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The Missouri Senate General Laws Committee advanced on Monday a proposed bill — HB 2061 — to address and prohibit antisemitic discrimination in the state’s public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.
The legislation, sponsored by State Representative George Hruza, defines antisemitism using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, including its 11 contemporary examples, which was endorsed in an executive proclamation by then-Governor Michael Parson in 2023. It was approved last month by a 109-21 vote in the Missouri House of Representatives.
The Senate version of the bill was introduced by State Senator Curtis Trent.
The legislation mandates the integration of the definition into student, faculty, and employee codes of conduct, and facilitates stricter enforcement of Title VI of the U.S. Civil Rights Act by directing the Missouri State Board of Education and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to each designate a Title VI coordinator to monitor, report, and investigate antisemitic discrimination in public K-12 and post-secondary schools.
The full text of HB 2061 is available HERE.
Testifying at a Senate General Laws Committee hearing at the State Capitol in Jefferson City last week, Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Director of State Engagement David Soffer said, “This bill is timely and critical, as it will help prevent further antisemitic incidents in Missouri’s K-20 public schools. Passing HB 2061 will send a powerful message that Missouri is taking proactive steps to protect its Jewish community.”
“Missouri will also demonstrate to the rest of the nation its commitment to combating hatred in all its forms and to ensuring the safety and dignity of all students, faculty, and staff,” Soffer added.
A total of 37 U.S. states have adopted the IHRA antisemitism definition, according to a database compiled by the Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) by CAM.
Over the past year, CAM has led an organized effort to engage and educate state legislators across the U.S. on antisemitism-related issues and potential policy remedies, such as the Missouri bill.
Legislative initiatives have also been put forth in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, and six of these states — Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Tennessee — have seen new laws enacted since the start of last April.
At the end of June, lawmakers and executive officials from 17 states convened in Kansas City, Missouri, for the first-ever CAM-organized State Leadership Summit on Antisemitism.
