The South Orange-Maplewood School District has been added to a growing list of universities and districts under investigation by federal officials for alleged discrimination.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a probe into the pre-K-12 school district last week, according to its online list of schools under investigation.
“An institution named on this list means that OCR has initiated an investigation of a case concerning that institution. Inclusion on the list does not mean that OCR has made a decision about the case,” the announcement said.
Neither school district officials nor federal officials would say whether the investigation announced Tuesday in the South Orange-Maplewood School District centers on antisemitism, Islamophobia or another form of discrimination.
The investigation was launched eight days after Acting Superintendent Kevin Gilbert issued an apology to community members for an “inflammatory document” about Ramadan containing antisemitic language that was sent to all high school staff. South Orange-Maplewood school district officials did not say if the document was related to the federal investigation.
Paul Brubaker, spokesman for South Orange-Maplewood schools, said district officials declined to comment on the investigation. A spokesperson for the federal Department of Education declined to comment on any pending investigations.
The South Orange-Maplewood School District is the fourth New Jersey public education system under investigation for bias allegations by the federal Department of Education.
Rutgers University is under investigation for antisemitism, a school spokeswoman said in December. Newark Public Schools is also being investigated for bias, but a school spokeswoman said in December the allegations are not related to antisemitism. Teaneck, a Bergen County town with a large Jewish population, was added to the federal Department of Education list of districts being investigated in January, but school officials did not say why.
Nationwide, more than 50 universities and public school districts under investigation for claims of discrimination related to shared ancestry, according to federal officials.
South Orange-Maplewood has had several incidents involving alleged bias in recent months.
On March 11, a document was sent to Columbia High School staff with information about Ramadan, the holy fasting month for Muslims, along with details about its significance in Islam. But, the document also included a paragraph that described the U.S. as “a co-conspirator with Israel, preventing Muslim Palestinians from partaking in Ramadan as the Israeli Zionist occupation enacts a genocide against them.”
The document was created by Teaching While Muslim, a group of Muslim educators in New Jersey working to actively include social justice, anti-racist and anti-Islamophobic curricula and educators in schools, according to its website.
“The document was not reviewed or approved by any district office or personnel, and while the intention of sharing the document was to provide a resource, serious content was overlooked,” said Gilbert, who was appointed acting superintendent in November.
“This resource contained language that, at any time, would be inflammatory but, particularly now, is deeply problematic, and inappropriate for our schools,” he said.
The document was circulated on social media after it was sent to Columbia High School staff, school officials said.
Teaching While Muslim released a statement on Instagram defending the document and condemning the school district’s reaction.
“While several versions of the document exist, a brave administrator sent out one that centered on the plight of Muslims amid global oppression — oppression that the United States has loudly and actively supported and participated in,” the group’s statement said, adding that it fully supports the content of the document.
Gilbert, the acting superintendent, said the document does not reflect the views of the administration, Board of Education or the staff member who sent it. He did not name the staff member who sent the document.
“Moving forward, we commit to reviewing all of the resources that are shared to ensure they meet our standards for respect, inclusivity, and belonging. We will remind our staff, as we do our students, that we must be careful in how we utilize outside media,” Gilbert said.
The same day Gilbert issued that apology, the principal of Columbia High School was arrested and charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault for an incident that occurred last year.
Frank Sanchez, principal of Columbia High School in Maplewood, surrendered to detectives on March 11, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. He was charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, prosecutors said earlier this month.
According to the complaint filed in the case, Gilbert reported the alleged incident to the Maplewood Police Department on Dec. 22 and told them an affirmative action report was generated against the Sanchez in March of 2023. The school district hired an outside investigator to look into the matter, which allegedly involved a Black, female student.
The investigator determined there was physical contact between Sanchez and the Columbia High School student that included “pushing, shoving or grabbing,” the complaint stated.
Supporters of Sanchez raised concerns at a school board meeting last week that the veteran school administrator was wrongly charged. An online fundraiser for Sanchez has raised nearly $60,000 for the principal’s legal defense as of Monday morning.
Sanchez has been on administrative leave since early January, though school district officials have not said why or if his leave is linked to the alleged assault.
Ann Bodnar, the school district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, is serving as acting principal.
In December, police in Maplewood were investigating a “violent” antisemitic threat scrawled on a stall in a girls bathroom at Columbia High School. In a letter to parents, school officials said the antisemitic vandalism was found after a student reported the “Free Palestine” graffiti that was above it.
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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
