California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed companion state Senate and Assembly bills that counter “hate, antisemitism and discrimination in schools,” the Democratic governor’s office said on Oct. 7—the two-year anniversary of Hamas’s attack.
AB715 and SB48 “create new accountability systems, require stronger responses to antisemitism, harassment and discrimination” and “support every student in learning in a school free from fear or prejudice,” the governor’s office stated.
“California is taking action to confront hate in all its forms,” Newsom stated. “At a time when antisemitism and bigotry are rising nationwide and globally, these laws make clear: our schools must be places of learning, not hate.”
The governor opted to sign the bill nearly a month after it passed the state legislature which Izzy Gardon, director of communications for Newsom’s office, told JNS is “the standard timeframe for end-of-session legislation.”
The Assembly bill creates a new state civil rights office and an “antisemitism prevention coordinator,” who will “develop training, resources and enforcement strategies for K-12 schools,” Newsom’s office said. “It also requires districts to investigate and take corrective action when discriminatory content is used in classrooms or professional development.”
The state Senate bill “complements that effort by creating four statewide discrimination prevention coordinators—focused on religious, racial, ethnic, gender and LGBTQ discrimination—to provide resources and training to prevent and consistently address bias and discrimination in schools,” the governor’s office stated.
Newsom’s office stated that the new laws build upon what it called “California’s nation-leading efforts to protect students and promote tolerance through education, training and accountability.”
Jesse Gabriel and Scott Wiener, a state representative and senator, respectively, and co-chairs of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, said the state “is sending a strong and unambiguous message—hate has no place in our schools and will not be tolerated.”
“We have been inspired by the leadership of our colleagues, and the incredible advocacy of Jewish students, parents, teachers and leaders from across California, who fought tirelessly to protect Jewish children,” the two Democrats stated.
‘Changes the playing field’
Eveie Wilpon, an education research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who co-created two grassroots organizations focused on protecting Jewish civil rights—one in K-12 schools—told JNS that the law doesn’t go far enough.
“Given that antisemitism is not clearly defined in the bill, there is valid concern that the implementation, oversight and enforcement may not be appropriate or robust enough to address the antisemitism we are seeing in K-12,” she said.
“These concerns are accentuated by the unfortunate fact that so many of California’s leaders and educators openly stood against ensuring anti-Jewish biases are kept out of the classroom,” Wilpon told JNS.
Dr. Irving Lebovics, a dentist who chairs Agudath Israel of California, told JNS that the new law isn’t perfect but “changes the playing field in public schools.”
The bill addressed anti-Israel groups coopting ethnic studies initially, but legislative caucuses changed it into an antisemitism bill that addresses all school subjects, according to Lebovics.
“We have many, many kids that have reported situations of physical violence, bullying coming from classmates, coming from staff and faculty—just crazy stuff,” he told JNS.
“We’ve been playing Whac-A-Mole until now, and now there’s an organized situation to deal with the complaints, to streamline that system so it gets addressed quickly,” he said. “It’s a big change in terms of how antisemitism is addressed in schools.”
Lebovics told JNS that he was in contact with the governor’s office. “We had no doubt he was going to sign it,” he said. “He told me he’s got 800 bills, and I shouldn’t worry about it.”
JNS asked Lebovics about references in the statement from Newsom’s office to confronting “hate in all its forms.”
“We’re dealing with a multiethnic legislature in a multiethnic state,” he told JNS. “We’re still a minority.”
“The fact that all of these various ethnic groups were willing to come out strong and vote for a bill on antisemitism says a lot. By the same token, we don’t want to see any other discrimination against other ethnic groups either,” he said. “I don’t think we lose anything in that process by making the point that we’re all in the same boat.”
‘Painful and unacceptable’
Susan Tuchman, director of the Zionist Organization of America’s center for law and justice, told JNS that Jew-hatred in K-12 schools “is a huge problem, particularly after the Hamas massacre in Israel on Oct.7, 2023.”
“The harassment and intimidation reported to us by parents, students and educators are painful and unacceptable,” she said.
Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, stated that the new law is “transformative” and “will protect Jewish students while providing vitally important frameworks to prevent antisemitic bias.”
Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, stated that the law is a “lifeline” for “Israeli-American students, who often face harassment more frequently and more intensely than other Jewish students.”
“No student should feel that they must choose between their safety and their identity,” he stated.
Robert Trestan, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League’s West division, stated that the law “is not the end of the work.”
“It is the beginning of our journey to strengthen our laws and policies to safeguard the rights of Jewish students,” he said. “It’s on all of us to continue to apply pressure to elected officials to keep our students safe. More action is needed, but with a united voice, we can make our schools more inclusive for all.”
