Press Release: Landmark Lawsuit Filed Against U.S. Department of Education for Failure to Enforce Agreement Addressing Antisemitism in Philadelphia Schools

Philadelphia, PA — The National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) and the Deborah Project today announced the filing of a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for entering into an arbitrary and capricious agreement with the School District of Philadelphia to resolve the alleged hostile antisemitic environment, and then failing to enforce even that inadequate agreement.

OCR had previously investigated widespread allegations of antisemitic discrimination in Philadelphia public schools and entered into a V oluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA) with the district in December 2024. The lawsuit alleges that the agreement was fundamentally insufficient from the start, and that federal officials have since failed to enforce even its limited provisions. The complaint further asserts that the Department of Education failed to carry out its mandatory duties to investigate, remedy, and enforce protections against discrimination under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964...

Philadelphia Press Release 2026-03-25.pdf

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