Parents and community members press Skokie SD 68 to address antisemitic bullying in schools

During the public comment period, several parents and community members told the board that Jewish students have experienced bullying and exclusion in recent months and urged district action. "Antisemitism is racism," Jody Ehrenberg said, asking the board to adopt clearer policies and anti‑bias training that explicitly names antisemitism. Anna Lapsock and Shoshana Cooper recounted personal histories and warned that hateful language can escalate into harm if not addressed.

Jillian Shear described an incident she said occurred "about 11 months ago" and recounted a more recent episode in which boys excluded a student wearing a kippah from play: "Once they realized that a boy was wearing a kippah, they kicked him out," she said. Speakers urged the board to adopt ADL guidance into harassment policy language, to track incidents in the student information system, and to put explicit language into the district harassment and grievance procedures to ensure reporting and follow‑up. Written comments read into the record echoed these requests and raised concerns about prior public statements by a board member; the written submissions asked for accountability and clearer processes for investigation and trend analysis.

Superintendent responded in the policy discussion that the district requires discrimination training on hiring and had provided Title IX training for administrators, but said those onboarding trainings do not currently call out antisemitism by name. Trustees pressed administration on whether training materials and the harassment policy language should be modified before the second reading. Administration said reported incidents are investigated and documented, and that SIS (the student information system) will be used to aggregate data to look for trends; staff invited families who feel unresolved to speak directly to administration.