Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law chairman and founder Kenneth Marcus testifying before the Knesset about campus antisemitism in the US. Photo: Brandeis Center.

A new “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) includes a “mixed bag” of measures that will both help and harm the Jewish community, according to a former top US official who now heads a leading civil rights group.

The missive offers guidance on how colleges and K-12 schools receiving federal funds should develop curricula that fosters “racially inclusive school communities.” To that end, the letter lists examples of actions or policies that OCR would investigate in any civil rights complaint filed against schools.

Several of the actions and policies are immediately relevant to the civil rights of Jewish students, Kenneth Marcus, former Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights at OCR and current chairman and founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, told The Algemeiner on Friday. Marcus noted one example in particular could have implications for ongoing debates over ethnic studies curricula in California — which, experts have said, may contain antisemitic content about Jews and Israel.

According to the letter, “OCR may decline to open an investigation” when someone alleges that an individual was subject to discrimination for being required to take an ethnic studies class teaching material that students may perceive as “subjectively offensive.” Marcus told The Algemeiner that the Biden administration is possibly getting out ahead of possible challenges to ethnic studies requirements for high school graduation.

“There is concern that some extremist versions of ethnic studies present Jewish Americans in a negative light and could contribute to anti-Jewish attitudes,” Marcus explained. “Now, it’s hard to say for sure because we don’t know yet what the fact patterns might be, but it is unhelpful that the administration gave an example that could discourage people from filing sound, good-faith complaints in those school districts that may adopt extremist curricula of the sort that are now circulating in California and that might, in future months or years, be circulating in other states as well.”

However, he added that OCR also issued guidance that stands to benefit the Jewish community. One example in the letter says the Education Department would investigate a complaint alleging that a student club predominantly comprising members of a minority group were denied recognition by the university on dubious grounds, such as failing to meet key requirements comparable to those that another group granted recognition might not have satisfied.

An example of this scenario emerged at Williams College in 2019 , when the school’s student government denied “resident student organization” status to the Williams Initiative for Israel (WIFI), a pro-Israel club that aimed to “educate the college on issues concerning Israel and the Middle East.” Marcus said that under the new guidance, OCR would ensure that all clubs are “recognized under the same standards as everyone else.” He added that this provision of the letter “is very welcome.”

Other guidance directly addresses antisemitism, discussing the potential for education about the Holocaust to be distorted by a teacher who uses the subject to deny its severity and truth or express pro-Nazi opinions.

“You could say this is an extremely easy example and much less complex than many of the antisemitism cases we are seeing nowadays,” Marcus said. “Nevertheless, it is significant that OCR is reminding public schools yet again that Jewish students have civil rights that are protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Given that not every issue can be addressed in guidance, the letter’s explicit discussion of antisemitism is very helpful.”

Marcus concluded that the new guidance, while placing some obstacles in the path of Jewish civil rights group that raise issues about ethnic studies, does now allow for high schools, which are seeing a rise in discriminatory antisemitic conduct, to be held to the same regulatory guidelines protecting Jewish students’ civil rights on college campuses.

“In some ways we will be helped by this guidance, and in some ways we will be harmed. I would call it a mixed-bag,” Marcus said.

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual audit published in March, in 2022, 494 antisemitic incidents took place on K-12 campuses, and 219 incidents took place at colleges and universities — an increase of 49 percent and 41 percent from the previous year, respectively.

In one incident at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an individual chalked on a campus sidewalk messages accusing Jewish students of being “racist,” “genocidal,” and “having blood on their hands.” In March, three other antisemitic incidents occurred at the university, including the carving of a swastika into a bathroom stall and the harassment of a student who was targeted for “looking Jewish.”

In Feb. 2022, a third-year student was expelled from a sexual assault group she founded after sharing a pro-Israel post on social media. The student later said that sharing her story exposed her to cyberbullying and threats on an anonymous social media platform.

Rising antisemitism, especially a surge in hate crimes against Jews on high school and college campuses, has raised concerns that the American Jewish community is less secure today than in previous eras. According to a survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee, 41 percent of respondents said Jews in the US were less secure in 2022 than the year before. Only four percent said Jews were more secure, and 55 percent said it was about the same.

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.