Overview
- The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced on Thursday that it has opened formal Title VI investigations into San Jose State University and San Francisco State University to examine complaints that Jewish students faced harassment and exclusion.
- Complaints cited at San Jose State include threats, shunning in classrooms, disruptive anti‑Israel protests and physical attacks, while San Francisco State complaints describe antisemitic graffiti, attempted break‑ins targeting Jewish students and alleged faculty misconduct creating fear.
- Both universities said they strongly condemn antisemitism and are reviewing the department’s complaints, and San Jose State disputed a quoted claim that an administrator had distinguished between “good Jews” and “bad Jews.”
- The two probes are part of a wider enforcement push by the Education Department that has opened more than 60 similar investigations and follows earlier federal scrutiny of the California State University system, including a separate OCR Title IX finding against San Jose State this year.
- The investigations are fact‑finding and have not produced findings yet; their outcomes could produce remedies or enforcement steps that affect campus policies, compliance obligations and federal funding while Jewish students report ongoing fear and disruption to campus life.