Following almost three years of growing antisemitism in K-12 schools, which have included bullying and, in many cases, ostracization, Jewish students across North America are returning to potentially tense classroom environments.  

 

To help students, parents, and communities better advocate for themselves, Jewish Federations of North America, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), American Jewish Committee (AJC), Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (COP), and StandWithUs (SWU) have released a Jewish Students' Bill of Rights, calling on schools and districts to take six concrete steps to ensure that every Jewish student can attend school without fear of harassment, bias, or shame. The document arrives as new data identifies K-12 schools as one of the few settings where antisemitic incidents have not declined, and as the High Holidays fall within the first weeks of the school year in most districts.  

 

"No child should have to choose between their education and their identity," said Eric Fingerhut, Jewish Federations of North America President and CEO. "We are not asking schools for special treatment. We are asking them to give Jewish students the same seriousness and the same protection that every other student in that building already receives. The Jewish Students’ Bill of Rights is a crucial roadmap of how to do that."  

 

The most recent Audit of Antisemitic Incidents from the Anti-Defamation League found that antisemitic incidents nationwide declined by roughly a third last year, but that incidents at non-Jewish K-12 schools remained essentially unchanged (825 in 2025, compared with 860 in 2024). The persistence of that pattern is what the Bill of Rights is designed to address.  

 

“When a school does not know how to identify or respond to antisemitism, the lesson for every Jewish student in that building is that they do not belong,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director. “Not one child should be taught that lesson in the classroom. These six standards will set the textbook for what to do, and ADL is ready to help any school that wants to learn how to get this right.” 

 

The Bill of Rights lays out six standards that students and families can hold their schools to:  

1. Ensuring that administrators and staff are equipped to identify antisemitism and the ways it manifests in modern educational environments. 
2. Maintaining a clear, transparent process for reporting and responding to antisemitic incidents following all applicable laws and with the same gravity afforded to all other hate and bias incidents, with assurance of accountability and follow-through. 
3. Ensuring that all teaching about Jewish culture, diversity, history, the Holocaust, antisemitism, and Israel is accurate and representative.  
4. Treating religious observances as excused absences and avoiding scheduling school events on widely celebrated holidays.   
5. Protecting Jewish students’ right to express their identity, and fully participate in all aspects of school life without religious coercion, bullying, or pressure to distance themselves from any aspects of that identity, including their connection to Israel.  
6. Assuring that educators and curricula present contested issues in a balanced way rather than using the classroom to advance specific political or ideological viewpoints. 
    

“Our schools should be places where students are able to learn not only academics, but also how to be good citizens and good neighbors -- key among that is creating an environment where no student has to fear harassment and exclusion because of who they are,” said Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee (AJC). “This Bill of Rights outlines common-sense principles that will help ensure that Jewish students, like all students, are able to safely, fully, and proudly participate in school life."  

  

“For most students and parents, the start of a new school year is a time of excitement and possibility. But for too many Jewish students, recent years have brought something very different: harassment, bullying, and anxiety in the classroom. This Bill of Rights makes clear that Jewish students deserve what every student deserves: to learn openly, proudly, and safely, and it gives schools the tools to make that promise a reality,” said William C. Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. 

  

"Far too many Jewish students carry the weight of educating others and defending their community against bias and bigotry in K-12 schools,” said Roz Rothstein, Co-Founder and CEO of StandWithUs. “This Bill of Rights sends a vital message: that responsibility should not fall on students alone. It is time for the adults in the room, educators and administrators, to meet this moment with courage and moral clarity." 

 

Jewish Federations, ADL, AJC, COP, and SWU work to provide guidance and strategic support to school leaders, policymakers, families, and the public on addressing antisemitism and promoting the full inclusion of Jews and Jewish life in K-12 schools. 

 

You can read the full Jewish Students' Bill of Rights here, contact your local Jewish Federation, and utilize resources from the AJC, ADL, and StandWithUs.