,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #heb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #ad1 #bjai   
,mr4 ,scott of ,south ,carolina 7for    
himself1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 and  
,mr4 ,isakson7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,health1           
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,to provide for the             
consideration of a definition of        
anti-,semitism for the enforcement of   
,federal antidiscrimination laws        
concerning education programs or        
activities4  #a4 ,short title  ,this    
,act may be cited as the ,anti-,semitism
 ,awareness ,act of #bjai4  #b4         
,findings ,congress makes the following 
findings3 7#a7 ,title ,,vi of the ,civil
 ,rights ,act of #aifd 7referred to in  
the section as title ,,vi7 is one of the
 principal antidiscrimination statutes  
enforced by the ,department of          
,education's ,office for ,civil ,rights4
  7#b7 ,title ,,vi prohibits            

discrimination on the basis of race1    
color1 or national origin4  7#c7 ,both  
the ,department of ,justice and the     
,department of ,education have properly 
concluded that title ,,vi prohibits     
discrimination against ,jews1 ,muslims1 
,sikhs1 and members of other religious  
groups when the discrimination is based 
on the group's actual or perceived      
shared ancestry or ethnic               
characteristics or when the             
discrimination is based on actual or    
perceived citizenship or residence in a 
country whose residents share a dominant
 religion or a distinct religious       
identity4  7#d7 ,a ,september #h1 #bjaj1
 letter from ,assistant ,attorney       
,general ,thomas ,e4 ,perez to          
,assistant ,secretary for ,civil ,rights
 ,russlynn ,h4 ,ali stated that although
 ,title ,,vi does not prohibit          
discrimination on the basis of religion1
 discrimination against ,jews1 ,muslims1
 ,sikhs1 and members of other groups    
violates ,title ,,vi when that          

discrimination is based on the group's  
actual or perceived shared ancestry or  
ethnic characteristics4  7#e7 ,to assist
 ,state and local educational agencies  
and schools in their efforts to comply  
with ,federal law1 the ,department of   
,education periodically issues ,dear    
,colleague letters4 ,on a number of     
occasions1 these letters set forth the  
,department of ,education's             
interpretation of the statutory and     
regulatory obligations of schools under 
title ,,vi4  7#f7 ,on ,september #ac1   
#bjjd1 the ,department of ,education    
issued a ,dear ,colleague letter        
regarding the obligations of schools    
7including colleges7 under title ,,vi to
 address incidents involving religious  
discrimination4 ,the #bjjd letter       
specifically notes that since the       
attacks of ,september #aa1 #bjja1 ,,ocr 
has received complaints of race or      
national origin harassment commingled   
with aspects of religious discrimination
 against ,arab ,muslim1 ,sikh1 and      

,jewish students44  7#g7 ,an ,october   
#bf1 #bjaj1 ,dear ,colleague letter     
issued by the ,department of ,education 
stated1 ,while ,title ,,vi does not     
cover discrimination based solely on    
religion1 groups that face              
discrimination on the basis of actual or
 perceived shared ancestry or ethnic    
characteristics may not be denied       
protection under ,title ,,vi on the     
ground that they also share a common    
faith4 ,these principles apply not just 
to ,jewish students1 but also to        
students from any discrete religious    
group that shares1 or is perceived to   
share1 ancestry or ethnic               
characteristics 7e4g41 ,muslims or      
,sikhs744  7#h7 ,anti-,semitism1 and    
harassment on the basis of actual or    
perceived shared ancestry or ethnic     
characteristics with a religious group1 
remains a persistent1 disturbing problem
 in elementary and secondary schools and
 on college campuses4  7#i7 ,students   
from a range of diverse backgrounds1    

including ,jewish1 ,arab ,muslim1 and   
,sikh students1 are being threatened1   
harassed1 or intimidated in their       
schools 7including on their campuses7 on
 the basis of their shared ancestry or  
ethnic characteristics including through
 harassing conduct that creates a       
hostile environment so severe1          
pervasive1 or persistent so as to       
interfere with or limit some students'  
ability to participate in or benefit    
from the services1 activities1 or       
opportunities offered by schools4  7#aj7
 ,the #bjaj ,dear ,colleague letter     
cautioned schools that they must take   
prompt and effective steps reasonably   
calculated to end the harassment1       
eliminate any hostile environment1 and  
its effects1 and prevent the harassment 
from recurring1 but did not provide     
guidance on current manifestations of   
anti-,semitism1 including discriminatory
 anti-,semitic conduct that is couched  
as anti-,israel or anti-,zionist4  7#aa7
 ,the definition and examples referred  

to in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 of       
section #c have been valuable tools to  
help identify contemporary              
manifestations of anti-,semitism1 and   
include useful examples of              
discriminatory anti-,israel conduct that
 crosses the line into anti-,semitism4  
7#ab7 ,awareness of this definition of  
anti-,semitism will increase            
understanding of the parameters of      
contemporary anti-,jewish conduct and   
will assist the ,department of          
,education in determining whether an    
investigation of anti-,semitism under   
title ,,vi is warranted4  #c4           
,definitions ,for purposes of this ,act1
 the term definition of anti-,semitism--
 7#a7 includes the definition of        
anti-,semitism adopted on ,may #bf1     
#bjaf1 by the ,international ,holocaust 
,remembrance ,alliance 7referred to in  
this section as ,,ihra71 of which the   
,united ,states is a member1 which      
definition has been adopted by the      
,department of ,state2 and  7#b7        

includes the contemporary examples of   
antisemitism identified in the ,,ihra   
definition4  #d4 ,rule of construction  
for title ,,vi of the ,civil ,rights    
,act of #aifd ,in reviewing1            
investigating1 or deciding whether there
 has been a violation of title ,,vi of  
the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd 7#db   
,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;d et seq47 on the basis 
of race1 color1 or national origin1     
based on an individual's actual or      
perceived shared ,jewish ancestry or    
,jewish ethnic characteristics1 the     
,department of ,education shall take    
into consideration the definition of    
anti-,semitism as part of the           
,department's assessment of whether the 
practice was motivated by anti-,semitic 
intent4  #e4 ,administration ,the       
,assistant ,secretary for ,civil ,rights
 shall administer and enforce title ,,vi
 of the ,civil ,rights ,act of #aifd    
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bjjj;d et seq47 and     
title ,,ix of the ,education ,amendments
 of #aigb 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #afha et seq47 

in a manner that is consistent with the 
manner of administration and enforcement
 described in the ,dear ,colleague      
letter issued on ,september #ac1 #bjjd1 
by the ,deputy ,assistant ,secretary for
 ,enforcement of the ,department of     
,education1 entitled ,title ,,vi and    
,title ,,ix ,religious ,discrimination  
in ,schools and ,colleges4  #f4 ,other  
rules of construction  7a7 ,general rule
 of construction ,nothing in this ,act  
shall be construed-- 7#a7 to expand the 
authority of the ,secretary of          
,education2  7#b7 to alter the standards
 pursuant to which the ,department of   
,education makes a determination that   
harassing conduct amounts to actionable 
discrimination2 or  7#c7 to diminish or 
infringe upon the rights protected under
 any other provision of law that is in  
effect as of the date of enactment of   
this ,act4  7b7 ,constitutional         
protections ,nothing in this ,act shall 
be construed to diminish or infringe    
upon any right protected under the      

,first ,amendment to the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states4