SEATTLE — The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that it's entered into an agreement with the University of Washington to ensure the university complies with federal civil rights law, after the federal agency reviewed its handling of dozens of discrimination complaints.

The agreement comes a few months after an October report found many students who identified as Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Palestinian or Middle Eastern/North African reported feeling unwelcome. Last school year saw tensions rise at UW and campuses across the country, as students participated in protests and formed encampments in response to the war in Gaza.

The department's Office for Civil Rights reviewed about 140 discrimination reports that the university received in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years. The reports included instances of antisemitic and anti-Arab harassment and antisemitic graffiti. Most instances detailed in a Jan. 15 letter to the university's president from the Office for Civil Rights concerned incidents that occurred after the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The office noted that the president of the University of Washington, Ana Mari Cauce, published blog posts condemning "hate speech and acts of vandalism" and that the university assigned two task forces to investigate Islamophobia and antisemitism on campus.

But the office found that the university in general did not take "responsive action" even when reports stated people felt "threatened, unsafe and targeted based on their shared ancestry."

University records suggested that the university's response depended on whether a person reporting harassment responded or followed up, instead of fulfilling its obligation under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to determine whether a hostile environment exists independent of factors like that. Title VI bars discrimination based on race, color and national origin, including based on a student's shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

For example, the university received a report of "a threatening message written on a board in a university building targeting Arab, Muslim and Palestinian students." The university recommended the person reporting the incident contact the department chair but there was no documentation of any more action taken.

In another incident, a Jewish student reported that a person screamed at them "(Expletive) you IDF Zionist baby killer" while walking on campus. Although the student said they wanted to be contacted, the university just thanked them for helping "tell the story" of what people were experiencing on campus and referred them to the university's violence prevention and response program. The university closed the report a few weeks later and had not taken additional action because they received no further communication from the student.

"The University of Washington commits now to important revisions to its practices and to its policies to ensure that university students may learn without discrimination," said Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. She said the Office for Civil Rights "looks forward to ongoing work with the university as the university implements these crucial changes."

The university has agreed to:

* Revise university policies and procedures to make sure they address Title VI. The university will submit them to the Office for Civil Rights for review and approval.

* Install a Title VI coordinator to make sure complaints are reviewed in line with the law's requirements. (The university announced in November that it would create a Title VI coordinator).

* Regularly train employees responsible for investigating discrimination reports on the university's Title VI obligations and on how to investigate discrimination claims.

* Regularly train students and employees on Title VI and university policies and procedures on discrimination, including harassment based on shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics.

* Take action in response to the results of the 2024 survey and focus groups conducted for the university's antisemitism task force and Islamophobia task force and conduct an assessment on the university's climate when it comes to discrimination on the basis of shared ancestry. (The antisemitism task force report was criticized by some Jewish students, faculty and staff, who said it conflated antisemitism with anti-Zionism, among other concerns.)

* Review how the university responded to reports of shared ancestry discrimination during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years and take any necessary remedial steps.

The agreement, the University of Washington said, does not mean the university is admitting liability, noncompliance or wrongdoing.

Cauce said in a statement that the University of Washington "is committed to the safety and well-being of all our community members" and that "anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and discrimination of any kind have no place in our University."

"We take seriously the concerns that were raised, and we appreciate the opportunity to reach a resolution in this matter, including taking actions that will continue and strengthen our efforts to support a welcoming and safe environment for every member of the UW community," she said.

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