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1 1 (January 27, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/govetkt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Title VI and Peer-to-Peer Racial Harassment at School: Federal Appellate Decisions Updated January 27, 2026 Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in federally funded programs. While that mandate applies broadly to programs of various types, one significant area that Title VI covers is schools. All public and most private colleges and universities receive federal financial assistance, as do all K-12 public school districts. Individuals subjected to racial discrimination by a recipient of federal funds may sue to enforce Section 601. Because Title VI applies to federally funded schools, rather than students, reports of racial harassment by students raise the question of what responsibilities a recipient institution may have under Title VI to respond. For instance, in the wake of protests on numerous college campuses related to the Israel-Hamas conflict and associated U.S. policies, individuals and organizations have filed lawsuits alleging that some protest conduct included discriminatory racial harassment and that schools' responses violated Title VI. As explained below, borrowing from caselaw interpreting another civil rights statute, federal appellate courts have determined that a school's inadequate response to peer-to-peer racial harassment can amount to race discrimination in violation of Title VI. However, the judicial standard for holding schools liable on this basis is exacting, requiring plaintiffs to make several showings, which can prove difficult. This Sidebar examines how federal appellate courts have approached peer racial harassment claims at school under Title VI, including one recent decision-specific to university campus protests and allegations of antisemitism-that reflects the stringency with which courts examine Title VI harassment claims. (The circumstances in which Title VI applies to antisemitism is a complex issue of its own; for more on that question, see these separate Legal Sidebars.) While this Sidebar focuses on judicial enforcement of Title VI in the specific context of racial harassment, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also enforces the statute against schools the agency funds. OCR's administrative role in enforcing Title VI is explored in other CRS products; as a general matter, OCR's administrative standards may not always mirror the judicial standard for holding schools liable under Title VI. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11087 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress