By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A committee in the U.S. House of Representatives has opened a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Public Schools, and a new letter from a Virginia lawmaker is raising questions about how the committee chooses which districts to review.
Rep. James Walkinshaw, representing Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, wrote to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Ill., after the committee announced the inquiry in a letter sent last week.
“If we are going to address antisemitism honestly, then we cannot do it selectively,” he wrote.
Walkinshaw said antisemitism has been reported in school systems across the country and asked the committee to apply its oversight in a consistent way.
Walberg’s letter asked Fairfax County Public Schools to turn over several years of documents related to antisemitic incidents, discipline records, internal communications, and any materials connected to possible violations of Title VI.
Title VI requires federally funded schools to provide an environment free from discrimination.
The committee wrote it “is deeply concerned that FCPS is failing to uphold its obligations under Title VI” and said it wanted to understand how the division responded to reports of antisemitic harassment.
The committee also requested “all documents, records, communications, policies, procedures, and data” involving allegations of antisemitism dating back to January 2022.
The letter said investigators expected records showing how complaints were handled and whether the school division took steps to protect students.
His letter stated, “These are not isolated failures of three school districts. This is a national crisis, cutting across schools, universities, online platforms, political movements, and social spaces.”
He said the committee appeared to be examining some districts more closely than others.
Walkinshaw wrote that “this selective scrutiny is difficult to ignore. If Fairfax County is to be investigated for incidents that reflect a wider national trend, then consistency requires examining similar incidents occurring closer to home.”
Walkinshaw cited several incidents in Michigan that have drawn public attention.
Those included a reported classroom assignment that asked students to role-play as Hamas supporters and a 2022 case involving Nazi graffiti found in a high school bathroom.
His letter said the committee “holding Fairfax solely accountable for a nationwide problem does not advance solutions. It merely shifts blame.”
Walkinshaw’s letter also pointed to national data from the Anti-Defamation League.
The organization recorded more than 9,000 antisemitic incidents last year.
He said the numbers show the issue is widespread and should be reviewed wherever it appears.