Organizations reach a historic agreement requiring Reed College to adopt sweeping reforms, strengthen protections for Jewish and Israeli students, and establish a national model for responding to campus anti-Semitism.
Washington D.C. – The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) have reached a historic settlement agreement with Reed College, secured through mediation with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), resolving two Title VI complaints alleging antisemitic discrimination and harassment. Under the settlement, Reed agreed to implement one of the nation's most comprehensive sets of reforms addressing campus antisemitism. The landmark agreement requires sweeping reforms, including adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, mandatory antisemitism training, and stronger campus policies to protect Jewish and Israeli students.
“This is one of the most significant OCR campus antisemitism settlements under the current Administration, building on our prior settlements with Harvard University and the University of California at Berkeley. It will create an excellent precedent for protecting Jewish students,” said Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center and the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who ran the Office for Civil Rights during two administrations. “Reed College allowed antisemitism to fester, leading to a student being struck in the head with a rock. No institution should be the scene of that kind of violence. This settlement is what accountability looks like, and it shouldn't be the exception, it should be the standard every school holds itself to before, not after, a student gets hurt. Reed College is now bound to real reforms that show what it looks like for a college to forcefully combat antisemitism. In particular, it is crucial that Reed’s policies now acknowledge that anti-Zionist harassment is a violation of civil rights.”
“After Jewish students were subjected to violent and persistent antisemitism on campus, we are pleased that Reed College has committed to meaningful, immediate, and long-term action to ensure that the civil rights of Jewish students on campus are protected and affirmed that antisemitism has no place on campus,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director. “This outcome demonstrates how the Title VI process can work to effectively protect Jewish students. We are deeply grateful for the Office for Civil Rights’ dedication and assistance in resolving this case. It is our hope that this resolution will lead to other college administrators implementing these or similar measures proactively to address antisemitism on campus.”
The original complaint alleged that, in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, a Jewish student endured escalating antisemitic harassment because of their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. According to the complaint, the student was verbally harassed, targeted as a "Zionist," subjected to an attempted break-in by anti-Israel demonstrators, had a mezuzah torn from a dorm room door and destroyed, and was struck in the head by a rock thrown through a dormitory window. The complaint alleged that Reed failed to take prompt and effective action to stop the harassment, forcing the student to transfer to another university to escape the hostile environment. A second complaint alleged additional Title VI violations affecting another Jewish student. Under the agreement, Reed will implement comprehensive reforms as part of the resolution.
Reed College will consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, including its contemporary examples, when evaluating complaints of discrimination and harassment; establish a dedicated Title VI Coordinator responsible for ensuring complaints involving Jewish and Israeli students are investigated and handled consistently; and retain an independent consultant – appointed in consultation with the Brandeis Center and ADL – for three years to review the College's response to antisemitism and publish annual public reports that include a comparative assessment of how the College handles antisemitism complaints relative to complaints involving other forms of discrimination, a built-in accountability check other schools do not have.
The agreement requires Reed to implement mandatory antisemitism training for students, faculty, administrators, staff, and members of the student judicial board; strengthen campus protest, masking, and campus access policies – including a ban on masking intended to evade identification; limits on demonstrations inside dormitories, and a prohibition on faculty cancelling class or otherwise incentivizing students to attend campus protests; and publish annual statements reaffirming the College's commitment to combating antisemitism.
Central to the agreement is a first-of-its-kind FAQ that Reed will incorporate directly into its nondiscrimination policy, spelling out how anti-Zionist conduct can constitute unlawful discrimination – language the Brandeis Center and ADL say other universities should adopt as a model. The FAQ states that conduct falling within the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including its examples, will "constitute prohibited discriminatory treatment or discriminatory harassment in violation of Reed's nondiscrimination policies." It further states that "targeting Jews on the basis of their Zionist identity for adverse treatment is a form of national origin discrimination on the basis of shared ancestry that…constitutes prohibited discriminatory treatment or discriminatory harassment in violation of Reed College's nondiscrimination policies."
In addition, Reed agreed to conduct recurring campus climate surveys evaluating the experiences of Jewish and Israeli students, expand Jewish identity and inclusion programming, establish or continue academic partnerships with Israeli universities, increase transparency by publicly reporting how it responds to complaints of discrimination and harassment, commit to enforcing its policies through discipline commensurate with the severity of violations and publicize judicial board outcomes involving students and organizations found to have violated Reed's policies. It will also clarify in its policies that Jewish and Israeli students are protected under Title VI and that complaints of antisemitism will be treated with the same seriousness and urgency as complaints involving any other protected group.
Read the Brandeis Center and ADL's settlement agreement with Reed College HERE.
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About The Brandeis Center
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law is an independent, non-partisan, nonprofit corporation established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB engages in research, education, and legal advocacy to combat the resurgence of anti-Semitism on college and university campuses, in the workplace, and elsewhere. It also empowers students by training them to understand their legal rights and educates administrators and employers on best practices to combat anti-Semitism. The Brandeis Center is not affiliated with the Massachusetts university, the Kentucky law school, or any of the other institutions that share the name and honor the memory of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice.
About ADL
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913 to protect the Jewish people, ADL works to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all. In the face of rising antisemitism, we protect, advocate, and educate, through a mix of programs and services using the latest innovations and technology, and seek to create a world without hate. More at www.adl.org.