Frequently asked

Questions, answered

What qualifies, what happens with your information, how the OCR process works, and what happens to your report.

Privacy & confidentiality

Is this confidential?

Everything you share with Magen is protected under attorney work-product privilege while your draft is under review. Your report is visible to the organization holding your case — the lawyers and staff there who work on Title VI cases — and to you. It is not shared with your school, your classmates, or the public unless you authorize it by signing the consent form to file with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

When does attorney-client privilege start?

Attorney-client privilege attaches once a lawyer has reviewed your report and agreed to take the case — that's when a formal lawyer-client relationship is formed. Before then, what you share is still protected as attorney work-product while it is being evaluated, but it isn't yet covered by attorney-client privilege. In practice the distinction rarely affects you: in both phases your information stays inside the organization holding your case and isn't shared with your school, classmates, or the public unless you authorize filing.

Who is handling my report, and which other organizations are involved?

Magen is a Title VI intake and processing tool — the place where you document an incident, build a complaint, and have it reviewed and filed. If you reached Magen through a particular organization's link, that organization is the one that holds and works your report: its lawyers read what you wrote, decide whether a complaint can be filed, and file it. Magen itself was built and is operated by the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC), which makes it available to other civil-rights organizations to handle reports from their own communities — so NJAC is named as the platform's operator in the Terms and the Privacy Policy whoever holds your case. There is one reason your identity, your account, and your evidence would go further before filing: your lawyer decides another organization should join your case — as a co-filer, or because your complaint is stronger filed together with others from your school. That is a case-by-case legal decision, not a data-sharing arrangement, and an organization brought in that way can read the case and help build the joint complaint; it can't take it over or file it on its own. Our Privacy Policy spells out who can see your information at each step.

Will my name be shared with my school?

Not unless you consent to file. If you move forward with an OCR complaint, OCR will typically disclose your name to your institution as part of the investigation — that's how the school is able to respond. You can ask OCR to withhold your identity, and OCR will decide case by case whether anonymity is compatible with investigating the complaint; the report form has a box for that request, and it is recorded on the consent form you sign. If you only save your report and never file, your name goes no further.

Can I keep my name out of the complaint?

Yes, and there are two different versions of that — the report form asks them as two checkboxes, one inside the other.

Keep your name out of the complaint. Check “I'd rather my name not appear in the complaint.” The complaint calls you “Student A,” and your name doesn't appear in anything we share with partner organizations. The Office for Civil Rights still learns who you are — your name is on the consent form you sign, which is filed with the complaint, and that form also carries your request that OCR not pass it any further. This costs nothing and requires no membership anywhere.

Keep your name from OCR as well. Inside the first box is a second one: “I don’t want the Office for Civil Rights to have my name either.” Here nothing identifying you reaches OCR at all. The complaint is filed through a membership organization that becomes the named filer — today that is the Gevura Fund (opens in a new tab) — an established Jewish legal-defense association. Your lawyer then becomes OCR's only way to reach you. Joining may involve a small membership fee. Because this one changes who files and how OCR can contact you, a lawyer talks it through with you before anything is filed.

Tradeoff, in both cases: OCR may close a complaint if it decides it can't investigate without telling the school who complained, and it declines fully anonymous complaints more often than pseudonymous ones. Your lawyer can advise on your specific case — checking either box starts that conversation rather than settling it.

Does filing affect my immigration status or financial aid?

Filing a Title VI complaint should not affect your immigration status, financial aid, scholarships, or academic standing. Title VI protects complainants from retaliation, and that protection applies regardless of citizenship. If you're on a student visa and have specific concerns — for example, if retaliation from the school could jeopardize your enrollment and therefore your visa — raise it with your lawyer so they can factor it into strategy.

Who can file & what qualifies

What types of incidents qualify?

Report anything — even an incident that feels too small to matter on its own. Title VI covers antisemitic discrimination, harassment, and a hostile environment at federally funded schools. In practice that includes verbal harassment and slurs, threats, exclusion from student groups or activities, vandalism targeting Jewish students or spaces, discriminatory treatment by a professor or administrator, doxxing or coordinated social-media targeting by classmates, and housing or roommate discrimination. A single very serious incident can qualify, but most strong cases are built from a pattern — so a minor incident that wouldn't stand on its own is often filed alongside others to show an ongoing course of harassment and the school's indifference to it. What matters legally is that the conduct was severe or pervasive, that the school knew (or should have) and didn't respond adequately, and that it interfered with your ability to participate in school. See the Title VI basics page for more detail.

How long do I have to file? Is it too late?

An OCR complaint generally has to be filed within 180 days — just under six months — of the most recent incident. The clock runs from the most recent incident, not the first, so a pattern that began a year or more ago is still in time as long as something happened recently; that's another reason to include the older incidents, since they build the pattern while the recent one keeps the complaint timely. If you think you're past 180 days, report anyway. OCR can waive the deadline in specific situations — you only recently recognized what happened as discriminatory, illness or another incapacitating circumstance kept you from filing, you went through your school's own grievance process first, or you had already raised it with another agency or court. Waivers are granted narrowly, but you don't have to make that call yourself: describe what happened and why it wasn't filed sooner, and a lawyer decides whether to request one. And if you are inside the window, don't run it to the edge — lawyer review, gathering evidence, and your own authorization all happen before anything reaches OCR.

What if I'm a grad student, faculty, or staff member?

Title VI protects everyone at a federally funded institution, not just undergraduates. Grad students, postdocs, faculty, and staff can all file. The legal framework is the same, though the details — what counts as a hostile environment in a lab or department, what the institution's obligations look like for employees — can differ. Note your role when you start the report so your lawyer can frame it correctly.

I'm in middle school or high school — can I still file?

Yes. Title VI covers any federally funded school — K–12 schools and districts, not just colleges and universities. The same protections against a hostile environment apply, and OCR investigates K–12 complaints the same way it does higher-ed ones. If the student is a minor, a parent or legal guardian files on their behalf — see the next question.

Can I file on behalf of a minor?

Yes. Parents and legal guardians can file Title VI complaints for minors — this is common for K–12 cases and for undergraduates under 18. When you start the report, use the parent/guardian's contact information and describe what happened to the student. Your lawyer will work with you to gather the student's account and any supporting evidence.

Something happened to someone else. Can I report it for them?

Yes — start at Report for someone else. You don't have to work anywhere in particular: staff at a school or a Jewish campus or community organization use this door, and so do parents of other students, relatives, friends, neighbors, alumni, and community members. You'll identify yourself, tell us how you know about the incident, and then describe what happened in the third person.

Three things to know: the person the report is about — or their parent or guardian, if they're under 18 — gets the link to authorize filing, and nothing goes to OCR until they do, so it helps a great deal if you can give us their contact details; if you save the report to finish later, the resume link comes to you, not to them; and a report about a general incident with no one person identified is also welcome, and is filed by an organization in its own name rather than by anybody individually.

Someone at my school started a report for me — what happens now?

Staff at a school or a campus Jewish organization can open a report on a student's behalf, and a lawyer can type one up from a phone call. That gets the facts on the record quickly; it doesn't hand your decisions to anyone else.

The authorization to file comes to you. A lawyer reviews what was submitted, prepares the complaint, and emails you a link to read and authorize the filing yourself — the same consent form you'd sign on a report you started. Nobody at your school signs it for you, and you can decline.

A report started this way is also never shared with campus Jewish organizations, even where a student who filed directly could choose to share it. The person who filled the form in couldn't answer that question on your behalf, so it isn't asked. You can check where the report stands on the Report Status page, and you can reach your lawyer to add anything the report is missing or to ask that it not go forward.

What if the incident happened during study-abroad, at an off-campus Hillel, or at a fraternity house?

It may still qualify. Title VI reaches conduct in programs the school operates, sponsors, or has substantial control over — which often includes study-abroad programs, school-recognized Greek organizations, school-funded Hillel activities, and off-campus events tied to the institution. The further removed the setting is from the school, the harder the nexus is to establish, but it's rarely a clean disqualifier. Describe the setting in detail in your report and let a lawyer assess whether Title VI applies.

The legal process

Do I need a lawyer?

No. OCR's own rule is that anyone may file, you don't have to be represented, and it costs nothing — you can use OCR's electronic complaint form (opens in a new tab) today without telling us anything.

What a lawyer changes is the complaint itself. It gets written to the standard OCR applies — conduct severe or pervasive enough to limit your education, a school that knew, and what the school did about it — rather than into a blank box. Your documents are read against your own account and the passages worth quoting are checked word for word before anything is filed. Your incident can be filed alongside other students' incidents at the same school as a pattern, which you cannot do on your own. If you're past the 180-day deadline, a lawyer makes the waiver argument. And because a lawyer files as your representative, OCR routes its questions through them instead of you.

None of that costs you anything either. If your case becomes complex — for example, if you want to pursue a lawsuit in parallel, or if the school retaliates — your lawyer can advise on whether you need additional representation.

Can I file with OCR myself while my report is with you?

Yes, and you don't need our permission. If you'd rather not wait — or you're close to the 180-day deadline and want the complaint on the record now — file it yourself (opens in a new tab).

Tell us if you do, either in the report or on the Report Status page. Your lawyer needs to know — the same incidents shouldn't reach OCR twice, and what they do next depends on what you've already filed. They can still help with what comes after: responding to OCR, adding evidence, and dealing with the school's response or any retaliation.

What if you decide not to file my complaint?

It happens, and you'll be told. A lawyer may conclude the facts don't fit what Title VI requires, that the evidence doesn't yet meet the threshold OCR applies, or that another route is a better fit for your situation. Sometimes the report is kept instead, to be filed later alongside other incidents at your school as a pattern.

That decision is ours to make about our own filing, not a ruling on your complaint — OCR never sees it. You can still file with OCR yourself (opens in a new tab), and the 180-day deadline runs from the most recent incident regardless of what we decided. Reply to the email and we'll explain our reasoning; a state civil-rights agency, your school's Title IX office, or a private civil-rights attorney may also be a better fit.

Does reporting through Magen preclude other legal options?

No. Filing with OCR does not waive your right to sue in federal court, file a state civil-rights complaint, or pursue criminal charges where applicable. Some students file an OCR complaint and a lawsuit in parallel — the Harvard and NYU settlements came out of lawsuits, not OCR cases. Magen's focus is the OCR path, but your lawyer can discuss other options with you.

What is IHRA and why is it relevant?

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)'s working definition of antisemitism is the most widely adopted reference for what counts as antisemitic conduct. It includes contemporary examples — such as denying Jewish people the right to self-determination, applying double standards to Israel, or using classic antisemitic tropes about Jewish power or loyalty. The U.S. Department of Education's 2019 executive order and subsequent OCR guidance direct investigators to consider the IHRA definition when evaluating Title VI complaints involving antisemitism. Recent settlements with Harvard, NYU, and others have required schools to formally adopt the IHRA definition in their non-discrimination policies. Practically, IHRA gives investigators a shared vocabulary for conduct that targets Jewish identity, including conduct that hides behind political framing.

What does OCR actually do after I file?

OCR first evaluates your complaint for basic requirements — timeliness, jurisdiction, and whether the allegations, if true, would violate Title VI. If it clears that bar, OCR opens an investigation: contacting the school, requesting documents and policies, interviewing witnesses, and analyzing how the institution responded to the incident. Most investigations end in a voluntary resolution agreement where the school commits to specific corrective action — policy changes, training, a climate assessment, sometimes a Title VI coordinator. OCR then monitors the school's compliance for a defined period.

What happens after filing?

Your lawyer submits the complaint to OCR and you receive a confirmation with a copy of everything filed. OCR acknowledges receipt, usually within a few weeks, and opens its evaluation. You can check where things stand any time on the Report Status page; it's updated as OCR communicates. Your own involvement stays light: if OCR opens an investigation, the most you're likely to be asked for is a short interview with an investigator, usually by phone — and because a lawyer files as your representative, OCR can route that through them instead. You may also be asked to clarify a detail or point to a document you already provided, and your lawyer will help you respond. You are not expected to chase OCR or the school directly.

How long does it take?

Evaluation typically takes 30–60 days. From there, timelines vary widely — many cases run a year or more, and some stretch across multiple years before OCR reaches a resolution. It's also worth knowing that OCR doesn't open every complaint: some are dismissed on timing or jurisdiction, and enforcement priorities shift from one administration to the next. None of that makes filing pointless. Even when OCR declines or moves slowly, your report is on the record — it can support a pattern complaint against your school, inform researchers tracking campus antisemitism, and strengthen advocacy on your campus and with lawmakers. Your lawyer will keep you informed; patience is part of the process.

After you file

What if my school retaliates?

Retaliation against someone who files a Title VI complaint — or who participates in an investigation — is itself a Title VI violation. Retaliation can look like grade changes, loss of a position or scholarship, being shut out of a lab or program, disciplinary action tied to the complaint, or a hostile change in how faculty treat you. Document everything, and tell your lawyer immediately. Retaliation claims are taken seriously by OCR and often strengthen the underlying case — and much of the harm can be undone. A resolution with OCR can require the school to put things back: corrected grades, a reinstated position or scholarship, an expunged disciplinary record. That relief is available even years later, so past retaliation is worth raising even when it feels too late to fix.

Can I withdraw my complaint?

Before filing, you can delete or abandon your draft at any time — nothing goes to OCR without your signed consent. After filing, you can ask OCR to withdraw the complaint, and OCR generally honors that request, though in some cases it may continue an investigation if broader compliance issues are at stake. Talk to your lawyer before withdrawing; there's often a middle path, like pausing or narrowing the complaint.

Still have questions?

You can start a report as a guest — nothing is filed until you and a lawyer are ready. Your questions can be answered along the way.