Bay Area school district discriminated against Jewish students, CDE finds

"Filed in May of last year, it alleged the district discriminated against Jewish students when it sent out materials in celebration of Arab American Heritage Month that did not include Israel on a map of the current Middle East, instead labeling the entire territory as Palestine. The complaint also accused Oakland Unified of discriminating against students by publicizing Arab American Heritage Month more favorably than Jewish Heritage Month and linking to the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, which the law firm alleges is anti-Israel."

"According to the newly released state report, Oakland Unified's investigation of the complaint concluded in Aug. 2025 found that while the district did not unfairly publicize Arab American Heritage month over Jewish Heritage Month, the district violated board policies by excluding Israel and using content from the Arab Resource and Organizing Center an organization the district was aware could be considered antisemitic."

"In its report, the Department of Education concluded that Oakland Unified discriminated against Jewish students when Israel was excluded from the map and failed to comply with complaint procedures taking over a year to issue its investigative report when state law requires a maximum of 60 days. The department also said Oakland Unified refused to hand over its investigative report, citing attorney-client privilege, which the department said was an insufficient basis for refusal."

The California Department of Education determined that Oakland Unified discriminated against Jewish students by excluding Israel from a Middle East map used in Arab American Heritage Month materials. A complaint filed in May alleged the district publicized Arab American Heritage Month more favorably than Jewish Heritage Month and linked to the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, which was alleged to be anti-Israel. Oakland Unified's internal investigation concluded in August 2025 that the district violated board policies by excluding Israel and using Arab Resource and Organizing Center content but did not address antisemitism allegations. The Department found procedural failures, including a yearlong delay and refusal to provide the investigative report.

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