Education Department Investigates Florida School District for Alleged Anti-Semitism

The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is opening a complaint to investigate allegations of anti-Semitism against the Bay County, Florida, School District, the department said in a May 8 statement.

“OCR launched this investigation based on claims that the District was aware of antisemitic harassment in its schools, but failed to take effective measures to prevent it from continuing,” the Department of Education said.

OCR will be determining whether the school district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin, race, or color in any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance. If a recipient is found to have engaged in discriminatory actions, the funding agency can either terminate the funding or refer the matter to the Department of Justice for legal action.

According to the Education Department, the Bay County district was allegedly aware of anti-Semitic bullying of students, including conspiracy theories about Jews, stereotypical comments, and swastikas being drawn in textbooks and on school campuses.

In one incident that occurred during a class presentation, a group of students mockingly wore yarmulkes, which are skullcaps worn by Jewish males, and also performed Nazi salutes, the department said. The district is alleged to have failed to take a “reasonable and effective” response to stop such harassment.

“A learning environment that permits bullying, leaves harassment unpunished, and tolerates antisemitic hatred is not only unsafe for students—it is unlawful,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.

“No child should ever be targeted for abuse at school because of his or her identity. When that happens, school districts have an affirmative obligation under federal law to step in, fix the problem, and take action to ensure it does not happen again.

“When districts fail to meet that basic obligation, they will face consequences. Such institutional neglect will not be tolerated, and the Trump Administration will fully investigate these abhorrent allegations to ensure the equal treatment of all students.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the Bay County, Florida, School District for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

The Education Department cited President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order titled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” which said that perpetrators of such harassment and violence would be prosecuted or held accountable.

Actions Against Anti-Semitism

In July 2025, the Trump administration withheld $184 million from the University of California–Los Angeles, alleging that the institution failed to tackle anti-Semitism and follow discriminatory admission practices.

A lawsuit was filed against the Trump administration in September 2025, alleging violations of the First Amendment. In November 2025, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocked the administration’s funding cuts.

In another case, a federal judge reversed a $2.2 billion funding freeze instituted by the Trump administration on Harvard, finding that the federal government had violated First Amendment rights while moving ahead with its efforts to tackle anti-Semitism.

The Education Department has continued to investigate anti-Semitic discrimination on educational campuses.

In a Jan. 20 statement, the department said that it was investigating several universities for “failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment—to ensure that all students have access to equal learning opportunities on safe campuses.”

In March last year, the department’s OCR sent letters to 60 universities that were being investigated for anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment.

Meanwhile, anti-Semitism incidents on American colleges and university campuses declined last year, according to a May 6 statement from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an anti-hate organization that was founded in 1913 to protect Jewish people.

“In 2025, ADL recorded 583 antisemitic incidents on college campuses, which is 66 percent lower than in 2024 (1,694 incidents),” the league said, while attributing the decline partly to colleges addressing the issue on campuses.

However, “the threat of antisemitism on college campuses is far from gone,” the organization said. “Incidents remained almost three times higher in 2025 than in 2021.”

As for non-Jewish K-12 schools, instances of anti-Semitism declined slightly last year from 2024, according to the organization.

“At K-12 schools, most incidents involve individual, peer-to-peer behavior, such as antisemitic harassment or students vandalizing classrooms with swastikas,” it said.