The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has warned American University and 59 other schools of a letter they’d receive over “potential enforcement actions” should the University not follow its Title VI obligation to protect Jewish students, according to a press release.
The University is one of 60 institutions of higher education receiving the warning, all of which the Department of Education claimed “are presently under investigation” for alleged violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The institutions are obligated to allow Jewish students “uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities,” according to the press release. The University told The Eagle they are not currently under any formal investigation.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the press statement. “University leaders must do better.”
The letter comes after a January 2024 complaint filed to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights against the University by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish on Campus. The complaint included 12 witness statements from AU students claiming they felt “threatened, marginalized, shunned, and made to feel unwelcome in their dormitories, classrooms, and social spaces throughout the campus.”
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in educational institutions that receive federal funding, including universities. Title IV states that the federal government can revoke federal funding from institutions that fail to enforce Title VI.
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers,” McMahon said in the press release. “That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
Prior to the letters, President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday a cancellation of $400 million in federal funding and grants to Columbia University over “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students,” according to a press release by the U.S. General Services Administration.
The Trump administration warned Columbia days prior that tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts and grants were under “comprehensive review” by the administration, according to a joint press release from the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and the General Services Administration.
In a statement to the Eagle, University Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Matt Bennett said the OCR letter outlines all universities’ responsibilities under Title VI, but doesn’t reference any specific actions against American University.
“Our commitment to supporting our Jewish community and addressing antisemitism is ongoing and extensive,” Bennett said.
This article was edited by Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
