A bipartisan pair of lawmakers from New York introduced legislation Friday to impose antisemitism monitors on college and university campuses that receive federal funding.

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., introduced the bill as demonstrations by thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt college campuses across the country.

What You Need To Know

  • A bipartisan pair of lawmakers from New York introduced legislation Friday to require antisemitism monitors on college and university campuses

  • The COLUMBIA Act would give the U.S. Department of Education authority to appoint a third-party to monitor antisemitism on campuses that receive federal funding

  • The monitors would need to release quarterly, publicly available reports that show what the school is doing to combat antisemitism

  • If a school declines the monitor, it would lose federal funding

“Rising antisemitism on our college campuses is a major concern, and we must act to ensure the safety of students,” Rep. Lawler said in a statement. “If colleges will not step up to protect their students, Congress must act.”

The College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability, or COLUMBIA Act, would give the U.S. Department of Education authority to appoint a third party to monitor antisemitism to campuses that receive federal funds. The campus monitors would be required to release quarterly, publicly available reports that show what the school is doing to combat antisemitism.

The Education Secretary would set the terms and conditions of the monitorships, and the college or university would pay for it. If a school declines the monitor, it would lose federal funding.

The federal government provides about $2,290 per student for public postsecondary institutions, according to the Education Data Institute, with student financial aid making up the majority of federal dollars flowing to colleges and universities.

In 2018, 65% of the $149 billion higher education institutions received from the U.S. government went to federal student aid, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Datalab; 27% went to grants to fund research projects; and 8% was for goods and services contracts.

The COLUMBIA Act is named for Columbia University in New York City, where protesters have set up a tent encampment on the school’s main lawn, inspiring dozens of college campuses across the country to also protest Israel’s war against Hamas and the toll it has taken on Gaza residents. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested as their calls for schools to cut financial ties with Israel have been met with a law enforcement response.

“As we have seen over the last half a year since October 7, campus antisemitism is at an all-time high, and American universities are not capable of handling it when left to their own devices,” Rep. Torres said in a statement.

Torres said he and members of his office had spoken with numerous Jewish students on college campuses around the country who said they “feel deeply unsafe, purely as a result of their religious and ethnic identity. This is a blatant violation of Title VI, and the federal government cannot allow this to continue unchecked.”

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.