By Marc Rod
A bipartisan group of House members is re-introducing the Protecting Students on Campus Act on Thursday, legislation that aims to assist students facing discrimination in filing federal civil rights complaints and requiring greater transparency from colleges about complaints they receive.
The legislation was re-introduced earlier this year in the Senate by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Fetterman (D-PA), and has five additional cosponsors. In the previous Congress, the bill picked up 16 cosponsors in the House.
The latest version of the bill in the House is being led by Reps. Lois Frankel (D-FL), Don Bacon (R-NE), Lucy McBath (D-GA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and Haley Stevens (D-MI).
Formulated as a response to antisemitism on campus, the legislation would require colleges to prominently display on their homepages a link to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights page where students can file Title VI discrimination complaints, and to display informational materials in high-traffic locations on campus.
Any schools receiving federal funding would also be required to report annually to the Department of Education’s inspector general about the number of Title VI complaints they received in the previous year and the actions taken by the school.
Schools in the top five percent of total complaints filed, proportional to their student population, would be subject to an audit by the inspector general.
The legislation requires the Office for Civil Rights to brief Congress monthly, for one year, on the complaints it has received in the prior month, how the office plans to address those complaints and how long complaints remain open.
It also requires the Department of Education to conduct a public awareness campaign to make students aware of their rights to file civil rights complaints under Title VI.
The legislation has yet to move forward in either chamber.
“Antisemitism and hate are surging on college campuses and around the world, and the consequences are deadly — as we saw in the vile attack in Bondi Beach,” Frankel said in a statement. “Students cannot learn if they do not feel safe. The Protecting Students on Campus Act gives students clear pathways to report antisemitism and discrimination, strengthens accountability for colleges, and helps ensure campuses are places where hate is not tolerated.”
Highlighting data that more than a third of Jewish students faced antisemitism on campus in 2024 and that nearly half felt unsafe expressing or hid their views or Jewish identity on campus, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement that the legislation “empowers students … while providing critical accountability to ensure the U.S. Department of Education responds appropriately to federal complaints.”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said that “Jewish students deserve better than empty promises when antisemitism erupts on campus.”
Greenblatt said the bill “transforms rhetoric into action by requiring real transparency and giving students the tools to hold their universities accountable,” and that the bill “couldn’t come at a more urgent time” after the terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia last weekend.
The Jewish Federations of North America and Jewish Council for Public Affairs also support the legislation.