PANAMA CITY − A civil rights complaint has been lodged alleging antisemitism in a Bay County high school.
In an April 23 news release, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it and the Akerman Law Firm filed a joint complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights alleging a Bay District Schools student was the recipient of repeated antisemitic harassment.
“The Title VI complaint alleges that the student, who is in 11th grade, was subjected to antisemitic bullying, harassment and discrimination on a regular basis while enrolled at the A. Crawford Mosley High School,” the statement reads.
It adds this was a “recurring pattern that had continued against the boy since elementary and middle school through 2025.”
According to the release, a group of students in the Jewish student’s class presented PowerPoints in August and September that included “highly offensive antisemitic imagery, antisemitic tropes and demonizing narratives, including conspiracy theories.”
The complaint says the PowerPoints portrayed Jews as being a “powerful, greedy and manipulative” group of people.
“The students performed Nazi salutes and wore yarmulkes while making the presentation, and the teachers present in the classroom while the presentation took place did nothing to stop it,” the release reads. “This antisemitic presentation occurred after years of attempts by the student’s mother, a former district employee for nearly 20 years, to voice concerns over how her son was being excluded within the larger school community due to his Jewish faith.”
The release says that because of reoccurring harassment, the student attempted to hide his religious identity.
A statement from BDS notes the incident “happened in the first semester” and “was investigated and swiftly addressed at both the school and district level.”
“Becuase it involves personnel matters and student privacy protections, we are limited in what we can share publicly,” the statement reads. “That said, Bay District Schools takes concerns related to antisemitism and discrimination very seriously. We are committed to maintaining classrooms and school environments that are respectful, inclusive and supportive of all students.”
ADL and the Akerman Law Firm are asking the Department of Education to require BDS to take actions to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin.
These actions include having a zero-tolerance policy for antisemitism, along with having mandatory antisemitism training for all students, administrators, teachers, faculty and school board members.
“By any measure, the antisemitic harassment and discrimination present in this school district was overwhelming and pervasive, and the district’s failure to effectively respond constitutes a clear violation of Title VI,” James Pasch, ADL vice president of litigation, said in the release. “No child should have to endure this kind of sustained harassment and exclusion for their religious identity in a public school or any school, and no parent should have to beg a school district to include their child becuase they are Jewish.”
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Civil rights complaint alleges antisemitism in Bay county high school
Reporting by Nathan Cobb, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
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