Two parents from Virginia claim that their three Jewish children were dismissed from a prestigious private school after raising concerns about antisemitic harassment targeting their sixth-grade daughter.
The Nysmith School for the Gifted, located in Herndon, Virginia, and recognized in 2015 by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth as among the “Top 10 Schools in the World,” has refuted these accusations.
A complaint submitted to the Virginia Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights states that Brian Vazquez and Ashok Roy’s Jewish children were expelled from Nysmith School on March 13, following their grievances about the school’s failure to address the antisemitic bullying of their 11-year-old daughter.
The filing included a photo of a group of children holding a large cartoon drawing appearing to depict Adolf Hitler. It was part of a social studies class project in which students were assigned to draw a composite of a “strong historical leader.”
“The school had allowed anti-Semitism to take root in her class,” the complaint says. “That photo, featuring the unmistakable face of Adolf Hitler, was shared with the entire school community. It was followed by a pattern of persistent and severe anti-Semitic harassment of Complainants’ young daughter.”
“I have never used that phrase with any child or adult in my life,” Nysmith said in an email. “I have three kind and sensitive children, and I would never use that term or anything that conveyed that thought, nor would anyone on our staff.”
“We have not seen a rise in antisemitism in the school and have had several of our Jewish families write me since the media blitz to express their support of the school,” Nysmith said. “There are certainly sensitivities, just as we had with our Muslim students after 9/11. Our environment is about inclusiveness and acceptance for all. Did the family mention the fundraising of our community for those affected by the October 7th attack? We did.”
Nysmith provided a copy of a message the headmaster sent to the school community defending the institution as “proud of the diversity that defines us, our families come from all corners of the world, representing a wide spectrum of cultures, religions, and perspectives.” He told the school community, “That diversity can sometimes make our community complicated and emotional, especially during emotional international events such as the October 7th attack and the ongoing violence in Gaza. We have students and families with ties to both sides of that heartbreaking conflict, and we are committed to ensuring that our school remains a safe, respectful, and empathetic space for everyone.”
“Children are still learning how to navigate differences and emotions.” he wrote. “Sometimes they make mistakes and say unkind things. When this happens, we use this moment to teach. We use those moments to help students understand the impact of their words and actions, to model compassion, and to guide them in building empathy and respectful disagreement.”
The complaint alleges that the Nysmith School for the Gifted violated the Virginia Human Rights Act by engaging in unlawful anti-Semitic discrimination and retaliation.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, whose office is investigating the complaint, previously told Fox News that “what’s been alleged is beyond disturbing,” and, while the lawsuit involves pre-teen students, “the level of harassment of Jewish students on our college campuses is now trickling down to K-12.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares speaks during a campaign event for Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sear at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department on July 1, 2025, in Vienna, Virginia. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“If what’s alleged in here, this is true, it absolutely meets that definition of a violation of the Virginia Human Rights Act,” Miyares told Fox News last week. “We want every student in Virginia not to be looking over their shoulder in fear. The idea that in any place in Virginia, whether they’re, either on a college campus or K-12, if you have a Jewish student who feels they’re being harassed, they’re incapable of completing their studies because they’re being specifically targeted, our job is to make sure these schools are told to stop it and end it.”
“I want to be clear: Virginia is not New York,” Miyares added. “We have a fantastic governor in Gov. Youngkin, we knew from Day One. We saw those images of what happened at Columbia, and we said that’s not going to happen in Virginia. We have a very, very different governor and candidly a very different attorney general than what you have in some of these other states.”
“We want to protect our students, and so we have no tolerance for any school, whether it’s a college campus or it’s K-12, that is specifically targeting Jewish students,” he said.
