More than 100 people filed formal complaints with the state against Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 and three of its teachers claiming they created a “hostile antisemitic environment for Jewish students” and that administrators have done little to address the issues.
The complaint was filed with the Illinois State Board of Education along with the Illinois Attorney General’s office on June 30. Those who signed it called for the three teachers to be held accountable.
The signers, led by Oak Park parent Nate Mellman, alleged that the three named teachers “demonstrated unprofessional conduct as well as promoted and condoned antisemitic statements and/or acts.” They pointed to one teacher’s social media accounts, where they said posts containing antisemitic comments were published along with those that promoted “antisemitic falsehoods.”
“I’m feeling like many of my ‘friends,’ & colleagues that currently sit silently &/or directly support the genocide of Palestinians would have sat silently &/or directly benefited from Black enslavement & genocide,” one of the teacher’s post said.
The signers said that because of the district’s inaction to address these posts, the teacher “has been free to up the ante on his hate speech.”
The complaint also listed the Middle Eastern and North Africa Club Advisors, stating they have “endorsed the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel” and promoted a “a one-sided viewpoint” in the classroom, posted “antisemitic” posts on social media, and sold T-shirts that “depicted the entire outline of Israel next to the word ‘Palestine,’ symbolizing the elimination of the State of Israel.”
This “legitimized” the promotion of antisemitism at OPRF, the complaint said.
Supt. Greg Johnson addressed the complaint during the July 11 special board meeting with an official statement from the district.
The statement says the district acknowledges the conflict in the Middle East has “challenged the policies and practices” of academic institutions across the country.
However, the district also has said they remained “steadfast” in efforts to balance the rights of all by seeking both advice from community and religious leaders, as well as legal counsel.
According to Johnson, the district has been consulting with their attorneys for months to ensure district policies are being followed.
He also said attorneys have suggested “enhancements” to the support for school community members affected by the events.
“We will share those actions with the school community once we finalize the details before the coming school year,” Johnson said.
According to the complaint, on March 14, Tom Cofsky, board president, responded to a letter addressed Feb. 27 and said he was “aware” of Instagram posts, but added that “creating an environment where our diverse perspectives can co-exist and where students and adults can feel safe expressing those perspectives is our pathway toward ensuring an inclusive and diverse environment for all.”
Cofsky was not able to be reached for comment.
According to the complaint, community members said they attended multiple board of education meetings, including the one on Feb. 8, to report incidents and to follow up with the district. They said “virtually no remedial action” was taken.
“We therefore turn to you to ensure that District 200 is a safe and welcoming place for Jewish students,” they wrote.
Mellman said the climate at the high school has made students fearful.
“The students are afraid and they have complained,” Mellman told Wednesday Journal. “There have been a number of students who have complained to administrators and nothing has been done.”
Mellman said despite public comments, letters, and various complaints, the district has not addressed the issues, and instead have “silenced” and “gaslighted” a part of the OPRF community.
“If this was a complaint for any other reason, any other basis, weather its gender or sexual harassment something would have been done,” Mellman said. “But because they are complaining about antisemitism nothing is being done.”
OPRF’s statement said that administrators, including Johnson, have met with dozens of OPRF community members, students and staff with different identities and points of view.
“Across the board, regardless of their identities, they have shared personal stories of pain, anger, fear, and despair,” they said. “We want them to know we see them, we hear them, and we are committed to ensuring we have a safe and healthy environment.”
Officials also said they did not tolerate harassment, citing a section of its policy:
“The District will not tolerate harassment, intimidating conduct, or bullying whether verbal, physical, sexual, or visual, that affects the tangible benefits of education, that unreasonably interferes with a student’s educational performance, or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment.”
Mellman said the last thing those who signed the complaint wanted to do was paint the school in a bad light but felt there was no other option due to the lack of action from the district.
“You never want to take your business outside so to speak but at some point we had to do it.” Mellman said. “That is what it’s come to.”
