A House committee is investigating alleged antisemitism at Fairfax County Public Schools, the largest district in Virginia, and two other school systems.
House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) announced the investigations Monday in letters to Fairfax County Public Schools, as well as districts in Berkeley, California, and Philadelphia. He wrote the committee was looking into whether the districts were adhering to federal civil rights law, and taking steps to end or prevent harassment.
In a letter to Fairfax Superintendent Michelle Reid, Walberg outlined several reports dating back to 2022 involving bullying targeting Jewish students, harassment and graffiti in Fairfax schools. It mentioned walkouts and speakers organized by schools’ Muslim Student Associations that it claimed were anti-Israel, and a recent high-profile incident where MSA clubs made promotional videos that involved a kidnapping skit.
The letter asked for an anonymized chart of all complaints in the school district related to potential antisemitic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023, the day Israel was attacked by Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel. The attack led to the Israel-Gaza war that has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
In a statement, Fairfax County Public Schools said it had received the letter and intends to fully cooperate with the inquiry. “FCPS continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members,” the statement read.
The new investigations come in response to what the letters say have been long-standing incidents of antisemitism happening in the school districts. Focus on issues of antisemitism grew after the Hamas attack on Israel, as reaction to the conflict spilled onto college campuses and into K-12 public schools. Spikes in incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia were reported in academic institutions across the country.
In the months that followed, House Republicans probed higher education leaders and K-12 districts — including the district in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland — in fiery hearings that probed whether the schools had properly responded to reported incidents.
Walbert’s letter asks for details on the alleged perpetrator in reported incidents, the process used to review the allegation and an update on any resolution or where the case stands. The letter further requests all documents, communications and contracts that refer to “Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, or Zionism” in the past two years.
“The Committee is deeply concerned that FCPS is failing to uphold its obligations under Title VI,” the letter read. “FCPS experienced significant antisemitic incidents even prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks against Israel.”
Earlier this fall, after kidnapping skits were posted online by MSA clubs at Fairfax high schools, the school district publicly said the videos were not approved by the schools and that the district would never consider what was depicted as “appropriate or acceptable content.”
At Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, an elite public magnet school in the district where one of the videos was filmed, the principal launched an investigation, drawing criticism from the students, parents and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR said the students, who were being judged based on “racist tropes and stereotypes about Muslims and Arabs.” But others, including an official with Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, applauded the Fairfax district for taking the matter seriously and acting quickly.
The House committee’s letters to the Philadelphia and Berkeley school districts outlined similar requests for information about reported antisemitic incidents. The committee will use information submitted to help decide whether legislative changes are needed, according to the letter.
The inquiry into Fairfax schools is the latest for the Northern Virginia system, which has faced intense scrutiny from the Trump administration and other federal officials this year. The Education Department has launched multiple investigations into the school district on topics related to policies to protect transgender students, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and abortion.
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