[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 852 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 852
To provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for
the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education
programs or activities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 14, 2019
Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Casey, Mr. Rubio, and Mr.
Isakson) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for
the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education
programs or activities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Semitism Awareness Act of
2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (referred to
in the section as ``title VI'') is one of the principal
antidiscrimination statutes enforced by the Department of
Education's Office for Civil Rights.
(2) Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color, or national origin.
(3) Both the Department of Justice and the Department of
Education have properly concluded that title VI prohibits
discrimination against Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and members of
other religious groups when the discrimination is based on the
group's actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic
characteristics or when the discrimination is based on actual
or perceived citizenship or residence in a country whose
residents share a dominant religion or a distinct religious
identity.
(4) A September 8, 2010, letter from Assistant Attorney
General Thomas E. Perez to Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
Russlynn H. Ali stated that ``[a]lthough Title VI does not
prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion,
discrimination against Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and members of
other groups violates Title VI when that discrimination is
based on the group's actual or perceived shared ancestry or
ethnic characteristics''.
(5) To assist State and local educational agencies and
schools in their efforts to comply with Federal law, the
Department of Education periodically issues Dear Colleague
letters. On a number of occasions, these letters set forth the
Department of Education's interpretation of the statutory and
regulatory obligations of schools under title VI.
(6) On September 13, 2004, the Department of Education
issued a Dear Colleague letter regarding the obligations of
schools (including colleges) under title VI to address
incidents involving religious discrimination. The 2004 letter
specifically notes that ``since the attacks of September 11,
2001, OCR has received complaints of race or national origin
harassment commingled with aspects of religious discrimination
against Arab Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish students.''.
(7) An October 26, 2010, Dear Colleague letter issued by
the Department of Education stated, ``While Title VI does not
cover discrimination based solely on religion, groups that face
discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived shared
ancestry or ethnic characteristics may not be denied protection
under Title VI on the ground that they also share a common
faith. These principles apply not just to Jewish students, but
also to students from any discrete religious group that shares,
or is perceived to share, ancestry or ethnic characteristics
(e.g., Muslims or Sikhs).''.
(8) Anti-Semitism, and harassment on the basis of actual or
perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics with a
religious group, remains a persistent, disturbing problem in
elementary and secondary schools and on college campuses.
(9) Students from a range of diverse backgrounds, including
Jewish, Arab Muslim, and Sikh students, are being threatened,
harassed, or intimidated in their schools (including on their
campuses) on the basis of their shared ancestry or ethnic
characteristics including through harassing conduct that
creates a hostile environment so severe, pervasive, or
persistent so as to interfere with or limit some students'
ability to participate in or benefit from the services,
activities, or opportunities offered by schools.
(10) The 2010 Dear Colleague letter cautioned schools that
they ``must take prompt and effective steps reasonably
calculated to end the harassment, eliminate any hostile
environment, and its effects, and prevent the harassment from
recurring,'' but did not provide guidance on current
manifestations of anti-Semitism, including discriminatory anti-
Semitic conduct that is couched as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist.
(11) The definition and examples referred to in paragraphs
(1) and (2) of section 3 have been valuable tools to help
identify contemporary manifestations of anti-Semitism, and
include useful examples of discriminatory anti-Israel conduct
that crosses the line into anti-Semitism.
(12) Awareness of this definition of anti-Semitism will
increase understanding of the parameters of contemporary anti-
Jewish conduct and will assist the Department of Education in
determining whether an investigation of anti-Semitism under
title VI is warranted.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the term ``definition of anti-
Semitism''--
(1) includes the definition of anti-Semitism adopted on May
26, 2016, by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance
(referred to in this section as ``IHRA''), of which the United
States is a member, which definition has been adopted by the
Department of State; and
(2) includes the ``[c]ontemporary examples of
antisemitism'' identified in the IHRA definition.
SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF
1964.
In reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there has been a
violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d
et seq.) on the basis of race, color, or national origin, based on an
individual's actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish
ethnic characteristics, the Department of Education shall take into
consideration the definition of anti-Semitism as part of the
Department's assessment of whether the practice was motivated by anti-
Semitic intent.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.
The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall administer and
enforce title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et
seq.) and title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681
et seq.) in a manner that is consistent with the manner of
administration and enforcement described in the Dear Colleague letter
issued on September 13, 2004, by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement of the Department of Education, entitled ``Title VI and
Title IX Religious Discrimination in Schools and Colleges''.
SEC. 6. OTHER RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) General Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed--
(1) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Education;
(2) to alter the standards pursuant to which the Department
of Education makes a determination that harassing conduct
amounts to actionable discrimination; or
(3) to diminish or infringe upon the rights protected under
any other provision of law that is in effect as of the date of
enactment of this Act.
(b) Constitutional Protections.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
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