DOE Returns To Prior Policy On Religious-Ethnic Discrimination On Campuses

JTA reports that in new guidance issued yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education on bullying, DOE made clear that it is returning to its 2004 policy on religious discrimination designed to permit the application of federal civil rights laws to anti-Semitic incidents on campuses, as well as to discrimination against Arab Muslims and Sikhs at schools receiving federal funds.  Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act bars discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin, but it does not bar religious discrimination by institutions receiving federal funds. However, in a "Dear Colleague" letter (full text) sent by the Department's Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to 15,000 schools, and 5,000 colleges and universities around the country (ABC News), the Department announced:

While Title VI does not cover discrimination based solely on religion, groups that face discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common faith.  These principles apply not just to Jewish students, but also to students from any discrete religious group that shares, or is perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics (e.g., Muslims or Sikhs).  Thus, harassment against students who are members of any religious group triggers a school’s Title VI responsibilities when the harassment is based on the group’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, rather than solely on its members’ religious practices.  A school also has responsibilities under Title VI when its students are harassed based on their actual or perceived citizenship or residency in a country whose residents share a dominant religion or a distinct religious identity.

Rep. Brad Sherman who had introduced legislation to extend the coverage of Title VI to religious discrimination (see prior posting) issued a release applauding DOE's announcement. In 2006, DOE as well as the U.S. Civil Rights Commission had apparently backed away from enforcing Title VI to get at anti-Semitic incidents. (See prior posting.)