working on improving our 
communication so that the victims know--have more information 
about what the outcome has been.
    Mrs. Foxx. Okay. Working on it. Okay. Superintendent Ford 
Morthel, you said in your submitted testimony that you were 
``excited'' about California's new ethnic studies law. However, 
we have heard from Jewish families who are concerned that 
Berkeley's curriculum presents a slanted perspective of the 
Israeli-Palestine conflict.
    For example, the curriculum teaches that the war's 
consequences for Palestine are ``no water, no food, no 
electricity.'' Whereas the consequences for Israel are, 
``ceremoneys put on hold, travel advisories in place, and 
cities shut down.'' Do you think that's a fair representation 
of the Israeli-Palestine conflict?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. I do not think that is a fair 
representation.
    Mrs. Foxx. Have you consulted with Jewish groups in 
considering how you will teach ethnic studies?
    Ms. Ford Morthel. Councilwoman, I want to--Congresswoman, I 
want to distinguish the lesson that I believe you are speaking 
about in our ethnic studies curriculum. The lesson that you are 
speaking about was a lesson set that was created in response to 
a lot of curiosity, a lot of questions, and quite frankly, a 
lot of confusion from many of our students wanting to know what 
was going on.
    We had a group of history teachers and social studies 
teachers, and ethnic studies teachers, create a lesson in 
response to that. That is distinguished from Berkeley's ethnic 
studies curriculum.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you. Mr. Banks, we have talked about the 
map that was posted in a school, the Arab cultural arts program 
at the school where the map has been funded by the Qatar 
Foundation, a nonprofit owned by the country's ruling family. 
The free press has found that QFI donated over 1 million 
dollars to the New York Department of Education from 2019 to 
2022 for materials, such as this map.
    The map, you know the map I am talking about where Israel 
does not exist.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Mrs. Foxx. Okay. Does your office vet the materials 
purchased by these funds for antisemitism? If not, will you 
commit to establish vigorous vetting to ensure that foreign 
entities unfriendly to Israel are not stocking your classrooms 
with antisemitic content?
    Mr. Banks. Yes. We do vet the materials. That map as not a 
result of the Qatar Foundation. That individual teacher bought 
that map on her own with her own resources when she was in 
Jerusalem. That is what she told us. It was not part of the 
resources that came from the Qatar Foundation.
    We do vet all the other materials and resources that come 
into our schools, and that foundation has had no impact. They 
write the check. They have had no impact on the curriculum that 
has been developed, and how it has been implemented.
    Mrs. Foxx. Individual teachers are allowed to bring in 
materials that may be very antisemitic? Are you going to vet 
those materials?
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely. As we hear about those cases in New 
York City, we have 77,000 teachers, and so you know, this is 
not Mayberry. It is New York City, and it is a very large 
system, and it is difficult for me as the Chancellor to say any 
individual map that is up on a wall in particular classroom, I 
am already aware of it.
    We make sure that the principals of those schools, they are 
supposed to provide that level of supervision.
    Mrs. Foxx. I have one more quick question for you, Mr. 
Banks. Do other countries donate significant sums to New York 
City Public Schools?
    Mr. Banks. I do not have--I would have to get back to you 
on that. I do not have any evidence in front of me now that we 
have any other foreign governments which are supporting other 
programs in our schools, but I do not want to misrepresent 
here. We can certainly get you the answer to that by the end of 
the day.
    Mrs. Foxx. Well, we would be happy if you would followup 
with an answer on that.
    Mr. Banks. Absolutely.
    Mrs. Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Thank you. Mr. Banks, we would all like to 
see that answer.
    Mr. Banks. Yes.
    Chairman Bean. We are nearing the end of our Committee. 
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being great audience 
members, and we just have to have closing statements, and I 
will yield to Ranking Member Bonamici for her closing thoughts.
    Ms. Bonamici. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. Thank you 
to the witnesses for being here today, and for your work. I do 
want to note, Mr. Chairman, that the witnesses today are from 
what might be considered blue states. I do want to introduce 
into the record articles that discuss instances of antisemitism 
in Florida, Texas and Alabama, so that is in the record as 
well.
    Chairman Bean. Without objection.
    [The Information of Ms. Bonamici follows:]
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    Ms. Bonamici. Mr. Chairman, as I said, I was hoping this 
could be a constructive conversation during which we would work 
together on finding the most effective way to address and 
prevent antisemitism in schools. Sadly, tasks like this are 
made more difficult because we are in an era of deep division. 
A time when too often dialog about tough issues is 
confrontational if it happens at all.
    A time when it pains me to say this, but it is relevant, 
the top Republican running for President of the United States 
has engaged not only in antisemitic tropes, but also in 
divisive, degrading and disparaging language, including mocking 
a reporter with a disability, calling American troops coward if 
they were captured, ignoring the rule of law, threatening to 
have people shot by police for shoplifting or a minor crime, 
bragging about groping stars, and making so many countless and 
demeaning comments about women that it is impossible to count 
them.
    I could go on, but my point is sadly there has been a tone, 
a tone set at the top that seems to tolerate disrespect for 
others, a tone that hurts not just us as a legislative body, 
but as a Nation. I will say it again, it is my hope that this 
Committee will set aside differences and work on in good faith 
on how we can best address and prevent antisemitism in our 
schools, in our country, as well as other hate speech.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to continuing the 
conversation and I yield back.
    Chairman Bean. Ranking Member Bonamici, thank you so much. 
I would say it has been an excellent meeting. I would say when 
I met each of you just for that brief moment before we start, I 
regret Mr. Sykes, you were running in, and we are all just 
racing in Congress.
    I said our mission was to have an open and honest 
conversation. I think we delivered that. If we are going to 
solve the problems that we have identified today, it starts 
with recognizing that it is happening, and that we need to do 
more. I think we are reminded of the most precious asset that 
is under each of your purview, and that is the next generation.
    These young kids, some have described them as with minds 
full of mush, that you help form into shapes and critical 
thinking. We know that any seeds of hatred or antisemitism that 
have planted there without weeding it, and without shaping it 
can grow. We can look at the video screens of what it can 
become if not left unchecked.
    Mr. Sykes, I am very aware of your presence here today with 
the ACLU is a reminder that we are a country built on free 
speech. Free speech does not include death to Jews, or some of 
the other vile slogans that we have heard. I am aware of that.
    It is so hard to be a kid in today's society. There are 
pressures. I am a kid of the 70's and 80's, and it is hard to 
imagine growing up now with social media and the other 
pressures of being a kid today. We should not have to worry.
    They should not have to worry about getting beat up, or 
whatever just for their religion. We are better than this. Mr. 
Banks, when we met in the hallway you said we have got work to 
do. Indeed we do, and hopefully it is not only a wakeup call 
for your school districts, but to everybody that is watching 
across America.
    It is 2024. 2024. There is no place for this at all in 
America. America is the last great hope where we can all 
hopefully get along, and we are not proving it very well. I 
think the lesson too is no matter how small, and Ms. Ford 
Morthel, you said something too. No matter how small the 
incident, it needs to be investigated, and people need to be 
held to standards.
    There needs to be consequences for crossing that line. We 
are holding all of you because you hold our most precious 
asset, our kids. With that, to the kids and the parents and the 
teachers that I met with earlier, that many of us did.
    We stand with you. We will not cease shining the light and 
holding everybody accountable because as a nation we are just 
frankly, we are better than this, and we all have a role to 
play. Our work begins today going forward.
    To the witnesses, thank you for coming forward, for your 
frank discussion, and for your commitment going forward that we 
all can live in a safe society without the hatred and the fear 
of violence against us. With that, and without objection, there 
being no further business, the Subcommittee stands, and this 
hearing is not adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 12:19 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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