The US Department of Education on Monday announced a Title VI complaint settlement with the Red Clay Consolidated School District in Wilmington Delaware related to antisemitism and racism incidents.
The Delaware Public Education Ombudsman filed the complaint on behalf of a student and her family claiming she was harassed by classmates on the basis of her national origin, “shared Jewish ancestry.”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance from the US Department of Education.
The student, who is Jewish, “experienced several incidents of harassment based on her shared Jewish ancestry,” the Department wrote in its summary of the investigation by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
Three students who created a paper airplane with writing in red ink saying “Blood of the Jews” and red ink splattered on the paper to represent drops of blood. Also on the paper airplane were drawn several swastikas as well as several racist epithets, including “I hate niggas.” The students threw the paper airplane at the student while she was sitting alone at a table across the room.
About 10 minutes later two of the same students plus a third, different student, performed a “Heil Hitler” salute.
On a separate day, students were talking about Kanye West in class, and when the Jewish student asked them to stop, one of the group told her to “shut the f–k up,” later adding, “I support Kanye West, Hitler was right.”
On another occasion, the targeted student found a swastika drawn on the leg of her desk. Several swastikas were also drawn at the same school at different times, including on a student’s desk.
At least three of the bullies had records of previous racist incidents.
There have been more than 40 civil rights investigations into possible discrimination at educational institutions since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres in Israel, with incidents at prestigious universities and school districts across the United States, according to the Orthodox Union (OU).
“Antisemitism has become a significant factor in the lives of Jewish students at universities and public schools,” noted Rabbi Moshe Hauer, OU Executive Vice President.
“We are disturbed and frightened by the growth of the phenomenon and disheartened by the frequently inadequate responses of administrators zealously protective of others but apparently insensitive to the experience of these students.
“Schools must fulfill their responsibility under Title VI to maintain an environment where all students can study and thrive without experiencing hostility based on their shared ancestry or ethnicity.
“We welcome Monday’s announcement from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Education regarding the conclusion of its investigation of the Red Clay Consolidated School District in Delaware. OCR has recently initiated dozens of investigations of schools and universities in response to complaints of antisemitism and other Title VI violations.”
Hauer added that the OCR investigation focused on the harassment and bullying of both Jewish and Black students at Red Clay and the school district’s inadequate response. “The OCR did what is needed, investigating the matter thoroughly and responsibly and holding the school and the school district accountable, putting in place a substantive resolution agreement to prevent future failures,” he said.
“We appreciate the seriousness of the OCR investigation and the specificity of its conclusions and hope that this and the other pending investigations will produce positive change in those investigated while serving as both a guide and a warning to others.
“We look forward to the day when America’s educational institutions will again reflect its core values.”
