# Plain Language Summary: COLUMBIA Act of 2025

This bill would create a new federal program that places independent monitors on college campuses to track and report on antisemitic activity. The Secretary of Education would identify colleges that receive federal funding and have documented problems with antisemitism, then assign third-party monitors to those schools. These monitors would be paid for by the colleges themselves and would work under an agreement that spells out their responsibilities and the school's obligations.

The monitors would have three main jobs. First, they'd operate according to the terms set by the Department of Education and the college. Second, they'd write quarterly reports that get published publicly on both the college's website and the Department of Education's website, describing what progress the school is making in fighting antisemitism on campus. Third, they'd submit annual reports to Congress, the Secretary of Education, state and local governments, and the college itself, including specific recommendations for policies, actions, and disciplinary measures the school should consider taking.

In practical terms, this means colleges identified as having significant antisemitism problems would have an outside watchdog monitoring their campus climate and publicly reporting their findings. Students, parents, and the general public would be able to see these quarterly reports online, creating transparency about how schools are handling antisemitic incidents and what they're doing to address them. The bill essentially creates accountability by making colleges' efforts—or lack thereof—visible to everyone, while also giving the federal government a tool to push schools toward taking stronger action against antisemitism.

COLUMBIA Act of 2025

Torres, Ritchie

College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability Act of 2025 or the COLUMBIA Act of 2025This bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to establish a program to appoint third-party anti-Semitism monitors at certain institutions of higher education (IHEs). Specifically, ED must establish this program to appoint a monitor at an IHE that (1) has a high incidence of anti-Semitic activity (based on data received from ED's Office for Civil Rights), and (2) receives federal funds for higher education.&nbsp;ED must develop an anti-Semitism monitorship agreement that (1) designates the terms and conditions of the monitorship, and (2) requires the&nbsp;IHE to provide for the monitor's reasonable expenses.&nbsp;The bill requires the monitor to<ul><li>operate under the monitorship agreement developed by ED and entered into with the IHE;&nbsp;</li><li>provide publicly available quarterly reports that evaluate the IHE's progress in combating&nbsp;anti-Semitism on campus; and</li><li>provide annual reports to Congress, ED, state and local governments (as needed), and the IHE that include recommendations for actions, policies, and sanctions to prevent and reduce anti-Semitism at the IHE.</li></ul>