Why are Hillsborough schools under federal scrutiny for discrimination?

Tampa Bay Times | By Marlene Sokol | November 28, 2023

The Hillsborough County school district is the subject of a discrimination investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, but officials aren’t releasing details. 

At a time of heightened fear among communities with ties to the Middle East, the Hillsborough County school district is among numerous educational institutions being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education.

But neither the district nor the department will say why.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights included Hillsborough in a list it posted earlier this month of institutions suspected of discrimination based on “shared ancestry,” meaning their ethnic background.

Of special concern are students who are Jewish or Muslim, or Arab students of any religion, given the level of attention on the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza strip.