U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Complaint Against Brown University Alleging Antisemitic Discrimination

U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Complaint Against Brown University Alleging Antisemitic Discrimination

Investigation Also Raised Concerns Regarding Anti-Palestinian and Anti-Muslim Discrimination

July 8, 2024

Contact: PressOffice, (202) 401-1576, [email protected]

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that Brown University in Rhode Island has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with respect to alleged harassment of students based on national origin (including shared Jewish, Palestinian, Arab, and/or Muslim ancestry). A complaint was filed against the university in December 2023 alleging Title VI violations.

OCR's investigation confirmed that the university has taken notable proactive steps to support a nondiscriminatory campus environment, including updating its relevant policies and procedures in February 2024, providing university investigators with Title VI training specifically addressing shared ancestry discrimination in January 2024, and providing student and staff workshops on combating antisemitism and combating anti-Muslim hate in February and March 2024. However, OCR's investigation also identified compliance concerns regarding the effectiveness of the university's response to notice of alleged shared ancestry discrimination that could contribute to or create a hostile environment for students.

Today, OCR is announcing that the university has signed a resolution agreement that will effectively ensure the university's compliance with Title VI's requirement of nondiscrimination based on shared ancestry.

The university received some 75 reports of alleged antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim harassment against students from October 2023 through late March 2024. But the university appears to have taken no or little action in response other than to acknowledge receipt of the reports, list support resources, and request to meet with the complainant, consistent with its policies then in effect. These reports include allegations of serious harm, including, for example: allegations that students pointed at a Jewish classmate's Star of David jewelry and yelled "Zionist pig Jew;" a Palestinian-American student's roommate berated them about their Palestinian-American identity for weeks; and students blocked a Jewish classmate from attending a pro-Palestinian rally.

OCR's review of university records suggests that the university may have conditioned a fuller response to the harassing conduct on the complainant's replying to the university's outreach emails. So doing misapplies applicable law. Once a university has notice of alleged discrimination, it has a Title IV obligation to assess whether a hostile learning environment exists independent of whether a complainant does or does not respond to or meet with the university. Relatedly, OCR noted distinct variation among the half-dozen university entities responding to these reports, leaving university students and staff without consistent university redress.

During the investigation, the university revised its practices to address a campus climate the university characterized as marked by anxiety, tension, and fear. The university reported organizing its updated practices around the following key priorities:

1. Protecting the safety of its community, in particular supporting the needs and safety of its students, faculty, and staff who are Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim, Jewish, have ties to the region, and are feeling impacted by current events.
2. Fostering welcoming, open, and respectful learning and living environments free of discrimination and harassment.
3. Providing care and empathy to affected members of the Brown community. And,
4. Taking the strongest possible stance against any form of discrimination and harassment including, but not limited to, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hate, or other unlawful discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics or citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity.

OCR determined that monitoring the university's fulfillment of these key priorities through the following resolution agreement terms will effectively ensure the university's compliance with Title VI's prohibition on discrimination based on shared ancestry:

• Further revising its policies and procedures to ensure all university offices consistently and effectively comply with Title VI, including with respectto prot ests and demonstrations.
• Conducting annual training on nondiscrimination and harassment for all students and employees.
• Maintaining records related to complaints or reports of discrimination under Title VI.
• Conducting a review of the university's response to complaints and reports of antisemitic and other shared ancestry discrimination during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years, and taking remedial actions if required. And,
• Analyzing the results of, and creating an action plan in response to, climate survey(s) and/or other review(s) focused on shared ancestry discrimination.

"I commend Brown University for assessing its own campus climate and undertaking responsive reforms to comply with Title VI, in addition to the terms it agrees today to undertake in response to OCR's investigation," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. "OCR looks forward to work with the university to ensure a nondiscriminatory learning environment for its Jewish, Muslim, Israeli, and Palestinian students and students of all other backgrounds."

The letter to Brown University and the resolution agreement are available on the OCR website.

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