Last November, students at Teaneck High School in New Jersey organized a walkout and teach-in in support of a cease-fire in the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, which has now killed more than thirty-eight thousand Palestinians, including at least fifteen thousand children. The students’ actions were immediately met with criticism from politicians at both the municipal and federal levels, with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) urging the US Department of Education (DOE) to open an investigation into alleged antisemitism in the school district. On January 5, DOE opened a so-called Title VI investigation into alleged “discrimination involving shared ancestry” at Teaneck public schools.
DOE has opened at least forty Title VI investigations into elementary and secondary schools across the United States since October 7. In a November 2023 press release, the department described these investigations as…