119-s558

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 558 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 558

 To provide for the consideration of a definition of antisemitism set 
 forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for the 
 enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education 
 programs or activities, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 13, 2025

Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for himself, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Lankford, Mr. 
Schumer, Mr. Graham, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Scott of Florida, Ms. Hassan, 
 Ms. Collins, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Barrasso, 
 Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
 Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Boozman, Ms. 
 Cantwell, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 
 Cramer, Ms. Slotkin, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Warner, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. 
 Peters, Mr. Daines, and Mr. Booker) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
 Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide for the consideration of a definition of antisemitism set 
 forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for the 
 enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education 
 programs or activities, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Antisemitism Awareness Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
 2000d et seq.), prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
 color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving 
 Federal financial assistance;

    (2) while such title does not cover discrimination based 
 solely on religion, individuals who face discrimination based 
 on actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic 
 characteristics do not lose protection under such title for 
 also being members of a group that share a common religion;

    (3) discrimination against Jews may give rise to a 
 violation of such title when the discrimination is based on 
 race, color, or national origin, which can include 
 discrimination based on actual or perceived shared ancestry or 
 ethnic characteristics;

    (4) it is the policy of the United States to enforce such 
 title against prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in 
 antisemitism as vigorously as against all other forms of 
 discrimination prohibited by such title; and

    (5) as noted in the U.S. National Strategy to Counter 
 Antisemitism issued by the White House on May 25, 2023, it is 
 critical to--
        (A) increase awareness and understanding of 
 antisemitism, including its threat to America;
        (B) improve safety and security for Jewish 
 communities;
            (C) reverse the normalization of antisemitism and 
 counter antisemitic discrimination; and
            (D) expand communication and collaboration between 
 communities.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Antisemitism is on the rise in the United States and is 
 impacting Jewish students in K-12 schools, colleges, and 
 universities.

    (2) The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance 
 (referred to in this Act as the ``IHRA'') Working Definition of 
 Antisemitism is a vital tool which helps individuals understand 
 and identify the various manifestations of antisemitism.

    (3) On December 11, 2019, Executive Order 13899 extended 
 protections against discrimination under the Civil Rights Act 
 of 1964 to individuals subjected to antisemitism on college and 
 university campuses and tasked Federal agencies to consider the 
 IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism when enforcing title VI 
 of such Act.

    (4) Since 2018, the Department of Education has used the 
 IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism when investigating 
 violations of that title VI.

    (5) The use of alternative definitions of antisemitism 
 impairs enforcement efforts by adding multiple standards and 
 may fail to identify many of the modern manifestations of 
 antisemitism.

    (6) The White House released the first-ever United States 
 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism on May 25, 2023, 
 making clear that the fight against this hate is a national, 
 bipartisan priority that must be successfully conducted through 
 a whole-of-government-and-society approach.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 For purposes of this Act, the term ``definition of antisemitism''--

    (1) means the definition of antisemitism adopted on May 26, 
 2016, by the IHRA, of which the United States is a member, 
 which definition has been adopted by the Department of State; 
 and

    (2) includes the ``[c]ontemporary examples of 
 antisemitism'' identified in the IHRA definition.

SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 
 1964.

 In reviewing, investigating, or deciding whether there has been a 
violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d 
et seq.) on the basis of race, color, or national origin, based on an 
individual's actual or perceived shared Jewish ancestry or Jewish 
ethnic characteristics, the Department of Education shall take into 
consideration the definition of antisemitism as part of the 
Department's assessment of whether the practice was motivated by 
antisemitic intent.

SEC. 6. OTHER RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) General Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed--

    (1) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Education;

    (2) to alter the standards pursuant to which the Department 
 of Education makes a determination that harassing conduct 
 amounts to actionable discrimination; or

    (3) to diminish or infringe upon the rights protected under 
 any other provision of law that is in effect as of the date of 
 enactment of this Act.

    (b) Constitutional Protections.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the 
First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
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