Nysmith School regrets expelling the children of the family that brought the action and will adopt nondiscrimination policies, establish working committee to investigate complaints of discrimination, and engage outside monitor Washington, D.C. (November 18, 2025) – Today, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced that the Nysmith School has agreed to settle discrimination claims filed by a Jewish family with the Office for Civil Rights in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office. The action alleged that the private K-8 school in Fairfax County, Virginia expelled three Jewish siblings after their parents notified the headmaster about the severe and relentless anti-Semitic bullying and harassment faced by one of their daughters. As part of the settlement, Nysmith School will adopt new nondiscrimination policies that include a clear definition of anti-Semitism, establish a working committee to investigate complaints of discrimination, engage an outside monitor, provide mandatory anti-Semitism training to administrators, faculty and staff, and provide anti-Semitism education to students. According to the complaint, bullies at the Nysmith School relentlessly harassed an 11-year-old Jewish student, and called Jews “baby killers,” said Jews deserved to die because of what is happening in Gaza, and told the young girl that everyone hated her for being Jewish. When her parents reported these incidents to the headmaster, no action was taken. In the following weeks, the school cancelled its annual Holocaust program featuring a Holocaust survivor to speak about anti-Semitism, claiming it did so out of a sensitivity to events in Gaza. Days later, her parents learned that the school had raised a Palestinian flag in the gym, which prompted more aggressive harassment of their daughter. Three weeks after their first meeting, the parents again met with the headmaster and reported the harassment of their daughter had become worse. The headmaster said their daughter needed to “toughen up” – and two days later sent an email expelling the student and her two siblings effective that same day. The school fostered an environment that allowed anti-Semitic harassment. Just months before the bullying occurred, their daughter’s teacher asked the class to collaborate on a large drawing depicting the attributes of “strong historical leaders.” The students produced a picture that featured the portrait of Adolf Hitler, and the Nysmith School posted a photo of the children showing off their drawing to the school community. The new nondiscrimination policies agreed upon in the settlement will incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (“IHRA”) definition of anti-Semitism and will be published on the school’s website and the parent’s handbook, as well as emailed to and discussed with staff. The working committee responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination will be composed of at least three people, including one parent of a current student, and it will investigate and recommend a disposition for any complaints submitted. In addition, Nysmith School has agreed to engage an independent monitor for at least five years, who will be responsible for reviewing the working committee’s investigation and recommended disposition of each complaint of discrimination, and issuing a written assessment as to whether the committee acted in conformance with the nondiscrimination policies and law. If the monitor determines that the school engaged in intentional discrimination or was deliberately indifferent to a hostile environment, the monitor is required to submit a confidential report to the Virginia Attorney General. Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington will lead all training sessions and programs provided by Nysmith School under the terms of this agreement, including annual mandatory anti-Semitism training for administrators, faculty and staff for at least five years, which will include the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism with its examples, age-appropriate anti-Semitism education for students, and an annual age-appropriate program for students to learn about the Holocaust. Finally, Ken Nysmith, headmaster of Nysmith School, will issue a public statement in which he expresses regret for expelling the children of the family that brought the action, and states that stigmatizing Jewish students or making them feel unsafe or unwelcome based on their religious identity or expressing their Jewish identity is contrary to Nysmith School’s fundamental values of mutual respect and inclusion. The Nysmith School will also reimburse the family for expenses it incurred because of the expulsion. “Justice has been served for our clients’ family, and the resulting actions underway at Nysmith School will help prevent this kind of discrimination from happening to others. These steps are critical as anti-Semitism in K-12 education continues to rise,” said Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office for Civil Rights. “Through this settlement, we send a clear message, one that demonstrates accountability and willingness to improve. It is our hope that other schools and universities around the country will follow suit. We thank Attorney General Miyares for the prompt and energetic work of his office throughout this process.” For over two decades, Marcus has played a key role in the legal campaign against anti-Semitism in educational institutions. Under President George W. Bush, Marcus authored a 2004 Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Dear Colleague Letter that explained for the very first time the obligations of schools under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to address discrimination and harassment of Jews on the basis of their shared ancestry. Under the leadership of Marcus, the Brandeis Center agreed to a historic settlement with Harvard University to address growing and dangerous anti-Semitism on its campus. As part of the settlement, Harvard agreed to apply the IHRA’s definition to university non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies, recognize the centrality of Zionism to Jewish identity, and explicitly state that targeting Jews and Zionists constitutes a violation of school rules. “It has been a tremendous honor to partner with the Brandeis Center and fight the civilizational poison of anti-Semitism,” said Justin Dillon, partner at Dillon PLLC and co-counsel on this case. “I am so happy for our clients, who achieved a very just result, and also for the current and future Nysmith families that this settlement will protect.” In addition to Harvard, the Brandeis Center has filed complaints against elementary, middle, and high schools, including Concord-Carlisle High School, Fulton County School District, Etiwanda School District, Berkeley Unified School District, and the Community School of Davidson, for persistent anti-Semitic bullying and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students. The Brandeis Center has also filed federal lawsuits in response to anti-Semitic incidents at UC Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, and UCLA, and the U.S. Department of Education is investigating numerous Brandeis Center complaints, including against Yale University, UMass Amherst, Scripps College, and American University.