Overview

• A civil rights complaint was filed July 1 with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office alleging that Nysmith School expelled three Jewish children in retaliation for their daughter reporting pervasive antisemitic harassment.
• The complaint recounts bullying incidents that included classmates labeling Jewish students “baby killers” and a social studies assignment featuring Adolf Hitler as a strong leader.
• In March meetings, headmaster Kenneth Nysmith canceled the Holocaust speaker program and approved the display of a Palestinian flag, actions the parents say worsened the antisemitic taunts.
• Two days after parents questioned those decisions, Nysmith expelled the children on grounds of eroded trust, while publicly denying any discriminatory motives.
• Attorney General Jason Miyares’s Office of Civil Rights has opened a review under Virginia’s Human Rights Act that could result in enforcement against the school or a right-to-sue letter.