A new California law providing “clear guidance” on combating Jew-hatred in K-12 schools went into effect on Jan. 1 after a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction to block its implementation the day before, bill co-author Rick Chavez Zbur told JNS.
AB 715, which Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, signed into law in October, establishes a state civil rights office with a coordinator focused on antisemitism and bars the use of discriminatory teaching materials. Noël Wise, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, issued her 22-page ruling, which was obtained by JNS, in response to a lawsuit that teachers and parents filed against AB 715 in November.
Zbur, a Democrat and member of the state Assembly who co-authored the bill, told JNS that he is “heartened by the court’s strong and correct ruling that allows implementation of AB 715—a law that makes clear that antisemitism has no place in California classrooms.”
“At a moment when Jewish students are facing a crisis of harassment and intimidation in our schools, this new law will provide clear guidance to recognize and respond to antisemitism, protect students from harm and discrimination and foster learning environments rooted in dignity and respect,” he said.
A spokesman for the state attorney general’s office told JNS that it “is committed to defending California laws.”
“We’re pleased with the court’s decision,” the spokesman said.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed the suit against AB 715 on behalf of parents and teachers in the state and Los Angeles Educators for Palestine, alleging it violates the First Amendment.
Wise stated in her ruling against the injunction that the teachers filing the suit “have failed to demonstrate that their classroom speech is protected by the First Amendment” and therefore “failed to allege an adequate First Amendment violation.”
The suit also claimed that the law is vague regarding the definition of antisemitism, but notes the Biden administration’s plan to fight Jew-hatred that uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition. Wise wrote that these arguments were “inconsistent.”
“On one hand, they insist AB 715 is vague because it fails to define antisemitism,” Wise stated. “On the other hand, teacher plaintiffs decry the injustice of the IHRA definition to which they claim they will now be held.”
She added that “a reasonable person reading AB 715 would sufficiently understand what the legislature meant by the word ‘antisemitism,’” which is enough to show that it isn’t vague.
An appeal was filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California on Jan. 1, according to the court docket.
Dawn Addis, a Democrat and member of the state Assembly who co-authored the bill with Zbur, told JNS that she is “grateful for this decision that upholds that schools have both the authority and the responsibility to protect students from harassment.”
“AB 715 ensures our campuses remain places for learning and belonging for all students,” Addis said.
Carly Gammill, director of legal policy for StandWithUs Law, told JNS that “this ruling indicates the court’s view that AB 715 is constitutionally sound as drafted.”
“Now that plaintiffs have appealed the ruling, however, whether and how AB 715 is ultimately implemented and applied remains an open question that is being monitored closely by all those concerned about the issue of antisemitism in California’s K-12 schools,” she said.
Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at the Lawfare Project, told JNS that “the court correctly recognized that California has the broad legal authority to set curriculum standards and enforce civil rights protections in public schools.”
“Courts should not be used as a tool to undermine civil rights under the guise of free speech, and this ruling makes clear that such tactics are unlikely to prevail,” Filitti said.
‘Free from bias’
David Bocarsly, executive director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, which filed an amicus brief in support of the law, told JNS that, with the law now in effect, Newsom can nominate someone to head the newly created office of civil rights as well as an individual to serve as the state’s antisemitism prevention coordinator, both of which would need to be approved by the state Senate, according to Bocarsly.
While Bocarsly said he is not sure what the timeframe will be for such nominations, he hopes “it will be speedy.” (JNS sought comment from Newsom’s office.)
“That coordinator position will have the ability to support and work with school districts when incidents arise in schools to train educators about antisemitism, and they will be required to receive all data of complaints of antisemitic discrimination in schools,” he said.
The coordinator will receive all of the complaints sent to school districts and the California Department of Education––and how those complaints were handled––and “will be able to consolidate and compile data, make it public” as well as provide “legislative recommendations to the legislature,” Bocarsly told JNS.
The text of AB 715 states that, starting in September 2027, the coordinator will “track and report” all antisemitism “complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints” in K-12 schools to the legislature, the state superintendent of public instruction and the executive director of the California State Board of Education. The reports will not contain any personally identifiable information.
Under the law, classroom content must now be “unbiased” and “undiscriminatory.” This also applies to organizations that contract with schools to provide teaching resources, Bocarsly said.
“We know that a lot of groups that have been interested in inserting antisemitic, anti-Israel content in the classroom are contract providers for school districts. They sell their services,” he said.
He added that the legislation will ensure that, if any such providers want to sell their “resources to school districts, they are held to the same standards that any teacher is and any school board member is.”
“Jewish students should be able to have an education free from bias and discrimination,” Bocarsly told JNS.
