A ministerial committee is discussing a proposal that would require schools to reveal their admissions standards in an attempt to prevent illegal discrimination. Schools would be required to set clear standards and make them known to the public at large. The law would establish punishments for schools that fail to do so.

The law was proposed by MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) in response to several cases in which students were allegedly denied acceptance due to their ethnic origin, including the 2010 controversy involving a haredi (ultra-orthodox) religious school in Emmanuel settlement, and massive protests in 2011 by Ethiopian students from the Nir Etzion School in Petach Tikva.

The issue of discrimination in schools was mentioned in a 2011 State Comptrollers report, but according to MK Khenin, the state has yet to address the issue effectively. The new law would give the state tools to fight discrimination, he said. Currently, Khenin said, the state lacks regulations allowing it to punish schools for failing to abide by laws against ethnic discrimination. Khenin’s proposal would require schools found guilty of illegal discrimination to give the victims financial compensation.