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# U.S. Department of Education Reminds Schools of Their Legal Obligation to Address Discrimination, Including Harassment

# U.S. Department of Education Reminds Schools of Their Legal Obligation to Address Discrimination, Including Harassment

November 7, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
As part of the Biden-Harris  Administration’s continued efforts to take aggressive action to address the  alarming rise in reports of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and other hate-based or  bias-based incidents at schools and on college campuses since the October 7th  Israel-Hamas conflict, today the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department)  Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new Dear Colleague Letter reminding schools of  their legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title  VI) to provide all students, including students who are or are perceived to be  Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian, a school environment free from  discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. The Biden-Harris  Administration is implementing the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,  and the White House also announced last week that the Biden-Harris  Administration will develop a U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia.  The Department will continue to complete actions under the strategy to counter  antisemitism and anticipates additional actions under its purview will result  from the forthcoming strategy to counter Islamophobia.

“The rise of reports of hate incidents on  our college campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict is deeply  traumatic for students and should be alarming to all Americans. Antisemitism,  Islamophobia, and all other forms of hatred go against everything we stand for  as a nation,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The  Biden-Harris Administration is committed to upholding the civil rights of  students of all backgrounds, including students who are, or who are perceived  to be, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian or of any other shared  ancestry. College and university leaders must be unequivocal about condemning  hatred and violence and work harder than ever to ensure all students have the  freedom to learn in safe and inclusive campus communities.”

Today’s announcement  comes on the heels of Secretary Cardona’s and White House Domestic Policy  Advisor Neera Tanden’s visit to the Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson  University last week. The leaders held a roundtable discussion with Jewish  students from several Baltimore-area universities as part of the Department’s Antisemitism Awareness Campaign, initiated  under the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy to Counter  Antisemitism. In recent weeks, as part of its Antisemitism Awareness  Campaign, the Department has conducted site visits in cities across the country  to address and learn about antisemitism at schools and college campuses.

OCR also recently released an updated  complaint form specifying that Title VI’s protection  from discrimination based on race, color, or national origin extends to  students who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh, or  based on other shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. This update will help  individuals understand how to file a Title VI complaint.

Anyone who believes that a school has  discriminated against a student based on race, color, or national origin can  file a complaint of discrimination with OCR. The person who files the complaint  does not need to have been the target of the alleged violation, but could be a  family member, or faculty, staff, or any other concerned community member who  is aware of possible discrimination. To file a complaint, visit https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintintro.html.

The Department is available to provide  technical assistance webinars on the application of Title VI to discrimination  based on race, color, or national origin as described in the letter released  today. To request such a training, please contact OCR at OCR@ed.gov.

“Through this letter we urge school  communities to be vigilant of your students’ rights under Title VI,  understanding that we in OCR are and will be,” said Assistant Secretary for  Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “Jewish students, Israeli students, Muslim  students, Arab students, and Palestinian students, and all other students who  reside within our school communities have the right to learn in our nation’s  schools free from discrimination.”

Title VI’s protection from race, color, or  national origin discrimination extends to students who experience  discrimination, including harassment, based on their actual or perceived: (i)  shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; or (ii) citizenship or residency in  a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. Schools that  receive federal financial assistance have a responsibility to address  discrimination when the discrimination involves racial, ethnic, or ancestral  slurs or stereotypes; when the discrimination is based on a student’s  skin color, physical features, or style of dress that reflects both  ethnic and religious traditions, to name a few characteristics. Likewise,  schools have a responsibility to address discrimination against students based  on the region of the world they come from or are perceived to come from.

Today’s newly released documents are among  several resources released by OCR to support schools in complying with their  obligations under Title VI to address discrimination based on race, color, or  national origin, including shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics.  Additional resources in this area include a fact sheet, Protecting Students from Discrimination Based on Shared  Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics, released in January 2023, and a Dear Colleague Letter issued in May 2023 as  part of the Department’s launch of an Antisemitism Awareness  Campaign. These resources are available on the Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics page  of OCR’s website. Information about recently resolved complaints under Title  VI, including complaints alleging discrimination based on shared ancestry or  ethnic characteristics, is available here.
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