The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce released a report Wednesday identifying Berkeley Unified School District as a case study in what it describes as antisemitism and political activism infiltrating K-12 instruction. The committee simultaneously published more than 1,000 pages of district files, including lesson materials and internal staff emails, as part of a broader investigation that also examined Philadelphia and Fairfax County public schools and the National Education Association.
What the Report Alleges
Committee Chairman Tim Walberg said investigators found curriculum material that strays from core academics into ideological territory. The report centers on BUSD's use of the "liberated" ethnic studies curriculum, developed with the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, which the committee says contains "antisemitic resources along with the activist ideology that fuels contemporary antisemitism." Specific examples cited include a ninth-grade Arab American studies unit referencing scholar Edward Said and framing "resistance" as a form of cultural wealth, as well as a fourth-grade unit introducing terms like "colonization," "decolonization" and "settler."
The California Department of Education has previously overruled BUSD's own internal reviews on separate antisemitism complaints, concluding on multiple occasions that antisemitic incidents did occur in district schools - a history committee spokesperson Audra McGeorge said justified closer federal scrutiny.
Released Files and Privacy Concerns
The documents released alongside the report include slide presentations, a superintendent's message promoting Arab American and Southwest Asian/North African Heritage Month resources, and references to groups such as the Middle East Children's Alliance, which the committee claims has ties to a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Some materials also address Jewish cultural concepts, including a slide explaining the value of "Tikkun Olam."
Staff names appear unredacted in several emails, though email addresses were removed. Yvette Felarca, of the Equal Opportunity Now/By Any Means Necessary Caucus, warned this exposure could subject employees to harassment.
Divided Reactions From the Community
Reactions split sharply along familiar lines. Itamar Landau, founder of the Jewish Coalition of Berkeley, said the report confirms long-standing parent concerns that curriculum content undermines Jewish students' sense of identity. Corey Wade, a Berkeley Independent Study teacher, countered that educators are attempting to present difficult, multi-perspective material responsibly rather than indoctrinate students, arguing that discomfort with a viewpoint is not grounds for removing it.
The report does not carry direct regulatory force but adds pressure on BUSD amid ongoing state-level findings of antisemitic incidents, and it is likely to influence future funding, legislative or oversight discussions involving the district.