Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2025) – Today, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Dillon PLLC filed a complaint on behalf of a Jewish family with the Office for Civil Rights in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office against Nysmith School for violating the Virginia Human Rights Act. According to the filing, the private K-8 school in Northern 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. According to the complaint, bullies taunted the parents’ 11-year-old daughter for being “Israeli,” and called Jews “baby killers,” and said they deserved to die because of what is happening in Gaza. Pointing at the other children, the bullies told their daughter that everyone at the school is against Jews and Israel, which is why they hate you. The other children also taunted her about the death of her uncle, saying that they were glad he died in the October 7th attack, even though he had died years earlier. According to the complaint, when the parents notified the owner and headmaster of Nysmith School about the bullying and discrimination of their daughter, the headmaster said he would swiftly handle the issue. However, no action was taken. In the following weeks, the complaint alleges that the school cancelled its annual tradition of hosting a Holocaust survivor to speak about anti-Semitism – which the headmaster allegedly claimed was done to avoid inflaming tension – and hung a Palestinian flag in Nysmith School’s gym. The complaint alleges that the harassment and bullying of their daughter not only continued, but became even worse. The parents complained a second time. According to the complaint, the parents told the headmaster that they did not object to the hanging of a Palestinian flag, but it had provoked more aggressive anti-Semitic harassment of their daughter, as bullies cited the new Palestinian flag as evidence that “everyone hates Jews,” and that the flag was proof that “nobody likes you.” The complaint alleges that the parents asked the headmaster to take steps to protect their daughter. The headmaster, however, allegedly told the parents to tell their daughter to “toughen up.” Two days later, the headmaster sent the parents an email stating all three of their children – a son in the second grade and two daughters in the sixth grade – were expelled effective that same day. At the time of the expulsion, all three children were high-achieving students, and none had any disciplinary issues. The parents actively volunteered in school activities, and in a March 20, 2024 letter, the headmaster praised the entire family, writing: “We are very honored to have [the parent] and his family as part of the Nysmith community.” Nysmith’s School allowed an environment hostile to Jewish students to take root well before this incident, according to the complaint. For example, the complaint recounts that in October 2024, in their daughter’s history class, the teacher asked the students to work together on an art project to create a large drawing featuring the attributes of “strong historical leaders.” The students collaborated on a large artistic rendering of a strong leader, featuring Adolf Hitler’s face. The parents learned of the project only after Nysmith School posted a photo of the children holding up their project, which is reproduced in the complaint. Nysmith School is a private school that accepts tuition from its students, falling under the purview of the Virginia Human Rights Act’s definition of a “public accommodation.” As such, the school is obligated to provide a safe learning environment for all of its students, including Jewish and Israeli students. “The actions of Nysmith School against these three young children are disgraceful. As explained in the complaint, the administration not only dismissed this family’s pain and humiliation, but allowed an atmosphere that fostered anti-Semitism,” said Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office of Civil Rights during two administrations. “Through its actions, the administration sent a clear message: bullying is acceptable, as long as it’s against Jewish families. We must all emulate the strength of these parents and their children and stand up to anti-Semitism and its perpetrators, as difficult as it may be. In addition to action from legal authorities, it is high time for public moral outrage; the normalization of anti-Semitism must stop.” “I could not be prouder to work with the Brandeis Center to file this complaint against the Nysmith School,” said Justin Dillon of Dillon PLLC. “Summarily expelling three young Jewish kids in the middle of the school year after their parents voiced concerns about antisemitism is beyond the pale. And don’t get me started about that picture of Hitler.” Earlier this year, the Brandeis Center filed a complaint against Fulton County School District for persistent anti-Semitic bullying and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The Department of Education recently announced investigations into this complaint, as well as Brandeis Center complaints filed against UMass Amherst, DC’s American University, Yale University, and Scripps College. As a response to another Brandeis Center lawsuit, Harvard agreed to take significant measures to address anti-Semitism on its campus, including recognizing the centrality of Zionism to Jewish identity and explicitly stating that targeting Jews and Zionists constitutes a violation of school rules.