Bipartisan bill targeting antisemitism, discrimination on campus reintroduced in Senate

A bipartisan bill called the Protecting Students on Campus Act, recently reintroduced in the Senate, aims to make it easier for students to file civil rights complaints against their schools.

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) reintroduced the legislation after previously bringing it forth after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack against Israel and the following spike of antisemitism at U.S. schools.

“The threats and attacks against Jewish students since October 7 are despicable. No one should fear for their safety at school because of who they are,” said Cassidy. “This bipartisan bill holds universities accountable to address discrimination and maintain a safe learning environment for all students.”

The bill aims to improve awareness of how to report civil rights violations, ensure schools have the funding to handle the complaints properly and requires the assistant Education secretary of civil rights to brief Congress monthly on how the complaints are getting handled and what types of complaints are alleged.

“This bill is about protecting young people facing discrimination on college campuses and making sure they know their rights. The increasing rates of discrimination, including harassment, hateful speech, [and] instances of vandalism have left students feeling unsafe and threatened based on their race or what country they’re from, particularly over the last couple years,” Fetterman said.

“Colleges need to do more to protect students and help them find paths to recourse. This bill would help us get clearer view of where these terrible acts are happening, understand actions taken by colleges to address these occurrences, and hold colleges accountable,” he added.

The bill comes as the Anti-Defamation League has recorded an almost 500 percent increase in antisemitic incidents on U.S. colleges campuses between 2023 and 2024.

Many universities have been sued over alleged antisemitism, with several announcing settlements ahead of President Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

On Tuesday, Harvard announced settlements in two antisemitism lawsuits where the institution agreed to partner with an Israeli university, adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism and include examples of how targeting Zionists can violate Harvard’s discrimination policy.

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