A House panel Monday launched an investigation into alleged antisemitism in three public school districts in California, Virginia and Pennsylvania, because the Trump administration continues targeting educational institutions for what it says is a failure to guard Jewish college students.
Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican who chairs the Education and Workforce Committee, sent letters to Berkeley Unified School District in California, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and the School District of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, requesting data associated to studies of antisemitism from the previous couple of years “including whether there was or is a hostile environment against Jewish K-12 students.”
The committee stated it would consider whether or not the school districts are complying with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based mostly on race, coloration or nationwide origin in applications or actions receiving federal funding. The colleges have till December 8 at hand over the paperwork.
Fairfax County Public Schools instructed NCS it acquired the letter, saying in an announcement, “FCPS intends to fully cooperate with Congressman Walberg’s inquiry. FCPS continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members.”
NCS has reached out the opposite two school districts for remark.
In his second time period, President Donald Trump has prioritized combating what he considers anti-Israel and antisemitic actions in Okay-12 public colleges and school campuses.
The committee cited studies of alleged bullying of Jewish college students, antisemitic shows, and feedback from academics and directors. Both the Berkeley Unified School District and the School District of Philadelphia had beforehand been investigated for a way they dealt with alleged antisemitic incidents by the Biden administration.
While the Philadelphia school district settled with the Department of Education in December 2024 and agreed to a “federally mandated corrective action plan,” Walberg, in his letter Monday, insisted that “according to press and whistleblower reports, antisemitic incidents have continued to proliferate since the plan.”
The probe comes greater than a 12 months after a Congressional listening to to deal with alleged antisemitism in Okay-12 colleges, which featured officers from liberal-leaning areas like New York City; Montgomery County, Maryland; and the Berkeley Unified School District, which was despatched a letter on Monday.
At the listening to final May, BUSD Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel was questioned by the panel about curriculum on antisemitism and the Israel-Palestine battle in her district, which included literature that stated “For some Palestinians, ‘from the river to the sea’ is a call for freedom and peace.”
Asked if that was acceptable, Morthel stated on the time, “We definitely believe it’s important to expose our students to a diversity of ideas and perspectives, and if it was presented as a perspective, I do think it’s appropriate.”
Some pro-Palestinian advocates say the phrase is a name for justice and an finish to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. But the Anti-Defamation League and many supporters of Israel argue the phrase is an antisemitic slogan and say it requires the destruction of Israel and the removing of Jews from the nation.
Other hearings have targeted totally on US universities, dozens of that are beneath investigation by the Trump administration for alleged Title VI violations.
NCS’s Matt Egan, Karina Tsui and Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.