A state investigation alleged repeated antisemitic incidents at Yorktown High School with limited response from the administration, according to a national outlet.
The Free Press reported on a 39-page summary of evidence that it says former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) issued last October, alleging antisemitic conduct among students at Yorktown.
According to the story, investigators at the attorney general’s office determined “reasonable cause” to believe Arlington Public Schools violated anti-discrimination laws, claims that APS has reportedly denied.
The report that is the basis for the story is not public and was “exclusively reviewed” by The Free Press. Current Attorney General Jay Jones (D) did not respond to an ARLnow request for comment.
“APS is aware of the article published yesterday regarding Yorktown High School,” Christina Arpante, interim assistant superintendent of school and community relations, said in a statement to ARLnow. “APS takes allegations of discrimination, harassment and antisemitism seriously and is committed to providing safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments for every student.”
She added that APS does not comment on “confidential personnel matters.”
“Regarding the investigation referenced in the article, APS has no additional information to provide at this time,” Arpante said.
The Free Press story came out yesterday with the title, “This High School Wouldn’t Fix Its Antisemitism Problem.” It describes instances of antisemitic slurs, jokes and gestures being directed at Jewish students by their peers during recent school years.
“A female Jewish student said that she was chased because she was Jewish, and other Jewish students described seeing Nazi salutes, hearing Holocaust jokes, and being told that they belonged in a gas chamber or that ‘Hitler should have finished the job,'” the story said.
Another alleged incident described in the story involved a female student pulling a male Jewish student’s kippah off his head.
The story also refers to incidents targeting Jewish students at Yorktown following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack:
After Hamas attacked Israel, Jewish students at Yorktown were mocked for their faith and blamed for the resulting war, according to the report and my own reporting. They were targeted mostly by Muslim boys, the affected students said. Child B told The Free Press that she did what students are supposed to do if they experience harassment: She reported the incidents. But nothing changed. Trying to stop antisemitism at Yorktown eventually felt almost pointless. “There was no follow-up,” she said. “Nobody came to see me.”
The Free Press’s story was published less than two weeks after the Arlington School Board replaced Yorktown Principal Kevin Clark with former Swanson Middle School Principal Bridget Loft. The school system didn’t provide a reason for the change, citing a “confidential personnel matter.”
Clark is mentioned multiple times in the story, including a description of a meeting he held with 15 Yorktown students to discuss antisemitism-related concerns in 2024.
The Free Press, founded by former New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss, was acquired last year by Paramount Skydance. The right-leaning outlet is now part of CBS News.
The Arlington GOP today spotlighted the report, calling it “shocking” and demanding that the School Board and Superintendent Francisco Durán “release the facts, answer for APS’s response, and explain what they are doing to ensure no Jewish student in Arlington is ever abandoned this way again.”
Duran’s contract was recently extended by four years.
There is no official word on whether current AG Jones is continuing to pursue the antisemitism case against APS. However, the Free Press said that his office sent an email to a parent in June, saying that it was “working on a strategy that will allow us to remedy the discrimination you and many other families experienced.”
