Feds: Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District facing discrimination probe
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating a discrimination complaint based on color and national origin against the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District over a teacher's classroom discussions about Israel, according to documents on the department's website.
The Education Department's Aug. 26 letter to Superintendent Michael Harrington noted the complainant "alleged that the District discriminated against her daughter (the Student) on the basis of color (Allegation 1) and national origin," which was redacted, and "(Allegation 2) by not responding promptly or effectively to incidents of harassment at (the School)," which also was redacted. The department said it had received the complaint Nov. 22, 2023.
The federal agency's website had listed Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District in August, along with another Long Island district, and more than 150 elementary, secondary and postsecondary institutions nationwide, as being investigated for possible discrimination involving "shared ancestry," which would violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Commack school district is also under federal investigation, which Newsday reported Aug. 29.
While the U.S. Education Department earlier had included the complaint about discrimination in the Commack district — which involved allegations of antisemitic and anti-Black graffiti scrawled in a school bathroom — no such information was available about Bellmore-Merrick until this week. A spokesman for the Commack district said Wednesday school officials haven't had any feedback from the department on its investigation.
The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights website now contains a heavily redacted complaint about Bellmore-Merrick as well as its letter sent to the district outlining the complaint and procedures for the district to follow.
In response to an apparent department questionnaire seeking a description of the discrimination, the unidentified complainant wrote: " The teacher is promoting white supremacy with her Israeli agenda and has blatant disregard for [redacted]." The complainant continued, "The class environment is unsafe, and inhumane and creates a sense of isolation for [redacted] children."
In another response to a question, the complainant said, "I need the teacher to stop discriminating against my daughter because she's [redacted] and her age. The teacher is using her power to antagonize her, and the class environment during [redacted] presentation is unsafe ... My daughter has been crying since the teacher started pushing her one-sided story about Israel."
The complainant added, "I am worried about my daughter, who is young, being shut out by this teacher in a bullying way."
Because of the redactions contained in the complaint, the student's color and national origin could not be determined.
Additional information about the class or its teacher were not available.
Harrington, in a statement to Newsday, did not address specific allegations, saying only: "We are aware of the complaint and have been working with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to provide all requested materials in order for them to make an appropriate determination on the complaint filed. The district strives to promote an educational and supportive environment that is inclusive to all."
In its letter to Harrington, an official with the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, wrote that "opening this issue for investigation under Title VI does not mean that OCR has made a decision about the merits. During the investigation, OCR is neutral."
According to the Office for Civil Rights, the Biden administration created the list of institutions under investigation as part of "continued efforts to address the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas conflict."
