Education Department launches discrimination investigation into UCLA, Stanford, others

The Education Department has added six schools, including Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Rutgers University, to its ongoing probe over alleged discrimination, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.

According to the Department of Education’s (DOE) Office for Civil Rights’s list of higher education and K-12 institutions under investigation Monday, the other schools added include the University of Washington, the University of California, San Diego, and Whitman College.

The probe, announced last month, is to address the “alarming rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination” in schools in the wake of militant group Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise assault into southern Israel.

The investigations are revolved around “alleged ancestry violations” of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which requires schools that receive federal financial assistance address discrimination. If schools do not address issues around discrimination, they risk losing federal funding or referral to the Department of Justice.

When asked for details regarding the investigation of the six additional schools, a spokesperson for the DOE said the department does not comment further on pending investigations.

A spokesperson for Stanford told The Hill the university is “fully committed to a campus environment free of discrimination and harassment, and one in which students of all backgrounds, national origins, and religions are supported and have the opportunity to thrive.”

The spokesperson added that the school intends to work in cooperation with the investigation.

The University of Washington Seattle shared a similar message, maintaining the school “is committed to the safety and security of all students, faculty and staff,” and that the school will cooperate with the probe.

Dory Devlin, a spokesperson for Rutgers, also said the school will “certainly fully cooperate” with the investigation, adding the notice of the probe does not provide any “further details.”

“Rutgers stands against antisemitism and against hate in all its pernicious forms. The university strives to be a safe and supportive environment for all our students, faculty, and staff,” Delvin wrote in a statement to The Hill. “ We reject absolutely intolerance based on religion, national origin, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or political views.”

A spokesperson for UC San Diego said is takes “all allegations of discrimination seriously” and advised anyone experiencing harassment or discrimination to contact UC San Diego’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.

Whitman College said it is also cooperating with the investigation, noting it does not yet know the specifics of the allegations and that the Office of Civil Rights was “clear that opening this investigation does not imply any finding of responsibility.”

UCLA did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

“Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are–or are perceived to be — Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said last month when the initial investigation was announced.

The DOE’s investigation comes as schools and university administrators across the country are being asked by students, lawmakers and other figures to address discrimination on their campuses.

The presidents of three schools — University of Pennsylvania (Penn), Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — came under fire during a House hearing last week after refusing to say students who called for the genocide of Jews would be disciplined.

Now-former Penn President Liz Magill stepped down over the weekend amid growing backlash, and the House Education Committee has launched a full investigation of antisemitism at the universities in the wake of the controversy.

Updated on Dec. 14 at 3:58 p.m.