Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) will introduce legislation today forcing universities and the Department of Education to immediately act on Title VI complaints amid a surge in cases of antisemitism on college campuses — or else face a fine of $1 million.

The Restoring Civility on Campus Act, a copy of which was obtained exclusively by Jewish Insider, would require the DOE and universities to immediately open an investigation when a civil rights complaint is filed alleging “discrimination on the basis of shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics on or after October 7, 2023.” 

The bill is meant to build on bipartisan legislation Cassidy introduced earlier this year instructing the DOE to produce a public awareness campaign about students’ rights under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and requiring schools that receive federal funds to deliver an annual report to the DOE’s inspector general on instances of and responses to discrimination.  

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have co-sponsored the new legislation, which would make the department’s Office for Civil Rights “initiate an immediate investigation” into complaints based on one’s heritage. 

“The threats and violence against Jewish students demand action. No student should be afraid to walk around campus because of who they are. Universities and the Department of Education have failed to meet their legal obligation to protect Jewish students from harm. This bill forces accountability and ensures discrimination is never ignored,” Cassidy, the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said in a statement on the bill. 

“I have been demanding answers from this administration about what they are doing to combat the abhorrent and un-American spike in antisemitism on college campuses, and their inaction speaks volumes,” Ernst said. 

“Jewish students should not be forced to risk their safety in pursuit of an education. The Restoring Civility on Campus Act will force the Department of Education to stop sitting on its hands and comply with the law to protect students from the hate and violence that have exploded across the country,” the Iowa senator added. 

The legislation will require the OCR to update students on the status of their case “at least every 30 days” for the following two years and “disclose the result of institutional disciplinary proceedings to the student who reported a civil rights violation.” It will temporarily “impose a fine in the amount of $1 million for an institution of higher education for each instance of noncompliance” and require the president or chancellor of the school in question to meet with OCR investigators on Title VI complaints.