Matt Kadosh is a journalist with TapintoNewark, where this story first appeared.

The Newark Public School District has been added to the list of K-12 schools and institutes of higher education that the federal Department of Education is investigating for alleged “shared ancestry” violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights opened its investigation into Newark’s public school district on Dec. 21, according to the list on the USDE’s website, which is updated weekly.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits, “race, color, or national origin discrimination, including harassment based on a person’s shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”

Neither school district spokesperson Nancy Deering, Superintendent Roger León nor school board president Hasani Council responded to TAPinto Newark’s multiple emails and voice messages seeking comment on Friday, Jan. 5.

Deering, however, told NJ Advance Media, “This inquiry has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. We will work with USDE to investigate any and all concerns.”

As of Friday, the Education Department’s list named 89 school districts and higher education institutes under investigation. “The Department does not comment further on pending investigations,” a department spokesperson said.

While it is unclear if the two are related, the federal probe of discrimination allegations follows claims of anti-Black discrimination against both students and staff of Global Studies High School and calls from the community to release to the public a report detailing the discrimination and potential solutions.

The Newark Teachers Union has sued the school district to have the report by CREED Strategies released to the public. Superior Court Judge Mayra V. Tarantino is scheduled to consider an order to show cause in that case on Jan. 23 in Newark, court records show.

In November, the USDE announced its Office for Civil Rights’ release of the list of shared ancestry investigations as part of what it said is the Biden-Harris Administration’s “continued efforts to take aggressive action to address the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination.”

Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon then stated that being put on the list does not mean the institution has violated a law.

“The Office for Civil Rights is increasing transparency into our investigations for public awareness,” Lhamon said in a release. “As always, I emphasize that the Office for Civil Rights reaches conclusions at the end of investigations and that a school’s appearance on this list does not reflect a conclusion that the law has been violated.”