DOE probes NYC schools over antisemitism—finally!!

The US Department of Education (DOE) recently announced that it is launching a Title VI investigation into the New York City Department of Education over antisemitic discrimination. I taught in NYC public schools for 26 years, and since 2016 have been a community advocate fighting antisemitism in NYC public schools. I can say: it is about time.

For those unfamiliar, Title VI of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs receiving federal assistance. And since NYC public schools, like all public schools, receive federal funding, Title VI applies to NYC public schools.The Department of Education announced the investigation in April, but antisemitism in NYC public schools — among teachers, administrators and even unions — goes back at least a few years.

In 2023, Defending Ed reported, “a teacher at Gotham Tech High School publicly supported the terrorist group Hamas attacking Israel. He shared an image on social media of a paraglider with the phrase ‘I Stand with Palestine.’ After the district’s chancellor shared support for Israel, the teacher accused him of being a ‘white supremacist, imperialist, scumbag.’” You read that right: a public school teacher publicly demonstrated support for a State Department–designated terrorist group and then called his boss, the chancellor, a “white supremacist, imperialist, scumbag” for voicing support for Israel. Tax dollars from hardworking Americans pay the salary and benefits of a teacher engaging in this kind of conduct.

That same year, the New York City Public School Alliance (NYCPSA), an organization I founded as a volunteer, led the charge in holding New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks accountable for his lack of response to an antisemitic riot at Hillcrest High School. We sometimes read of antisemitic riots in the Pale of Settlement or when Jews were kicked out of various Middle Eastern countries– certainly not in New York City.

These are just two examples. But, antisemitism has, sadly, infiltrated many parts of NYC public schools, and the Department of Education is right to intervene. After all, antisemitism is becoming more widespread in public schools across the United States. A December 2026 poll of Jewish teachers tells us, “61.6% of participants reported personally experiencing or witnessing antisemitism in professional environments.” and “45.5% of participants were exposed to antisemitism from teachers unions.” This is no surprise, the 2025 NYC teacher union elections had one contender who Tweeted, “Zionists are literally the most evil people to walk this earth.”

In other words, over half of all Jewish public school educators have experienced or witnessed antisemitism at work, and nearly half have seen it in their unions — the very organizations that are supposed to protect employees’ rights. And according to a 2025 ADL study, “Since 2020, incidents at K-12 schools have spiked by an alarming 434%.” The DOE is right to investigate this. Antisemitism remains a problem in public education, but some groups offer solutions.

By way of example, the Gevura Fund launched K-12 Navigator, an AI-powered tool that gives parents, teachers and administrators a customized plan if they or their children experience antisemitism in public schools. Initiatives like this are critical for fighting antisemitism. So too, intervention from the DOE is needed which, thankfully, is happening now.

I taught in New York City public schools for 26 years, and the New York City public schools I knew were inclusive and respectful of the city’s more than 1.1 million students of all religions, including Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and others. Sadly, that time has come and gone.

I never thought I would see the day that the US Department of Education had to intervene in New York City’s public schools, of all places. But as a former teacher who has spent years exposing antisemitism in New York public schools, I am afraid now is the time.