Sen. Rick Scott reintroduces bill to expand Title VI and increase penalties for violating universities
The Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act also directs the Department of Education to oversee private lawsuits against colleges for antisemitism
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Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) speaks on government funding during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 06, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) reintroduced legislation last week targeting universities that have failed to stem the surge of antisemitism taking place on college campuses.
Scott originally introduced the Preventing Antisemitic Harassment on Campus Act last October with then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), now the secretary of state, as anti-Israel encampments had begun reemerging on some campuses ahead of the presidential election.
The legislation would expand Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which currently bans discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin — to include religious discrimination and implement “clear and escalating penalties for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are repeat violators.” It would also direct the Department of Education to “oversee private lawsuits against colleges receiving federal financial aid related to antisemitism.”
“Following Iran-backed Hamas’s attack on Israel, we saw a drastic rise in antisemitic attacks in the United States with anti-Israel mobs taking over campuses, and we’ve seen an unacceptable failure from leadership at higher education institutions to take action to condemn these mobs and protect Jewish students. Jewish students were afraid to go to class, fearful of the violence these pro-terrorist mobs threatened. That can’t happen,” Scott said in a statement.
The legislation was reintroduced on Friday, the same day that the Trump administration announced it would cut $400 million from Columbia University’s federal funding due to the school’s handling of antisemitic demonstrations that have roiled the campus since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
Earlier last week, Trump posted on social media that “all Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests.”
“President Trump is completely right to withhold federal funding from higher education institutions that refuse to enforce the law on their campuses and enable antisemitic hate to flourish, and I’m proud to lead this bill to build on his efforts,” Scott said.