A complaint was filed to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) on April 3 alleging that the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) failed to properly address reported antisemitic incidents on their campuses.
The complaint alleges that “SCUSD applies its policies and procedures regarding freedom of expression, controversial matters and civility in blatantly different ways depending on the impacted student group … SCUSD repeatedly disregards the concerns of Jewish students and suppresses their procedural and substantive rights, all while bolstering the voices of other members of the SCUSD community. This disparate treatment created a hostile environment where SCUSD’s Jewish and Israeli students are continuously being denied equal access to their educational program.”
The complaint points to an instance in February in which the Bay Area Jewish Coalition (BAJC) expressed concern that the Muslim Students Association (MSA) chapter in the district had invited a speaker from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to speak at its “Know Your Rights” event; the MSA had only provided two days’ notice to the school community about the event. The BAJC asked that the district postpone the event given the short notice and contended that CAIR has “social media posts targeting Jews and Israelis” and has “ties to Hamas, a US-recognized terror organization.” The BAJC noted that the MSA chapter did not disclose who the speaker from CAIR would be. The event was also scheduled to take place on the day of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas’ funeral. “The sensitivity of the day was compounded by the fact that certain leaders of CAIR had previously shared hateful and completely debunked statements blaming Israel for the children’s deaths.”
The district replied that it had thoroughly reviewed the matter; the event went on as planned. The complaint claims the district has the right to stop the event if it “disrupts the educational program or creates a clear danger of unlawful activity” and the event can be canceled if there’s a “credible threat.”
“There is no evidence that the MSA students were aware of, or complied with, these brand new procedural requirements for their event,” the complaint states. “There is also no evidence of SCUSD’s alleged ‘thorough review’ pursuant to these new requirements. Nevertheless, on February 26, 2025, the MSA event moved forward, with Hibah Hammoudeh of CAIR teaching students about Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bullying, and religious rights in public schools, as well as introducing them to CAIR as an organization. SCUSD did not follow up with the concerned Jewish and Israeli families after this event or make any determination as to the appropriateness of hosting a contentious organization.”
The complaint further alleges that SCUSD failed to respond to the hate speech directed “toward an integral component of mainstream Jewish identity” at a separate MSA event at Wilcox High School toward the end of 2023 and that a teacher “actually gave extra credit to students who attended that event. SCUSD did not take any steps to address the policy violations thereafter.”
The Jewish Culture Club at the high school scheduled their own event for Feb. 2024 to provide a balanced perspective on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The club’s flyers promoting the event “were ripped from school bulletin boards,” but no action was allegedly taken after this was reported to school administrators. The district later canceled the event altogether after claiming that “there were significant threats from outside organizations” and refused to provide evidence when Jewish families asked what exactly the threats were. This, the complaint contends, shows a double standard in how the district handled the Jewish Culture Club event compared to the 2023 MSA event.
“SCUSD’s decision to cancel the Jewish Culture Club event resulted in both an infringement on Jewish students’ rights to free speech, and a violation of all students’ rights to an impartial discussion of controversial topics,” the complaint states.
Before the event was canceled, a teacher allegedly targeted a Jewish student over the event during class, urging the student cancel it over a social media post from Bar Yoshafat; the teacher assumed the student was involved because he’s Jewish, per the complaint. The student has not returned to class since then and filed a complaint against the teacher over it. The district concluded that the teacher’s behavior was “unprofessional” and “offensive,” it “did not rise to the level of discrimination as it was not pervasive and did not prevent [the student] from participating in a school activity or event.” The student subsequently appealed the decision to the state’s department of education, which ordered SCUSD to “take further corrective action. … There is no evidence that SCUSD complied with this instruction as of the date of this Complaint.”
The complaint proceeds to focus on a pattern on how teachers and students in the district have allegedly harassed Jewish and Israeli individuals since 2023. The district investigated these incidents, but issued a statement on the matter that did not mention antisemitism or provide any suggested solution for education on antisemitism.
The complaint contends SCUSD’s failure “to address these matters puts them in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts, The complaint issues a series of suggested remedies, including that the district issues a statement condemning all forms of antisemitism and recognizing that Zionism is a central tenet of Jewish identity, adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and review all history and social studies curricula to make sure it comports with state standards.
“SCUSD has allowed an egregiously hostile environment to fester for its Jewish and Israeli students in violation of its federal obligations and ethical responsibility to create a safe educational space for all students,” StandWithUs Saidoff Legal Senior Counsel and K-12 Specialist Jenna Harris said in a statement. “We implore the Office for Civil Rights to step in and uphold the right of these students to an inclusive education free from hostility toward their protected identity.”
“SCUSD has allowed an egregiously hostile environment to fester for its Jewish and Israeli students in violation of its federal obligations and ethical responsibility to create a safe educational space for all students.”- Jenna Harris
A spokesperson for the district said in a statement to The Journal, “Santa Clara Unified School District is committed to our values of equity, empathy, and respect. Our schools are beautifully diverse, and we strive for environments where every young person and employee feels a sense of safety, welcome, and belonging,” and pointed to the variety of resources it provides for addressing controversial issues. There are “established clear procedures for schools to follow when students request guest speakers and other free speech events on campus.”
The complaint was filed by the StandWithUs Saidoff Legal division and the BAJC, represented by David Rosenberg-Wohl of the Hershenson Rosenberg-Wohl, P.C. law firm.
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