The Ministry of Education sent a warning to the accreditation of Columbia University on Wednesday that the Ivy League institution violated the Federal Anti-Discrimination Law.
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a press release That the decision arose after a series of protests on the grounds of universities that opposed the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.
McMahon accused Columbia’s leadership of “acts with a deliberate ignorance of the harassment of Jewish students on his campus.”
“This is not only immoral, but also violates the law,” McMahon said.
Members of the Faculty of Columbia University protested to support Palestine and for freedom of speech at the Columbia University campus on November 15, 2023 in New York City. The University suspended two student organizations, justice students in Palestine, and Jewish voices for peace, for violating university policies. The tense atmosphere on many campuses has increased when groups of students, activists and others have protested both to support Israel and Palestine (photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Spencer platt/getty image
Columbia was accused of violating the title VI of the 1964 civil rights law, which prohibited federal funds from discriminatory based on race, color or national origin, according to the department.
The department said that by violating the Federal Anti-Discrimination Law, Columbia had failed to meet the accreditation standards set by the Central State Higher Education Commission.
The accreditation process determines which schools are eligible for loans and financial assistance. This step can have major implications for universities and universities as educational experts suggest to eliminate protection for students.
The government claims that Columbia’s leadership failed to take several actions, including failing to determine an effective reporting mechanism for antisemitism until the summer of 2024, failure to comply with its own policies and procedures when responding to complaints of Jewish students and regulating mistakes on Jewish students and did not investigate or punish vandalism in the classroom.
Now, university federal accreditation is required to make plans to meet federal law or “take appropriate action against” Columbia, the department said.
In a statement for ABC News on Wednesday, a spokesman for Columbia University said the institution was “very committed to fighting antisemitism on our campus.”
“We respond to this problem seriously and continue to work with the federal government to overcome it,” the spokesman added.
This spring, Trump signed an executive order aimed at overhauling the higher education accreditation system and calling for McMahon to ask for accountability “Accreditation”. His government has taken steps to “be full of enthusiasm” to fight antisemitism on campuses, including peeling Columbia of $ 400 million in education and contract grants.
This is the latest administrative action taken against a leading university.
Last month, Trump’s administration announced and then resigned to the decision to prohibit Harvard University from allowing international students to register at the university.
Harvard also fought against the President’s efforts to freeze more than $ 2.2 billion in grants and $ 60 million in contracts for schools. Harvard filed a separate lawsuit to challenge the freezing of funds in April, and the next hearing in the case was determined for July.
Trump had previously expressed his interest in revoking university tax -free status.
ABC News’ Arthur Jones II contributed to this report.