Washington, D.C. — Today, the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center (OUA), the federal policy arm of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, endorsed the recently introduced Student Protection and University Accountability (SPUA) Act. OUA is proud to have worked with the House Committee on Education and Workforce and Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Laura Gillen (D-NY) on drafting this critical legislation. 

The Student Protection and University Accountability Act would establish essential new requirements for universities to actively uphold their Title VI civil rights obligations and protect Jewish students in today’s increasingly hostile climate. This bill makes Title VI similar to Title IX by creating structured processes and a system of accountability. The bill:

• Requires schools to designate a Title VI coordinator
• Requires schools to develop clear procedures for investigating alleged violations
• Requires schools to prominently display official Title VI guidance issued by the Department of Education
• Makes schools ineligible for federal funding if they fail to comply with these requirements for two consecutive years
• Creates requirements for congressional briefings on Department of Education investigations into Title VI violations
• Makes changes to the Office for Civil Rights investigation processes to ensure cases are not dismissed before they are fully investigated

“We appreciate Reps. Stefanik and Gillen’s leadership and effort to create actionable and enforceable policy surrounding Jewish students’ legally protected rights on campus,” said Nathan Diament, Executive Director of OU Advocacy. “Many university administrations give second-class status to complaints about antisemitism on campus and have ignored, dismissed, or dragged out those complaints with no resolution or accountability. Passing the Student Protection and University Accountability Act will be a critical victory for Jewish students who have faced attacks and for any student experiencing discrimination under Title VI because it will compel university administrators to put proper procedures in place or automatically lose their eligibility for federal funds.”