Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Education last week opened a federal investigation into Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Florida, expanding the agency's investigations into K-12 public schools under Title VI.
- The move is part of the department’s efforts to aggressively enforce the civil rights law — which prohibits discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics — in the wake of increased antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination reported in public schools and on college campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
- This investigation comes less than a week after the department released a list of six colleges and one public school district — Kansas' Maize Unified School District — that were under investigation for complaints alleging antisemitic and anti-Muslim harassment since the week the conflict began in early October.
Dive Insight:
In its initial announcement on Nov. 16, the department warned it would continue to actively enforce the civil rights law to ensure schools were protecting Jewish, Muslim, Arab and Sikh students, among others, from unsafe and exclusionary educational environments. The rare move veered from the department's tendency to limit publicity over open investigations.
"As we continue our active enforcement, the Office for Civil Rights is increasing transparency into our investigations for public awareness," Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary of education for civil rights, said in a statement then. However, she made clear that just because a school is being investigated doesn't mean that Title VI has necessarily been violated.
In a statement, Maize USD said it "takes allegations of discrimination seriously and is committed to cooperating fully with any investigation." The district confirmed that the complaint was filed Aug. 10 over an unspecified allegation that occurred in March at Maize South Intermediate School.
Hillsborough County Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
An Education Department spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that the agency expects to launch more investigations in the coming weeks.
While the department does not share details of pending investigations, it makes public its findings and any recommendations for school districts found in violation of civil rights laws once the case is settled.
If schools don't comply, they risk losing federal funding.
The recently opened investigations were preceded by a Dear Colleague Letter in early November that warned "school communities to be vigilant" and address the "alarming rise" in reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.
Schools have simultaneously navigated a wave of activism in recent weeks, with students walking out of classrooms in districts across the nation, including in New York City, where hundreds took to the streets. Similar activism elsewhere has led districts in some cases to facilitate the students' civic engagement, such as by ensuring their safety during walkouts.
The politically charged issue has also divided communities, making it a sensitive issue among teachers, students and families that school and district leaders are having to carefully address.
