by JNS Staff
The Trump administration said that it was opening an investigation after the Anti-Defamation League accused the district of “egregious and persistent discrimination and harassment.”
The U.S. Department of Education is probing Baltimore City Public Schools, which enrolled 76,841 students in 160 schools and programs last academic year, for alleged Jew-hatred, in violation of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The federal government said that its investigation is in response to a complaint that the Anti-Defamation League and the firm Covington & Burling, representing the ADL pro bono, filed days ago with the department alleging “egregious and persistent discrimination and harassment.”
The complaint also accused the public school district of having “knowingly allowed its schools to become hostile environments for Jewish students, while neglecting to address numerous incidents of antisemitic harassment, bullying and discrimination.”
“The allegations that Baltimore City Public Schools tolerate virulent Nazi-inspired antisemitic harassment of its Jewish students is at once appalling and infuriating,” stated Craig Trainor, acting assistant U.S. secretary of education for civil rights.
Sherry Christian, media and public relations manager for Baltimore City Public Schools, told JNS that the district cannot comment specifically about pending litigation, but its “response and diligence in addressing this issue” are the same since its board met on July 22.
“Baltimore City Public Schools is committed to fostering a culture of tolerance, respect and civility. Bullying and harassment have no place in our schools, and we unequivocally reject antisemitism and hate in any form,” Christian said.
After the July 22 board of school commissioners meeting, the district “issued a message outlining our continued response to the antisemitic and racist hate crime that occurred during the meeting,” she said. “Since then, additional concerns have been raised by the Anti-Defamation League regarding antisemitic bullying and harassment in some of our schools.”
“City Schools stands in solidarity with our Jewish community and with all who seek to create safe, inclusive and respectful learning environments,” she added. “We have condemned hateful behavior and taken action to hold students and staff accountable when our values and policies are violated.”
The district is “aware of some of the incidents referenced in the recent complaint involving antisemitism” and “addressed the issues at the time and provided updates as appropriate to each impacted school community about our actions,” according to Christian. “We aim to inform the school communities, within the limits of student and staff privacy laws, and, in some instances, sponsored restorative circles or hosted engagement events to hear feedback.”
Corena Larimer, the national litigation associate counsel at the ADL, told JNS that the nonprofit is “encouraged that the Department of Education has opened an investigation into the serious allegations outlined in ADL’s Title VI complaint.”
“This is a meaningful step toward ensuring Jewish students in the Baltimore City Public Schools can learn in an environment free from antisemitic harassment and bias,” Larimer said. “Every student deserves to feel safe, supported and respected in their school community.”
Trainor, the Education Department official, stated that “when a teacher allegedly directs a Nazi salute toward a Jewish student, or non-Jewish students harass their Jewish contemporaries by saying ‘all Jews should die,’ we are not simply talking about contemptible bullying.”
“We are talking about a shocking abdication of educator responsibility that constitutes unlawful antisemitic harassment under Title VI,” Trainor said.
If the allegations in the ADL’s complaint are true, they “confirm a disturbing trend: too many of our nation’s educational institutions are failing American students by inculcating in them a loathing for their own country and fellow citizens and a tolerance and acceptance for a deeply destructive ancient hatred,” he added.
Trainor said that the Trump administration, and the Education Department under Linda McMahon, the U.S. education secretary, will “vigorously investigate this matter and ensure American Jewish students can learn and flourish in an environment free from unlawful discrimination.”
Among the allegations in the complaint is that a teacher in Baltimore city schools told students that he would “go all Nazi” on them and that the teacher “directed Nazi salutes towards a Jewish students,” the federal government said.
“Even after BCPS’s investigation of the incident confirmed the teacher’s misconduct, BCPS allegedly failed to take any disciplinary action against the teacher,” the government said.
JNS Staff
Source: https://www.jns.org/ed-dept-probing-baltimore-city-public-schools-over-alleged-jew-hatred/
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