Four Republican senators introduced the Restoring Civility on Campus Act, which calls on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately investigate alleged school violations of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act barring discrimination based on shared ancestry, including religion.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) introduced the bill.
It would require the department to update complainants and the public every 30 days about open cases, raise fines temporarily from $69,733 to $1 million per violation for schools that do not disclose antisemitic crimes on annual security reports and investigate schools in person.
“Six million Jews were tragically murdered during the Holocaust. It’s unfathomable to think, even after the horrific events during World War II, antisemitism is still happening in the United States,” Grassley said. “Frankly, our academic leaders shouldn’t need direction from Congress to protect students and take swift action against civil-rights violations—but, evidently, they do. Our universities and education officials must do more to combat antisemitism.”