By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said on Thursday it launched a civil rights probe into New York City's Department of Education over a pro-Palestinian group of educators.
A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education said it was reviewing the notice it received from the federal Education Department. The group referenced by the Trump administration is not connected to New York City Public Schools, the spokesperson said.
The U.S. Education Department said it launched a Title VI probe. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act specifically prohibits any program or activity that receives federal financial aid from discriminating based on race, color and national origin.
The Trump administration, referring to the group NYC Educators for Palestine, said that "a group of NYCDOE employees organized a series of teaching seminars focused on 'Palestine, Zionism, and Resistance.'"
The NYC Educators for Palestine group says it is a group of "public school educators committed to fighting for Palestinian liberation in our school system, and society at large" by working with community organizations and mobilizing educators.
The group's social media says educators have the right to academic freedom and freedom of speech to teach about Palestinian rights, saying "no forms of solidarity should be responded to with discipline or censorship solely due to their expressions in support of Palestine."
The federal probe will determine whether the New York City Department of Education discriminated against Jewish students, the federal Education Department said in a statement, adding it received complaints about a potential creation of a "hostile environment" towards Jewish students.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has voiced pro-Palestinian views and condemned both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The Trump administration has also targeted diversity, equity and inclusion programs using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act after Trump campaigned against DEI measures in businesses and schools.
Trump has cracked down on schools and universities by threatening to freeze federal funding and attempting to deport foreign students over pro-Palestinian movements against U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza.
The Trump administration has alleged that such movements and their protesters are antisemitic and support extremist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
Activists, including some Jewish groups, say Trump wrongly conflates criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Rights advocates have raised free speech, due process and academic freedom concerns over the Trump administration's actions, which have faced judicial roadblocks.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
