Jewish groups allege in federal complaint antisemitism permitted to ‘flourish’ at schools in Fulton County, Georgia

(CNN) — Multiple Jewish civil rights groups have filed a federal complaint alleging Jewish and Israeli students have faced a “hostile” and “intolerable” environment at K-12 schools in Fulton County, Georgia, since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and routinely face antisemitism, bullying and harassment.

The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed the complaint with the US Department of Education on August 6, on behalf of multiple Jewish organizations.

It alleges leadership, students, and staff at Fulton County School District, one of the largest school districts in Georgia, have “fostered an intense climate of hostility and fear” that enables some students to “act with impunity, harassing Jewish students before, during and after class, mocking their pain and threatening their families.”

The complaint also alleges “parents repeatedly reported the anti-Semitism” but the district “denied the anti-Semitic nature of the incidents and/or offered inadequate solutions that were not intended to eliminate the hostile climate.”

The complaint accuses the district of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on race, color, or national origin.

The harassment alleged in the complaint is “a disturbing reminder that anti-Semitism is a problem that impacts students long before they step foot on a college campus,” Denise Katz-Prober, director of legal initiatives for the Brandeis Center, said in a statement Tuesday.

“The families of these Jewish and Israeli students have been left to fend for themselves, by administrators who dismiss their complaints and refuse to act. It is long past due for FCSD to take swift corrective action against the anti-Semitism that pervades their schools,” she added.

A spokesperson for the Fulton County School District confirmed Tuesday district officials are aware the complaint has been filed with the Education Department.

“This private group’s effort to depict Fulton County Schools as promoting or even tolerating anti-Semitism is false,” the district said in a statement shared with CNN.

“Like most, if not all, schools across the country, world events have sometimes spilled onto our campuses. Whenever inappropriate behavior is brought to our attention, Fulton County Schools takes it seriously, investigates, and takes appropriate action.”

The Fulton County School District educates more than 87,000 students in metro Atlanta and the surrounding area, according to its website. CNN has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.

Marci Miller, director of legal investigations at the Brandeis Center, told CNN the antisemitic incidents described in the complaint are a “nonexhaustive list of what’s taken place.”

“They are children, they’re relying on the adults around them to protect them. And in a lot of cases, including in the Fulton County schools, that is not happening. The children are not protected,” she said. “There’s such a power differential there, based on the fact that these are children being bullied and harassed – it has a real lasting impact.”

Miller noted the groups are not seeking monetary remediation, but have instead called for further education on antisemitism.

The complaint details “suggested remedies,” including asking the district to issue a statement that condemns antisemitism and says in part, “We recognize that Zionism is a key component of the shared ancestral and ethnic identity of many Jewish Americans.”

Other proposed remedies include appointing an independent investigator to assess the climate of the district, creating a task force of Jewish leaders and students, and having the district “offer to reimburse any students for past counseling, academic, or therapeutic services they obtained as a result of the harassment they experienced based on their Jewish shared ancestry and/or Israeli national origin.”

“It’s really based on a request for systemic change in the district that will help everybody,” she said.

The complaint comes as students return to school amid a rise in antisemitic, anti-Arab and Islamophobic incidents as tensions over the Israel-Hamas conflict continue to permeate classrooms and college campuses across the country. In recent months, Jewish civil rights and legal groups, like the Brandeis Center, have filed complaints against school districts for allegedly failing to address the sharp increase in antisemitic incidents since October 7.

In May, Enikia Ford Morthel, superintendent of California’s Berkeley Unified School District, faced tough questions from lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on antisemitism in public schools.

During the hearing, Morthel confirmed the Department of Education had launched an investigation into alleged antisemitic incidents in her district, but denied allegations that the issues were unchecked.

“If we have a concern or complaint about antisemitism, or any form of hate, we take it very seriously, we investigate and we take action pending the outcome of that investigation,” she said.

The Department of Education has since announced multiple investigations into antisemitism at colleges and schools across the country.

The department’s Office of Civil Rights enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to the department, investigating a complaint “in no way implies that OCR has made a determination with regard to the merits.”

However, if after the investigation the office finds a violation of federal civil rights laws, the Department of Education will seek to work with both parties to outline specific actions that must be taken to protect civil rights.

Failure to voluntarily agree to correct the violations could result in a termination of federal financial assistance, or the case could be referred to the Department of Justice, according to the department’s website.

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