What a Title VI investigation actually does

The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights opened investigations into San José State and San Francisco State on Aug. 6, 2026, over complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law barring discrimination based on race, color, or national origin at any school that takes federal money. ¹

At SJSU, the complaint says Jewish students were threatened, shunned, and made to feel unwelcome in class, and cites an email from a vice president for student affairs that sorted students into "good Jews" and "bad Jews" based on their views of the Israeli government. ¹³ At SFSU, the complaints describe antisemitic graffiti, an attempted break-in targeting Jewish students, and campus events featuring speakers with ties to designated terrorist organizations. ¹

Here's what OCR actually does with that. It first checks whether it has legal authority, whether the complaint alleges something Title VI covers, and whether it was filed on time, generally within 180 days of the alleged discrimination. Once a case opens, OCR becomes what it calls a neutral fact-finder: it reviews documents, interviews people, sometimes visits the campus. ²

The investigation ends one of two ways. Either OCR finds insufficient evidence, or it finds "a preponderance of the evidence" that the school violated the law. Either way, it sends both sides a Letter of Findings explaining the conclusion on each allegation, though OCR is explicit that these letters aren't statements of agency policy and can't be cited as such. ²

If OCR finds noncompliance, it doesn't get to punish the school directly. It tries to negotiate a written resolution agreement, a set of remedial steps the university agrees to take, and then monitors whether the school follows through. Universities can also request an early resolution agreement before OCR finishes investigating. If a school refuses to sign or comply, OCR's real leverage is a threat to cut off federal funding, or a referral to the Justice Department. Complainants can appeal a dismissal or a finding within 60 days. ²

SJSU has disputed the department's press release directly. A university spokesperson, Michelle Smith McDonald, called the release "misleading" and said the "good Jews"/"bad Jews" line was never said by any university representative: "This statement was never made by any representative of the university." The university says it has "consistently and repeatedly denounced antisemitism." ⁴ Neither university has settled or received a Letter of Findings yet.