Parents, students urge Cobb County School District to address alleged antisemitic classroom materials; superintendent orders review

At the Cobb County School District board meeting on March 20, several parents, students and community members told the board that classroom lessons and materials available through the district’s CTLS learning platform have contained biased or antisemitic content and asked the district to act.

The speakers said the materials included historical inaccuracies and imagery they described as antisemitic. "If this board refuses to take action, then you are complicit in this misinformation that fuels Jew hatred and endangers Jewish students," commenter Laura Ziss said during the public-comment period.

Why it matters: commenters said the allegedly problematic materials have harmed students and contributed to an unsafe climate for Jewish students across Cobb County schools. They urged the board to adopt stricter controls over classroom resources, require county-level vetting before materials are uploaded, retrain staff and publicly correct affected lessons.

Several speakers gave specific classroom examples. Mindy Milinkowski said unapproved resources embedded in CTLS in 2020 contained "historical inaccuracies and antisemitic tropes" and that the district’s failure to correct them has had consequences in school incidents, including swastika graffiti. Ninth-grader Samantha Epstein described seeing a slide in her AP human geography class that she said depicted an Israeli Defense Forces soldier with a broom labeled "ethnic cleansing" sweeping over Palestinian bodies; she said the slide left her feeling unsafe as the only Jewish student in the class.

Speakers asked the board to require that only district-vetted, standards-aligned materials be uploaded to CTLS and to ensure that when mistakes are found, affected students are re-taught with corrected materials. Mindy Milinkowski called for "swift, consistent action" and district-wide training for administrators on recognizing and addressing antisemitism.

Superintendent Mr. Bridal (Superintendent, Cobb County School District) responded from the dais, saying "Antisemitism will not be tolerated in any form, period." He said he personally initiated a review when he learned of the allegations and that the review has progressed to an investigation. "I will report on that investigation at its conclusion, along with any actions we will be taking," Bridal said.

Bridal also announced the district will reintroduce and expand a series of educational town halls and training sessions, beginning with events addressing commercial sexual exploitation of children and later covering other topics relevant to school safety and bias. He said details about dates and locations will be shared through district communications.

What the speakers asked for: public commenters repeatedly urged (1) central vetting of CTLS materials before teacher uploads; (2) clear remediation and re-teaching when biased or inaccurate material is used; (3) consistent, systemwide training for administrators and teachers to prevent recurrence; and (4) transparent reporting on any investigation outcomes.

The board did not vote on policies or disciplinary actions related to the allegations during the meeting. Bridal said he will bring findings and any recommended actions back to the board after the investigation concludes.

Ending: The board’s next steps — including the scope of the investigation, any required curriculum changes and the schedule for the announced town halls — were not specified at the meeting. Bridal said he will provide an update to the board when the investigation is complete.