The Brandeis Center (LDB) and the affiliated Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education (JAFE) filed a lawsuit against the U.S Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for failing to follow its own procedures in dismissing theLDB’s November 2023 complaint against the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) – for fostering an environment of anti-Semitism on its campus – an abdication of its responsibility to thoroughly investigate instances of egregious anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination that occur in potential violation of OCR’s anti-discrimination standards and the Administrative Procedure Act.

On November 9, 2023, LDB filed a Title VI complaint with OCR against UPenn for failure to address pervasive incidents of campus anti-Semitism. The complaint alleges that the school administration allowed its campus to become not only a hostile environment for its Jewish students but a magnet for anti-Semites attending other colleges or just living nearby. By sponsoring, hosting, and funding a “Palestine Writes Festival” whose speakers included notorious anti-Semites, and by allowing University departments to publish brochures and fliers advertising the event in Penn’s name, the University effectively took ownership of the Festival and signaled to the Penn community that its campus is the place to go to engage in anti-Semitic rhetoric and activities. UPenn’s failure to adequately respond violates Title VI, which prohibits recipients of federal funding from allowing harassment, bias or discrimination on campus and protects Jews on the basis of their actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

A few weeks after the Festival, the campus erupted in displays of anti-Semitism, with students, professors and others praising Hamas in the wake of its October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians. The University failed to take action to address the ensuing hostile environment, much less take immediate steps to end it, as the law requires it to do.

On November 15, 2023, OCR informed LDB it had opened up an investigation into “whether the University of Pennsylvania failed to respond to alleged harassment of students and staff on the basis of national origin in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI.” OCR’s own regulations require an investigation to proceed whenever a complaint indicates a potential violation of OCR’s anti-discrimination standards. The Department’s Letter stated that “OCR will ensure that its investigation is legally sufficient and fully responds to the allegation in accordance with the provisions of the Case Processing Manual.”

A separate private lawsuit unaffiliated with LDB – Yakoby v. University of Penn. –  was then filed in December against UPenn by two Jewish students facing anti-Semitism on campus who asserted claims for violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Breach of Contract, and violations of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Laws. Without notifying the LDB of its considerations, OCR proceeded to dismiss LDB’s complaint, acknowledging that even though OCR admitted that Yakoby was “not filed as a class action,” because the complaint “contains the same allegations as those filed with OCR” and “seeks systemic relief,” OCR was dismissing the complaint “pursuant to Case Processing Manual Section 110(h).”

As such, given OCR’s own admission of this clear violation of its own policies, LDB is seeking legal relief in having OCR’s actions declared unlawful, and the re-opening of LDB’s original complaint against UPenn and any other cases similarly yet incorrectly dismissed under Section 110(h) of its Case Processing Manual.

U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights press release (7/9/24)

U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights complaint (7/9/24)

UPenn & Wellesley press release (11/10/23)

UPenn complaint (11/10/23)