No. 25-1404October Term 2025Petition Pending
StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, et al., Petitioners v. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The petitioners allege that MIT violated Title VI by failing to respond adequately to an antisemitic hostile environment on campus, including protests and conduct they say targeted Jewish students and spaces.
Case status
- Current stage
- Petition Pending
- Latest event
- Petition pending
- Decision timing
- No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.
- What it's about
The petitioners allege that MIT violated Title VI by failing to respond adequately to an antisemitic hostile environment on campus, including protests and conduct they say targeted Jewish students and spaces. The First Circuit upheld dismissal of the case, and the petition asks the Supreme Court to clarify the standards for a Title VI hostile-environment claim and the role of First Amendment-protected speech.
Question presented
1. Whether the harassers’ subjective discriminatory intent is an element of a hostile environment claim under Title VI. 2. Whether the First Amendment bars a plaintiff from pleading a Title VI hostile environment claim based on “protected speech.”?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit / Petition pending
- Area
First Amendment
Briefing
What it's about
The petitioners ask the Supreme Court to review standards for Title VI claims alleging that MIT allowed a hostile environment for Jewish students. The questions include whether alleged harassers must have discriminatory intent and whether the First Amendment limits claims based on protected speech.
Argument
The case is pending, and oral argument has not been scheduled. No substantive justice or advocate reactions are available yet.
Impact
The case could affect students alleging discrimination at colleges receiving federal funding. For example, it could shape what a Jewish student must allege when claiming a school failed to address campus harassment.
What is at stake in StandWithUs v. MIT?
The case concerns what students must show to bring a Title VI hostile-environment claim against a federally funded school.
Who could be affected by this case?
Students alleging race, color, or national-origin discrimination, along with colleges and universities receiving federal funding, could be affected.
What happens next in StandWithUs v. MIT?
The Supreme Court will decide whether to grant certiorari, meaning it agrees to hear the case. Oral argument has not been scheduled.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Sep 2, 2026
- Method
- Methodology