from a name to a number that is the kind of unforgettable education that makes a difference and may his memory be a blessing. i also want to emphasize that it's important for leaders to stand up to anti-semitism no matter where it comes from. many of my colleagues claim to care about the rise in this country but when they march in charlottesville virginia with burning porches into chanting jews will not replace us, the president at the time, donald trump, said there were very fine people on both sides. one of the participants that unite was nick fuente a vile anti-semite who among other statements denied of the scope of the holocaust while comparing jews exterminated in concentration camps to cookies being baked man oven. former president trump posted him in november of 22. general john kelly who served as then president trump's chief of

staff and stated both favorably about hitler including that he had done some good things. and just a few months ago he said, quote, any jewish person that votes for democrats hates their religion. despite of these persistent examples of comments that others have called anti-semitic and continued relationships, i've not heard one word from colleagues across the aisle. in fact what we have seen this consolidation of support. if my colleagues care about anti-semitism, they would condemn and denounce these comments from the leader of their party so i will offer up my colleagues on the other side of the aisle the opportunity to condemn these previous comments i look forward to the testimony and conversation today with the hope that we could have a constructive dialogue about how to fight back against

anti-semitism so all students can be safe and feel safe at school whether it is a k-12 school, college or university and i yield back the balance of my time. >> pursuant to the rule all that wish to insert statements may do so by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically. may 202nd, 2024 and without objection the record will remain open for 14 days after the date of the hearing to allow such statements and other materials referenced to be submitted for the official record. i note the subcommittee there are members, colleagues that are not a permanent part of the subcommittee who may be waving for the purpose of today's hearing. and now let's get to the introductions of the distinguished panel. the first witness is the chancellor of the new york city

public schools where the new york city department of education in new york new york. the new york city school is the largest system in the nation. appointed by mayor eric adams on january 1, 2022 but he started his career as a school safety officer after which he began his first teaching job at public school 167. he serves as an assistant principal at 191 before becoming a founding principle of the school for law, government and justice. he's a native new yorker and graduate of the public school system. he holds a bachelor's degree from rutgers university and earned his jd from st. john's university of law. the second witness is carla who is the president of the montgomery county board of education for the schools and rockville maryland to get

elected to the second four-year term on november 8th, 2022 she is serving a second term as the president of the board of education. the education policy experience began at the university of pennsylvania where she worked at the collaborative for science education working as a teacher, professional development and hands-on science education in west philadelphia schools. she served as vice president for children and youth for the link nonprofit for the preventative school year and summer youth programs. graduating from florida state university's with a bachelor's degree in biology and received her masters degree in education from the university of pennsylvania. greetings from the sunshine state. we are glad to see where you are. let's yield for the introduction of a witness. >> i welcome to the committee the senior staff attorney with

the american civil liberties union who worked on the privacy technology project. focusing on first amendment free-speech protections and among other things previously served as a legal advisor for africa from stanford university a masters in public affairs from the princeton school of public and international affairs and the doctorate from the new york university of law. welcome. >> the final witness, superintendent of the berkeley unified school district into berkeley california. and the urban educator and community activist with over 21 years of experience. aside from serving as superintendent of berkeley unified school district, she is a professor, senior lecturer at the urban education at loyola

university and is active in the community serving as a board member for organizations such as 826 valencia and other nonprofit organizations with missions aligned to hers. she's a proud member of delta sigma inc. welcome to the witnesses we thank you for being here and look forward to your testimony pursuant to the committee rules i would ask that you limit each of your oral presentations to five minutes. at the summary of your written statements, your full written statement is in the record, but it just like us up here, you get five minutes. that's what our little timer system will do if by chance you go past i will give you a little time and that is a great way to say wrap it up. i recognize your response ability to provide accurate

information to the subcommittee. with that, let's get started. it is a pleasure to recognize esther banks for his five-minute testimony. welcome. you are recognized. okay. hope i didn't lose my time. thank you so much again. good morning. the chairwoman, chairman dean, ranking member scott, and distinguished members of the committee and subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to address the perfect rise in anti-semitism. the number one religious-based hate crime in america. i also want to thank rabbi joseph, michael cohen and the reverend for joining me here today. today i will share how we are confronting the scourge of anti-semitism in our new york city public schools.

the new york city school system, which is the nation's largest is a community of over 1 million students and a staff. we speak over 180 different languages in our schools. our diversity however means our classrooms are not insulated from the global stage. since october 7th our students and staff, jewish and muslim, israeli and palestinian suffered immensely. i also have felt deep pain reflecting on my own two trips to israel with the jewish community's relation council. again and again my mind has returned to my visit. a profoundly moving experience for me. in the immediate aftermath of october 7, mayor eric adams made powerful remarks condemning the terrorist attacks. i sent messages to the communities strongly condemning the heinous acts of hamas. but words are not enough.

there had been unacceptable incidences in the schools. when jewish students were teachers feel unwelcome or unsafe, that should sound the alarm for us all. i recognize the urgency of addressing the crisis as an educator of 30 plus years, as a leader of the system for the next generation of new yorkers it is not only my job to produce good readers and riders, our schools must also build good people. people who demonstrate respect and appreciation for our shared humanity. when it comes to rooting out anti-semitism, the public schools must be part of the answer. let me tell you about this moment that focuses on safety, engagement and education. number one, safety is a precondition for learning. i started my career as a school safety officer and my father was a proud decades long officer of the new york city police department. keeping schools safe is in my

dna. when anti-semitism rears its head, i believe we must respond and we have. we have removed, disciplined, or are in the process of disciplining at least a dozen staff and school leaders including removing a principal in the middle of the school year. we've suspended at least 30 students and when hate crimes are committed we have retrained all 1600 principles on the discipline code to ensure that it's been enforced properly. second, we have engaged thousands of partners to help us design long-term solutions. my instinct as a leader in moments of crisis is never too shy away from an issue, but rather to lean into it to understand it better. new york city is home to the largest jewish community outside of israel and many of the nation's foremost jewish institutions. as we have strengthened our relationships with these partners that include the federation, the anti-defamation

league, the museum of tolerance, the jewish children's museum, project witness and many more. i also launched for the first time in history and interfaith advisory council because we must model for our students how to build bridges, engage in genuine dialogue and share each other's pain in challenging times and finally, education. we cannot simply discipline our way out of the problem. the true antidote to ignorance and bias is to teach. my own children learn about anti-semitism firsthand from our next-door neighbors were holocaust survivors in new jersey. about as survivors caps on and in light of current events, the need for education becomes even more pressing. our students cannot grow up to view anyone as the other. in addition to covering the holocaust and eighth, ninth, tenth grade we are creating an educated guide with the museum

of jewish heritage and we are building a brand-new curriculum highlighting the culture and contribution of the jewish community, because the history of the jewish people extends far beyond the holocaust. we've also partnered with the prevention of hate crimes and a new hate crimes curriculum. we've expanded our anti-semitism resources and workshops. finally, let me say this. new york city public schools we are focused on our charge to fight hate and force the inclusion to safety engagement and education. we are working hard and we have a long way to go. there's always more to do. i hope that we can be a candle in the darkness. thank you. >> thank you very much. chairman, ranking member, members of the subcommittee, good morning. my name is carla and i'm the president of the board of education for montgomery county public schools in maryland. i appreciate the opportunity to

speak with you today about our efforts to address anti-semitism in our school system. let me begin by assuring the committee board of education is committed to combating anti-semitism, hate speech and racism wherever and whenever we see it. i can't tell you we've gotten it right every time, but as a board, we are committed to working with our administrators and our communities to constantly improve the processes and outcomes. montgomery county public schools are the largest in the country with 160,000 students and nearly 25,000 employees. we are one of the most diverse districts in the nation and our families and students come from every major religion and ethnicity and to speak over 162 languages. more than a third of the county residents are foreign-born. in montgomery county we have elected our time with of the the

governance and oversight role. at the standard for the achievement and accountability. our core mission is education. this is the lens through which we approach the relationship of student employees and the committee. this is the perspective i bring to today's hearing. i also bring the perspective of my history when i was just eight i came to this country to escape the violence stemming from guatemala civil war. i became a proud u.s. citizen in 2007 and went on to be elected to serve on the board of education by the citizens of montgomery county. i'm also the parent of a student in our school system and incidents of anti-semitism and hate based language are extremely important to me. with that in mind i know the committee is aware of recent press reports and public complaints around anti-semitic imagery, language and vandalism in the district. let me be clear we do not shy

away from imposing consequences for hate-based behavior including anti-semitism. our policies to initiate an investigation each time the school system receives a complaint or we witness particular racist language or actions. there are a range of consequences for teachers and staff and as our investigation blamed as a staff member cannot unfold the collective support, a safe learning environment for all students, it will not remain in montgomery county public schools. the conduct in students rights and responsibilities in the past year we have revised policies and procedures to strengthen the response to anti-semitism, hate and racist behavior. second, we put in place a reporting process and training for school leaders and staff.

we are empowering students and families to report harassment so we can take action. third, from happening in the first place through education we enhance the curriculum throughout k-12 to expand on topics related to the jewish experience. fourth, we are strengthening the relationships and partnerships with communities. we participated in listening sessions in the synagogues and this year 12 community organizations joined us to perform an advisory group to support the collective effort to address hate-based speech and incidences including anti-semitism. fifth, starting this summer we will have mandatory hate-based training for all staff. in closing, anti-semitism has no place in montgomery county public schools. the suffering caused by anti-semitism, hate and racism interferes with students learning and well-being.

i want to do everything in my power to make sure all students can pursue their education without worrying about anti-somatic hate filled threats. we will continue to evaluate the policies and actions to ensure all students and families, every single one of them feel safe, valued and welcomed in the school system. i welcome the opportunity to continue this important discussion. >> thank you very much. well done. welcome to the committee. you are recognized. >> thank you. the chairwoman, ranking member scott, subcommittee chair, committee ranking member and members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the aclu, thank you for the privilege of testifying today. i want to start by acknowledging that today's topic confronting anti-semitism is a gravely important one.

these are deeply complicated and confusing times i would like to use my time to make three key points and i will describe the first amendment and its key principles. a second how the first amendment of prizes schools and i also just more productive ways to deal with controversial speech. the text of the first amendment is short, so i will just read it. congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the

press or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for the redress of grievances. the first word of the first amendment is congress. you all are the stars of the show. the first amendment is primarily about restricting the government's authority related to related freedoms. religion, speech, the press, assembly and the right to petition. the first amendment does not apply. this is why the first amendment applies in public schools but are generally not in private. brooke newborn a legendary figure of the aclu has described the poetry behind the ordering of the freedoms protected by the first amendment. first, the government cannot regulate your religion. that is what you believe, your thoughts, your ideas and your faith. a second, the government cannot abridge the freedom of speech. now you've gone from having an idea to communicating the idea to others around you.

third, the government cannot abridge the freedom of the press. now you've gone from an idea to speaking that idea to those that are both earshot to using the press which means publishing or otherwise disseminating ideas to a wider audience now your gathering and mobilizing people around this idea because people like to feel solidarity and share space. the right to petition the government. this means you have the right not only to have an idea, not only to speak that idea or publish that idea and galvanize people around the idea, but you have the right to bring that idea to redress grievances. the first amendment looking closely at the text can be read as facilitating the journey from an idea to a movement but notwithstanding the proio