Published by WUSA9 on 11/19/2025 HERNDON, Va. — Two parents will get $100,000 in settlement money from the Nysmith School in Herndon after accusing the northern Virginia private school and its principal of expelling their children because they complained about antisemitic bullying. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the settlement on Tuesday, saying that “every child deserves to learn in an environment free from hate.” The Republican A.G. had publicly expressed interest in handling the civil suit while the case was still under review by the commonwealth’s Office of Civil Rights in early July. The case was taken up by the civil rights office later that month. The complaint, filed with the Brandeis Center, alleged that the war between Israel and Hamas often played a role in the taunts against the sixth grader, with classmates misidentifying the Jewish student as Israeli and holding her responsible for actions carried out by the Middle Eastern country. “Children placed pro-Palestine stickers on school-issued laptops and lockers and pointed at their stickers and taunted for her being ‘Israeli,'” the complaint reads. “In front of her classmates, the bullying children looked at their daughter and called Jews ‘baby killers’ and said they deserve to die because of what is happening in Gaza. … The other children also taunted her about the death of her uncle, saying that they were glad he died in the Oct. 7 attack, even though he had died years earlier.” After learning about what happened and talking to the head of school, the girls’ parents were apparently told by Nysmith that these incidents would be looked into, but they say the bullying only continued. According to a letter signed by Nysmith attached to the complaint, the head of school expelled all three of the parents’ children and offered a prorated refund from the school after the girls’ parents continued to complain. Regular tuition at the Nysmith School can be up to $46,600 per year. “After reflecting on our emotional conversation on Tuesday, the words used make it clear that you have a profound lack of trust in both me and the school,” the emailed letter from principal Kenneth Nysmith reads. “… With this in mind, I regret to inform you that today will be your children’s last day at Nysmith.” The parents’ other two children at the school, an 8-year-old boy and another 11-year-old girl, were apparently not even subject to bullying but were, nonetheless, expelled. Expelled in March, two of the children enrolled in online classes for the final months of the school year and separate extracurricular activities. The parents were unable to enroll their 8-year-old son in a new school for the remainder of the school year after he had been expelled. The civil action also accused Nysmith of broader tolerance of antisemitic imagery during the 2024-2024 school year alongside a diminished Holocaust education program. A photo of students in the 11-year-old’s class carrying a drawing that resembles Adolf Hitler — featuring the genocidal dictator’s signature toothbrush mustache and parted hair — was shared with parents in October 2024. The drawing was produced after students had apparently been asked to draw a composite of a “strong historical leader” in social studies class. Before agreeing to the settlement, Nysmith had claimed the image was taken out of context, saying that students had learned about a variety of historical characters, including former President Barack Obama and Roman general Julius Caesar. “The inclusion of controversial figures was intended to provoke analysis, not admiration,” Nysmith said in a Facebook post from July, adding that students were not directed to pick any particular leader. The Nysmith School’s agreement also includes a mandate to issue a “non-discrimination statement” and to establish a committee to review complaints of discrimination. Ken Nysmith, the school’s principal, will issue the statement, according to the Brandeis Center. Ken Nysmith’s mother founded The Nysmith School in the 1980s and is the namesake of the Fairfax County private school. On antisemitism, specifically, the school will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition. School staff will also be given training on how to provide students with age-appropriate education on the Holocaust and antisemitism. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an intergovernmental task force, has a definition of antisemitism with 11 components, including “accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations” and “accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.” The Brandeis Center, led by CEO Kenneth Marcus, celebrated the settlement. “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 antisemtism in K-12 education continues to rise,” Marcus said. “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.”