By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said on Thursday it launched a civil rights probe into New York City's Department of Education over a pro-Palestinian group of public school educators.

The U.S. Education Department said it launched a Title VI probe. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act specifically prohibits any program or activity that receives federal financial aid from discriminating based on race, color and national origin.

The Trump administration, referring to the group NYC Educators for Palestine, said that "a group of New York City Department of Education employees organized a series of teaching seminars focused on 'Palestine, Zionism, and Resistance.'"

The NYC Educators for Palestine group says it is a group "public school educators committed to fighting for Palestinian liberation in our school system, and society at large" by working with community organizations and mobilizing educators.

The federal probe will determine whether NYCDOE discriminated against Jewish students, the federal Education Department said in a statement, adding it received complaints about a potential creation of a "hostile environment" towards Jewish students.

The NYCDOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pro-Palestinian.

The Trump administration has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion programs using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act after he campaigned on against DEI measures in businesses and schools.

It has cracked down on schools and universities by threatening to freeze federal funding and attempting to deport foreign students over pro-Palestinian movements against U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza.

The Trump administration has alleged that such movements and protesters are antisemitic and support extremist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Activists, including some Jewish groups, say Trump wrongly conflates criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

Rights advocates have raised free speech, due process and academic freedom concerns over the Trump administration's actions, which have faced judicial roadblocks.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)