Carmel-By-The-Sea: Carmel Schools Violated Jewish Students Rights, Doe Says

Bay City News

The U.S. Department of Education found that the Carmel Unified School District had violated the Civil Rights Act after failing to protect Jewish students amidst a wave of antisemitism.

In a Friday letter to the school district, the Department of Education said that it reviewed 15 alleged incidents of antisemitism dating back to 2021, including instances of students drawing swastikas and saying that they wanted to "kill all Jews."

The department's Office of Civil Rights concluded, based on a preponderance of evidence, that Carmel schools had not acted to prevent a "hostile environment" for its Jewish students, a violation of Title VI, a federal statute prohibiting discrimination based on race, color and national origin.

The Department of Education also announced that the Carmel Unified School District had agreed to implement a series of steps to address antisemitism. According to the Friday letter, CUSD did not concede any violation of the law as part of the agreement.

"To the victims whose unfortunate experiences led to the OCR investigation, know that you are not alone, and I am always here to support you," said CUSD Superintendent Sharon Ofek, who was appointed to the position in March.

According to the Department of Education letter, the school district conducted a survey in 2023 that found close to a quarter of students reported hearing racial slurs on a weekly basis. Though the school's survey didn't include specifics on any incident, the Department of Education detailed numerous instances of swastikas appearing at CUSD schools, usually as graffiti on walls, desks or benches. The letter noted, however, that the school district said it didn't receive any formal complaints of antisemitism.

The investigation found that many of the swastikas often appeared alongside the "n-word," but the Department of Education letter did not mention any violation of Black or African American students' civil rights regarding the slurs.

While the school district did attempt to find perpetrators of antisemitism and even disciplined them, the Department of Education said that the school district didn't do enough to ensure the welfare of victims of the harassment. Nor did CUSD implement tangible, systemic changes to prevent future antisemitism, the letter said.

This amounted to Title VI violation, which can include instances where an institution "effectively caused, encouraged, accepted, tolerated, or failed to correct a hostile environment," according to Friday's letter.

"Carmel Unified School District has committed to ensure that all of its students, including its Jewish students, can learn safely and without discriminatory harassment in its schools," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. "OCR will work with the district in the coming years to protect students' federal civil rights."

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