The University of Tampa and a Florida school district are under investigation by the Department of Education related to alleged incidents of discrimination in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The investigations were made public Tuesday by the department, which added them to an online list of ongoing investigations. It also announced a second investigation into New York’s Columbia University.
Last week, the Department of Education launched investigations into six colleges – including Columbia, Cornell University, and the University of Pennsylvania – and one K-12 school over alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The investigations were launched by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, universities and K-12 schools have a responsibility to provide all students with an environment free from discrimination. Any person or organization can file a Title VI complaint with the Office for Civil Rights.
The agency is now conducting an unprecedented number of hate investigations, according to a department official.
The situation is becoming untenable for the Office for Civil Rights, which the official told CNN doesn’t have the investigative staff to match the influx of cases.
“Seeing the proliferation of hate on school campuses, we find it astonishing and scary,” the official said.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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