Treasure Coast Rep. Fine Introduces Bill to Treat Antisemitism as School Civil Rights Violation

Rep. Randy Fine, who represents Florida's 6th Congressional District along the Treasure Coast, introduced legislation in April that would force federally funded schools and universities to treat antisemitism with the same legal protections they apply to other forms of discrimination already prohibited under federal civil rights law.

HR 8476, introduced in the 119th Congress, would require every local educational agency and institution of higher education receiving federal financial assistance — from Indian River State College and Martin County's public schools to any private college that accepts federal student aid — to enforce anti-discrimination policies against antisemitism with the same rigor applied to discrimination based on race, color, or national origin under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Public records show the bill was referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce and the House Committee on the Judiciary on April 23.

The legislation arrives amid a national debate over how campus administrators respond to incidents targeting Jewish students. The conversation intensified during protest movements at universities across the country in 2024 and 2025. Critics argue that Title VI, as currently enforced, leaves Jewish students without adequate protection because the law's protections center on race and national origin rather than religion. Officials said

For families in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties, the bill's reach would be broad. Nearly every public school district and community college in the region receives federal financial assistance, meaning compliance with HR 8476's requirements would be mandatory if the legislation becomes law.

The bill now faces the standard committee process — a stage at which the majority of introduced legislation stalls. Advocates for the measure would need to push leadership in both the Education and Workforce Committee and the Judiciary Committee to schedule hearings before the bill advances to a floor vote.

Treasure Coast parents and community members who want to track the bill's progress can review its full text and committee status through the federal government's public legislative database. The next meaningful development would be a committee hearing date, which neither panel had announced as of the bill's referral date.

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