During the Spring 2024 semester, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) held a series of listening sessions with leaders from a diverse set of postsecondary institutions to hear about the development and implementation of schools’ codes of conduct and anti-harassment policies. As we witness an alarming rise in threats and harassment of Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students on college campuses, especially since the October 7, 2023, Israel-Hamas conflict, the Department is committed to ensuring that all students are members of school communities that are free from discrimination.

Participants in the listening sessions included representatives from institutions from across the country, including from public and private institutions, independent colleges and universities, two-year and four-year colleges, including community colleges, and urban and rural schools. The institution leaders shared promising strategies for creating safe and inclusive learning environments where students can experience diversity in all forms, including diverse viewpoints, in a manner that is free from discrimination, including harassment. Some of these strategies included:

• School leadership must meet regularly and engage with students across all viewpoints and identities. University leaders should build and maintain these relationships both proactively and in response to any questions or concerns.
• Schools should utilize “retail politics” to communicate, and explain, policies to school community members including students, parents, faculty members, and staff.
• Schools should consider their role as educational institutions beyond the classroom and provide space for students to learn about various issues impacting communities on campus.
• School leadership should establish mechanisms to receive feedback and aim to reply to every email and letter directly and in a timely manner. Where possible, responses should address the concerns raised and avoid boilerplate language.
• School leaders should engage with students, alumni, and community members who seek to plan events on campus to make sure that these individuals are aware of university policies in advance. Universities should aim to ensure that all participants in events, both community members and those from outside of the school, understand what is and is not permitted on campus.
• School leadership should ensure that their policies are comprehensive, accessible, and understandable. Policies should clearly address political activities and free expression. Schools should consider how these polices may need to be adapted for online conduct.
• Policies should clearly communicate how they apply to participants in on-campus activities who are not part of the school community.
• Schools should adopt a process to review policies on a regular basis, for instance every three years, and avoid conducting reviews only in response to particular incidents.
• As schools reconsider their policies, they should utilize a whole-of-campus approach by including a broad swath of institutional representatives at the decision-making table.
• Leadership should consider regularly communicating with students, faculty, staff, and other members of the school community about policies in creative ways, like with videos, FAQ documents, and examples.
• Schools should look beyond codes of conduct and consider other policy statements such as civility codes, anti-harassment policies, time/space/manner policies, facilities policies, and mission statements to communicate expectations.
• Schools must be diligent about holding students and other community members accountable when there are policy violations and communicate clearly and consistently to maintain community safety.
• When incidents arise, schools should clearly and widely communicate the course of action they are taking to ensure the safety of impacted school communities, while also making every effort to protect the privacy of individual students involved.
• Schools should make sure students know how to report a violation and to whom. They may consider steps to proactively foster trust to ensure that students feel comfortable coming forward.
• Schools should consider providing alternative options to respond to complaints such as restorative justice, at the discretion of the complainant.
• School leaders should ensure that there is adequate and equitable funding for student life activities.

The Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships serves as the primary Department representative to the Interagency Policy Committee to Counter Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Related Forms of Discrimination and Bias. For additional information about these listening sessions and our commitments to fostering inclusive learning environments for all students, please contact EDPartners@ed.gov.

Public education is at the very heart of what makes our nation special: the ability to learn, grow, and pursue your dreams no matter your race, place, or income. Our schools can and should be welcoming environments for immigrant students and families, including African, Caribbean, and Afro-Latino students.

On Thursday, February 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) concluded Black History Month by convening community leaders, educators, and young people for “Leap of Faith: A Roundtable with Black Immigrant Community Leaders.” The program was co-hosted by the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans; the Office of English Language Acquisition; and the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

This event focused on the unique accomplishments, challenges, and ongoing needs of Black immigrant students in PK-12 schools and universities and featured remarks by Assistant Secretary Roberto Rodríguez, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; and Dr. Kortne Edogun-Ticey, Deputy Director, White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans.

Panelists highlighted the immense diversity within the Black immigrant community; the need for increased language access for students and families; the central role that many young Black immigrants play in navigating new challenges on behalf of loved ones; and the unique social and economic pressures many young people experience that can lead to feelings of disconnection from their peers. Speakers also emphasized the role of teachers, school counselors, and outside mentors in fostering their ambitions toward higher education and career pathways.

We invite educators to understand the challenges that immigrant students face while seeing the diversity of their cultural, academic, and social experiences as incredible assets. The following Department resources are available to ensure that every student has the opportunity to thrive:

Resources Available Through the Office for Civil Rights:

• Fact Sheet: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School
• Fact Sheet: Ensuring Meaningful Participation in Advanced Coursework and Specialized Programs for Students Who Are English Learners
• Resource for Families and Educators: Confronting Discrimination Based on National and Immigration Status

Resources Available Through the Office for English Language Acquisition:

• The Newcomer Toolkit is designed to help U.S. educators; elementary and secondary teachers, principals, and other school staff who work directly with immigrant students—including asylees and refugees—and their families.
• The English Learner Family Toolkit was created to help families choose education services that meet their child’s needs. U.S. educators, elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, and other school staff can also share the toolkit as a resource for English learners and their families.

For additional information about this convening and our commitments to fostering inclusive learning environments for all students, please contact EDPartners@ed.gov.

Hate has no place in our nation’s classrooms or college campuses. Yet in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and subsequent conflict, many Jewish, Muslim, Israeli, Arab, and Palestinian students report that they feel unsafe at school or unfairly targeted simply because of who they are.

On Thursday, December 14, 2023, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona hosted two national webinars on how PK-12 schools and institutions of higher education can support students and ensure all are free to learn in a safe, inclusive learning environment. These webinars presented resources from the Department of Education to help respond to the rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Arab hate, and other forms of discrimination.

Recordings of both programs are now available featuring captioning and ASL interpretation:

Leading Safe, Inclusive, and Nondiscriminatory Learning Environments During the War in the Middle East: PK-12 Schools

Watch now on Youtube

Featuring: Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten; Assistant Secretary Catherine E. Lhamon, Office for Civil Rights; Katy Joseph, Acting Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; Superintendent Joe Gothard, St. Paul Public Schools; Dr. Julie Goldman, Director, Equity Curriculum and Instruction, San Diego County Office of Education; and Christine Moloney, Director, Office for Identity, Culture, and Institutional Equity, Horace Mann School.

Leading Safe, Inclusive, and Nondiscriminatory Learning Environments During the War in the Middle East: Colleges and Universities

Watch now on Youtube

Featuring: Assistant Secretary Catherine E. Lhamon, Office for Civil Rights; Assistant Secretary Nasser Paydar, Office of Postsecondary Education; Katy Joseph, Acting Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; President Sian Beilock, Dartmouth College; President Darryll J. Pines, University of Maryland; and Dr. Najeeba Syeed, Director, Interfaith at Augsburg University.

Below you will also find resources referenced during the webinars.

Resources Available Through the Office for Civil Rights

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin including shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics in federally funded educational programs. OCR can investigate complaints that students were subjected to ethnic or ancestral slurs; harassed for how they look, dress, or speak in ways linked to ethnicity or ancestry (e.g. skin color, religious attire, language spoken); or stereotyped based on perceived shared ancestral or ethnic characteristics.

Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Arab, and Palestinian students are examples of individuals who may be discriminated against based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. Learn more about Shared Ancestry protections, including:

• How to file a discrimination complaint with the Office for Civil Rights
• View open shared ancestry discrimination investigations into PK-12 schools, colleges, and universities, updated weekly
• Read “Dear Colleague Letter: Discrimination, including Harassment, Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics” (November 2023)
• Read “Dear Colleague Letter: Race and School Programming” (August 2023)
• Fact Sheet: Protecting Students from Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics (January 2023)
• Read “Dear Colleague: The First Amendment and Title VI” (July 2003)

Please contact OCR to request a Title VI training for your school, university, or community organization by emailing OCR@ed.gov.

Resources Available Through the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Office of the Secretary

The Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships advises the Department of Education on religious inclusion issues and works closely with our colleagues to ensure that students of all religious, spiritual, and secular identities can be their full selves at school. Our team also builds bridges between non-profit organizations, including religious and non-religious groups, and the federal government to better serve our students.

The Center serves as the primary representative for the Department of Education on the Interagency Policy Committee on Countering Antisemitism, Islamophobia and Related Forms of Discrimination and Bias.  Since October 7, we have been in close conversation with students, educators, and community partners around how the Israel-Hamas conflict is impacting students’ ability to learn. In confidential listening sessions, roundtables, and visits to schools across the country, the stories we have heard are deeply disturbing.

• Visit gov and click on “Countering Antisemitism and Islamophobia” to learn more about actions undertaken by the Department since the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel
• Read about how the Center is supporting students of all religious, spiritual, and secular identities
• Explore resources for PK-12 schools from the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments, “Combatting Antisemitism and Islamophobia While Promoting Religious Inclusion in PK-12 Schools”
• Explore resources for colleges and universities from the National Center for Safe and Supportive Learning Environments, “Combatting Antisemitism and Islamophobia While Promoting Religious Inclusion in Higher Education”
• Request a training or technical support through the Department’s Equity Assistance Centers, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

There is no “one size fits all” approach because no two school communities are the same. But through intentional and consistent engagement, every school can lay a strong foundation for facing times of crisis. Please contact the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partners, Office of the Secretary, to learn more by emailing EDpartners@ed.gov.

Every student deserves to feel safe at school. But the reality is that antisemitism, Islamophobia, and related forms of bias are rising – and our students can feel it. This is especially true following the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and subsequent Israel-Hamas conflict.

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is utilizing every tool in our toolbox to make clear that hate has no place in America’s classrooms or college campuses. In May 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced efforts to address antisemitism through the first ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. And in November 2023, the Administration launched the development of the first National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia. These initiatives have included listening sessions, site visits, the development of new resources, and more.

The Department is utilizing every tool in our toolbox to respond to the rise of incidents of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination and bias and highlighting what is working in this moment. Even as we continue our efforts to take aggressive action against discrimination, including harassment, hate and hate-motivated violence, many school leaders are grappling with increased tensions since the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 and the resulting conflict.

Promising Practices for Supporting All Students on College and University Campuses

On November 14, 2023, Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal and Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Nasser Paydar, held a listening session with leaders of twelve colleges and universities to hear about strategies being implemented on campuses since October 7. Participants represented institutions from across the country, including public and private institutions, two-year and four-year colleges, and urban and rural schools. The institution leaders shared promising strategies for countering antisemitism and Islamophobia in higher education learning environments.

All the institutions shared concerns about the physical and emotional safety of students and faculty. Numerous promising strategies were shared during this listening session and others that institutions can learn from and adapt to their own campuses. A list of some of those strategies is included below.

• Provide clear communications by and to multiple stakeholders on campus, starting from the institution’s leadership, and directed towards students, faculty, and parents.
• Create a mechanism for daily crisis communication and collaboration between the institution’s leadership, including the president, academic affairs staff, student services staff, and security staff.
• Create spaces for coming together as a full campus community and, importantly, create or preserve intentional spaces where smaller individual communities can safely come together to grieve.
• Provide mental health resources, including in one-on-one and small group settings, and providing services anonymously if needed. Ensure counseling staff have cultural competencies to engage with Jewish, Arab, Muslim, and other impacted communities and ensure that students are aware of this expertise.
• Educate students, faculty, and staff on antisemitism and Islamophobia, including through providing resources for faculty about how to address these topics; hosting in-person and virtual panel discussions for students, faculty and community members; and developing and disseminating educational resources for students and faculty.
• Encourage students and faculty to exercise their free speech in a way that is safe, wise, authentic, and compassionate, and which ultimately seeks to create a community that is better for it.
• Provide rapid, consistent, and compassionate responses to incidents. Develop strategies to build trust to incentivize reporting, including clear and accessible protocols, quick response by law enforcement and identification of culturally competent, community-specific points of contact in the police department. Track data for religiously motivated hate incidents occurring on campus.
• When appropriate, devote financial resources to provide extra security for student group events. Consider how various communities may experience the presence of law enforcement, including campus safety officers, at events and on campus. Some students may draw comfort from their presence while others may have concerns. Work with each community to identify how to best fulfill their security needs.
• Integrate efforts to promote inclusion of students of all religious, secular, and spiritual identities into other efforts to address equity and inclusion, including through consultation with faculty, campus ministry staff, and others with relevant expertise in these efforts.
• Tap into existing relationship on and off campus, including both religious and secular partners, to provide support and implement response strategies.

Additional Resources to Address Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Related Forms of Discrimination and Bias

The Department’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Office for Civil Rights, and entire team are committed to providing all students with welcoming school environments, free of discrimination, bullying, and harassment. Since October 7, the Department has undertaken a series of actions to distribute resources, promote best practices, and to communicate that hate and discrimination will not be tolerated in our nation’s schools. Regular updates, including those additional resources, are available here.

(L-R) Roberto Rodriguez, Assistant Secretary of the Department’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development; Shelley Greenspan, White House Liaison to the American Jewish Community; and Katy Joseph, Deputy Director of the Department’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the UJA Federation special convening.

On October 30th and 31st, 2023, the US Department of Education visited New York City to meet with higher education leaders at the only Orthodox Jewish university in the country and convene educators, community leaders, and elected officials around preventing and addressing antisemitism in PK-12 schools. These conversations, taking place three weeks after the Hamas attacks in Israel, highlighted the pain that many Jewish students and educators are navigating and the urgency of addressing the sharp increase in antisemitism amid the subsequent Israel-Hamas conflict.  

On Monday, October 30th, Katy Joseph, Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Center for Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships and Kalila Winters, Senior Advisor for the Office of the Secretary, visited Yeshiva University to learn about campus safety considerations for the only Orthodox Jewish institution of higher education in the country. Katy Joseph and Kalila Winters facilitated a roundtable with University administration leaders and students around the impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on students’ ability to learn, increased safety measures across the university’s four campuses and the role of federal government in countering antisemitism in higher education. During the roundtable, Patrick Gallagher, Vice President of Administrative Services and Chief Administrative Services Officer at Yeshiva University mentioned that the University is taking additional measures to ensure students feel safe on campus and navigating the surrounding areas, including increased personnel to escort students to off campus housing and physical investments to further enclose the central campus in Upper Manhattan. Students highlighted initiatives they launched since October 7th to counter the rise in antisemitism and support friends and loved ones directly impacted by the conflict. 

Leaders of Yeshiva University’s undergraduate and graduate programs emphasized the value of providing space for students to learn about the conflict outside of their studies as well as mental health support and religious counseling for those in need. Through external-facing programs like the Care Café, the university is fostering relationships with the broader community. For instance, on November 14, 2023, the Care Café hosted a virtual interfaith forum with Dr. Que English, Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department and Health and Human Services. 

On Tuesday, October 31st, the U.S. Department of Education joined United Jewish Appeal Federation of New York (UJA Federation) for a special convening of federal, state, and city leaders focused on fostering inclusive learning environments for Jewish students and those of all religious, spiritual, and secular identities. The UJA Federation is the largest local philanthropy in the world whose mission is to “care for Jews everywhere and New Yorkers of all backgrounds, respond to crises close to home and far away, and shape our Jewish future.”  

The first part of the convening highlighted the release of the White House’s National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and the U.S. Department of Education’s implementation under our Antisemitism Awareness Campaign. Roberto Rodriguez, Assistant Secretary of the Department’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Shelley Greenspan, White House Liaison to the American Jewish Community, and Deputy Director Joseph provided remarks. Following the remarks, Deputy Director Joseph facilitated a panel discussion with Assistant Secretary Rodriguez and Liaison Greenspan to dive deeper into the Administration’s initiatives to engage Jewish communities across the country and ensure that all students can thrive.  

For the second part of the program, UJA hosted state and city leaders as well as a practitioner panel highlighting effective strategies for countering antisemitism at the school and classroom level. New York State Deputy Secretary of Education Maria Fernandez and NYC Chancellor of Education David C. Banks strongly condemned the rise in antisemitism and related forms of bias in PK-12 schools and emphasized the key role that educators and administrators play in setting community norms.  

Cindy Marten, Deputy Secretary of Education

September 29, 2023

In May 2023, the White House released the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.  In furtherance of our commitments under the strategy, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently launched an Antisemitism Awareness Campaign that includes a series of visits to communities that are grappling with rising antisemitic discrimination nationwide. The campaign puts a spotlight on educational institutions that are leading efforts to prevent and address antisemitism, to improve awareness and accommodation of religious cultures and observances, and to be more inclusive of Jewish and other religious identities.

Yesterday, Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten kicked off these visits by traveling to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco to engage with students, educators, school administrators, and community leaders around countering antisemitism through education. She joined fourth graders from nearby Redding Elementary School for a tour of the museum and an educational experience at the intersection of the arts and Jewish history and culture. Following the tour, the Deputy Secretary facilitated a roundtable discussion with school district leaders and Jewish community leaders from across the Bay Area on how antisemitism is impacting PK-12 students and what policies, initiatives, and practices help foster more inclusive learning environments for students of all religious, secular, and spiritual backgrounds. Then, yesterday evening, Katy Joseph, Deputy Director of the ED Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, joined San Francisco Hillel for a closed-door conversation with Jewish students from Bay Area colleges around their experiences of antisemitism on college campuses.

Also yesterday, the White House issued the fact sheet, “Biden-⁠Harris Administration Takes Landmark Step to Counter Antisemitism,” detailing new actions of ED and other agencies. In particular, it noted that “eight federal agencies clarified—for the first time in writing—that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits certain forms of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and related forms of discrimination in federally funded programs and activities.” ED is not among those eight agencies, having long detailed how Title VI applies to shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics in the educational setting. In May, ED issued a Dear Colleague letter specifically on antisemitism to schools, reminding them of their legal obligation under Title VI.

Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona launched the “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar” from Sept. 5 to Sept. 8. The week-long, multi-state road trip will showcase the many ways schools, families, and communities are doubling down on accelerating student learning and raising the bar in education.

The “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar” will feature stops in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

“This year’s Back to School Bus Tour will demonstrate how states, districts, schools and higher education institutions, with strong support and investment from the Biden-Harris Administration, are already working boldly and creatively to Raise the Bar for education in our country – from fostering academic recovery to investing in mental health supports, strengthening and supporting the educator workforce to expanding out-of-school time programs, and building new career pathways to efforts to increase college access and affordability,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “To serve our nation’s students well for years to come, we need to see pockets of excellence in some places become systems of success in all places. I’m looking forward to lifting up great models in education and highlighting how our country benefits when we work together to invest in our children and young people – the future of our nation.”

Throughout the week, Secretary Cardona, Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten, and Undersecretary James Kvaal, will join national, state, and local school leaders to speak with students, parents, and educators for events that celebrate the back-to-school season and underscore the Administration’s commitment to helping students recover from the impacts of the pandemic and continue on the road to success. As part of the “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar,” Administration officials will highlight academic and mental health programs and efforts to recruit and support educators funded by President Biden’s ARP, which provided historic resources to K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to reopen schools and help students of all ages recover.

Biden-Harris Administration Actions to Prepare for a Safe and Successful School Year

Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken bold action to get schools back open safely amidst a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and provide states, school districts, and colleges and universities the resources they need to help students recover academically and thrive.

When President Biden took office, less than half of K-12 schools were open for in-person learning. Within three months, President Biden had signed the historic ARP, providing $170 billion in funds for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to reopen safely, stay open, and put students on the pathway to recovery and success. Over the last two years, schools have invested billions of ARP dollars to help students catch up academically, expand access to mental health supports, and hire more high-quality educators, and today, all schools are safely open for in-person learning and students nationwide are on the path to academic recovery.

The Biden-Harris Administration also launched efforts to expand access to effective academic and mental health supports in K-12 schools, including:

• Launched the National Partnership for Student Success. Through NPSS, ED and partners are leading strategic efforts to recruit 250,000 new tutors and mentors to help catch up academically and thrive.
• Launched the Engage Every Student Initiative to help communities use ARP funds, alongside other state and local funds, to ensure that every child who wants a spot in a high-quality, out-of-school time program has one, whether through a high-quality summer or afterschool program.
• Awarded over $2 billion in BSCA funding to expand vital mental health services and provide additional support for states and districts to design and enhance initiatives that will promote safer, more inclusive, and positive school environments for all students, educators, and school staff.
• Provided technical assistance to states, including dozens of fact sheets, FAQs, Dear Colleague Letters, webinars, and other guidance to elevate evidence-based interventions and practices to help students accelerate their learning, and to make clear how federal resources can support these practices. This includes launching the Raise the Bar: Best Practices Clearinghouse, which includes hundreds of evidence-based examples of how schools are using ESSER funds to support academic and mental health recovery and how school leaders and communities across the country can leverage these funds.

Click here to read more about details about the bus tour.

When students feel safe and welcome enough to bring their full selves to school, they thrive. And for many young people, their religious or secular identity is a core component of who they are. Students do not check those affiliations at the door when they enter their school or campus community – nor should they feel pressured to do so.  

Hosted by the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships on July 18th, 2023, this convening followed the US Department of Education’s Free to Learn call to action, encouraging school and campus communities to enhance school safety, improve school climate, and support all students’ mental health and well-being. Sessions explored models for promoting religious literacy, rights, and obligations of schools to accommodate students’ religious needs, and strategies for preventing and addressing bullying that students may experience because of their actual or perceived religious affiliation. Participants received the latest information from the field and heard directly from members of the Biden-Harris Administration about how we are raising the bar for students of diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds.   

 Joining us on Tuesday, July 18, 2023? Visit Free to Learn: Inclusion, Rights, and Accommodations for Students of All Faiths and None to watch live. View the program booklet and speaker bios. 

Related resources from the Biden-Harris Administration: 

• FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates the Second Anniversary of the Reestablishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships 
• Secretary Cardona’s Remarks on Religious Liberty in Schools 
• Inclusive Learning Environments for Religiously Diverse Students 
• Guidance on Constitutionally Protected Prayer and Religious Expression in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools 
• Biden-Harris Administration Proposes Restoring Protections for Beneficiaries of Federally Funded Social Services 
• The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism 
• Protecting Students from Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics
• Training and Advisory Service – Equity Assistance Centers 
• Resources for Trauma-Informed Care 
• Academic & Mental Health Recovery
• Raise the Bar: Lead the World | U.S. Department of Education  

You are cordially invited to tune in live on Tuesday, July 18, as the U.S. Department of Education hosts the conference “Free to Learn: Inclusion, Rights, and Accommodations for Students of All Faiths and None.” Organized by the Department’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the conference will explore models for promoting religious literacy, rights, and obligations of schools to accommodate students’ religious needs, and strategies for preventing and addressing bullying that students may experience because of their actual or perceived religious affiliation. Participants will receive the latest information from the field and hear directly from members of the Biden-Harris administration.

America’s students are of many different religious or nonreligious affiliations — they are Protestant, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Mormon, Jain, Catholic, atheist, Muslim, Sikh, agnostic, and so on — and even for students who hold the same tradition, how they observe that tradition might look different from their peers.

Students don’t check those affiliations at the door when they enter their school or campus community, nor should they. The Department is committed to supporting students across the country to ensure they are safe, supported, and valued in our country’s schools and communities, as their whole selves.

This conference follows the Department’s Free to Learn call to action, encouraging school and campus communities to enhance school safety, improve school climate, and support all students’ mental health and well-being. We can only raise the bar for education when all students are free to learn, as their full selves.

We hope you will join us as we discuss how to support religious freedom and religious inclusion for students from preschool through higher education. We’ll be joined by Education Secretary Dr. Miguel Cardona, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, and Melissa Rogers, Executive Director of the White House for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, among other special guests.

Register now to join us live on Tuesday, July 18. We hope to see you there!

Thank you,

Maggie Siddiqi

Director, Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Today, the Supreme Court upended decades of precedent that enabled America’s colleges and universities to build vibrant diverse environments where students are prepared to lead and learn from one another. Although the Court’s decision threatens to move the country backwards, the Biden-Harris Administration will fight to preserve the hard-earned progress we have made to advance racial equity and civil rights and expand educational opportunity for all Americans. 

As our nation’s colleges and universities consider their admissions processes in the wake of the Court’s decision, President Biden is calling on them to seize the opportunity to expand access to educational opportunity for all. Our nation is stronger when our colleges and universities reflect the vast and rich diversity of our people.  

Click here to read more about how the Biden-Harris administration is taking action.