[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 17 (Monday, January 28, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S723-S724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 58. Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina submitted an amendment intended to
be proposed by him to the bill S. 1, to make improvements to certain
defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the
appropriation of funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-
Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the wholesale
slaughter of the Syrian people, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. ANTI-SEMITISM AWARENESS.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Anti-
Semitism Awareness Act of 2019''.
(b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (referred to
in the subsection 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.
[[Page S724]]
(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 subsection (c) 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.
(c) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the term
``definition of anti-Semitism''--
(1) includes the definition of anti-Semitism set forth by
the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the
Department of State in the Fact Sheet issued on June 8, 2010;
and
(2) includes the examples set forth under the headings
``Contemporary Examples of Anti-Semitism'' and ``What is
Anti-Semitism Relative to Israel?'' of the Fact Sheet.
(d) 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.
(e) 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''.
(f) Other Rules of Construction.--
(1) General rule of construction.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed--
(A) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Education;
(B) to alter the standards pursuant to which the Department
of Education makes a determination that harassing conduct
amounts to actionable discrimination; or
(C) 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.
(2) Constitutional protections.--Nothing in this section
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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