School District Leaders Refute Accusations Of Being Soft On Discipline For Antisemitism

Congressional Republicans are looking to blame blue-state school administrators for a perceived streak of antisemitic rhetoric and conduct on their campuses. Educators aren't having it.

School administrators from California, Maryland and New York were summoned on Wednesday to testify before a congressional subcommittee and address student protests and harassment allegations that have reached K-12 schools during the Israel-Hamas war.

But school officials defended their systems as conservative lawmakers grilled them on their policies to fire teachers and discipline students, during a hearing that also sparked questions about curriculum and the distinction between hate speech and free speech.

In a tense exchange, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik took aim at New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks during the hearing, blasting the school system for continuing to employ the former principal of Hillcrest High School in Queens, where there was a riot against a Jewish educator who expressed support for Israel.

She also pressed the school leader on whether disciplinary action was taken against students who stormed the hallways of a Brooklyn high school shouting antisemitic slogans.

"You understand our concern, though, as policymakers when we have witnesses testify — whether it's Columbia University, Penn, Harvard, or New York City chancellor — when there's a lack of enforcement and accountability, that there is a set of rules but that individuals who violate those rules are not held accountable," Stefanik said.

Banks reiterated that the principal was removed and again said the city's Department of Education has not found evidence that students were chanting antisemitic slogans like “Death to Israel!”

“The very need for this hearing is a travesty,” Florida Republican Rep. Aaron Bean, a member of the House education committee who led Wednesday’s hearing, told administrators. “The aftermath of Oct. 7 has revealed some of the ugliest, most depraved ideas once marginalized from polite society, and our education system has failed to stop it.”

Administrators, in response, sought to emphasize the delicate and important role schools play to not only root out antisemitism but teach students to respect each other, address bullying and confront difficult ideas — all while disciplining offending students and workers.

"Since Oct. 7, our students and staff — Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian — have suffered immensely," Banks told lawmakers earlier on Wednesday. At least 30 students have been suspended, he noted, adding that the city has also retrained all 1,600 principals on the discipline code to ensure it is enforced properly.

The New York City Department of Education has removed or disciplined, or is in the process of disciplining, at least a dozen staff and school leaders. That number includes the removal of a principal in the middle of the school year.

“There have been unacceptable incidents of antisemitism in our schools,” Banks said. “When Jewish students or teachers feel unwelcome or unsafe, that should sound the alarm for us all. I recognize the urgency of addressing this crisis from my seat."

In New York City, the nation's largest school system has seen a number of incidents stemming from the conflict, including a riot against a Jewish teacher at a Queens high school and a high school student walkout to demand a cease-fire in Gaza.

A prominent Jewish organization has demanded federal officials take on a renewed probe of alleged antisemitic incidents in the Montgomery County Public Schools system near Washington.

And in Berkeley, California, a group of pro-cease-fire Jewish parents in the district have organized a media campaign to push back against what they call a “defamatory” complaint that “fabricates or exaggerates a majority of incidents described.”

“We are mindful that all kids make mistakes. We know that our staff are not immune to missteps either, and we don’t ignore them when they occur,” Enikia Ford Morthel, the superintendent of the Berkeley Unified School District in California, said Wednesday. “However, antisemitism is not pervasive in the Berkeley Unified School District.”

Educators pushed back on the idea that they have stood by when antisemitic incidents have occurred on their campuses.

“We do not shy away from imposing consequences for hate-based behavior, including antisemitism,” said Karla Silvestre, president of Maryland’s Montgomery County Board of Education, to lawmakers. “I want to do everything in my power to make sure all students can pursue their education without worrying about antisemitic, racist, or hate-filled threats.”