House Republicans are about to put K-12 schools under an antisemitism microscope

Republican lawmakers incensed over antisemitism on college campuses are now directing their wrath at elementary and high school administrators.

School officials from California, New York and Maryland are set to testify before a House Education and the Workforce subcommittee on Wednesday to address what conservatives describe as a streak of hateful rhetoric in K-12 schools that’s intensified during the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The magnitude of the campus protests, the myriad ways school leaders have responded to them and House Republicans’ ability to tap into concerns about antisemitism have plunged higher education into a political crisis. The GOP is now attempting to draw a parallel with officials in left-leaning enclaves whose schools have seen student protest walkouts and allegations of harassment, but not the televised drama that has gripped a swath of elite private and public universities.

“Antisemitic incidents have exploded in K-12 schools following Hamas’ horrific October 7 attack,” said Florida Republican Rep. Aaron Bean, a member of the House education committee who will lead Wednesday’s hearing. “This pervasive and extreme antisemitism in K-12 schools is not only alarming — it is absolutely unacceptable.”