Editor’s note: The names of certain sources have been changed for the sake of minimizing harm and protecting their safety.
On Sept. 13, the California State Legislature passed the Assembly Bill 715 which now awaits approval at the governor’s desk. The controversial education bill has worried educators that it could limit classroom discussions and potentially shut down curriculums related to Israel and Palestine.
AB 715 expands and adjusts anti-discrimination policies in public education. This would affect K-12 schools and materials for publicly funded colleges, like Sacramento State, to include professional development materials for teachers and stronger enforcement mechanisms. The bill includes investigations to make sure schools are not using subject matter that is seen as discriminatory.
Klari Schuman, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, said that the bill’s focus will be on preventing prejudice and bigotry.
“This bill is about having things that are not antisemitic being brought into the classroom,” Schuman said. “So that kind of discriminatory material about any other ethnic group would also be considered discriminatory, highly inappropriate and offensive.”
The bill also establishes a new Office of Civil Rights under the California Government Operations Agency that will work directly with school districts to prevent and respond to bias and discrimination.
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According to CalMatters, this bill no longer provides a clear definition of antisemitism or addresses antisemitic learning environments specifically. It also removes previous requirements from existing law related to teaching materials about Judaism, Israel or the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“We basically need these because antisemitic incidents in schools have exploded over the years,” Schuman said. “We have had a lot of situations where students and parents did try to make complaints, but it seemed the whole district was being very permissive about some of these offensive and antisemitic materials.”
Supporters of AB 715, such as the Jewish Federation, say the bill focuses on student safety and preventing discrimination. The bill, they say, does not prevent classroom discussions about Israel and Palestine or other politically sensitive topics but rather ensures those discussions are framed in a respectful, fact-based manner.
“It’s not really about restricting materials or taking away conversation,” Schuman said. “It’s about framing conversation in a productive way that’s not offensive. We’re not talking about silencing debate. We’re talking about Jewish kids being treated with respect and dignity.”
Educators and civil rights advocates say AB 715’s language is “vague” and that it makes it “easy for political complaints to be filed,” warning that it could effectively ban discussion of certain historical and political topics.
Amal Al-Sheikh, a senior political science and journalism major and member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said the bill sets a dangerous precedent.
“The way they inflated antisemitism and enhanced [other policies] together made it much more like censorship than combating antisemitism like the bill claims to do,” Al-Sheikh said.
Al-Sheikh, who has attended multiple hearings in opposition to the bill, said she witnessed firsthand how lawmakers responded to student concerns. Al-Sheikh said it was troubling to see the hostility they faced during a particular meeting, which she noted are supposed to be for the public’s right to express their concerns.
“The reaction from members of the Legislature was very hostile towards us,” Al-Sheikh said. “I remember one member – after we left the hearing – said it was hard to see students wearing keffiyehs, implying we were aligned with Hamas. It was incredibly offensive.”
Al-Sheikh said the legislation is personal for many Palestinian students who already feel excluded in California’s K-12 curriculum.Al-Sheikh grew up in California and said her school history classes did not mention Palestine, focusing instead on Israel’s establishment after the Holocaust, leaving her feeling that her background and identity were overlooked.
Now, Al-Sheikh worries AB 715 will make it even harder for Palestinian and other marginalized students to see themselves represented or even allowed to speak up.
“The little amount of representation we already had is now being weaponized against us,” Al-Sheikh said. “Our existence is being framed as antisemitic.”
While the bill no longer includes specific language about antisemitic learning environments or defines antisemitism directly, its passage would trigger the implementation of companion bill Senate Bill 48. That legislation would create a new antisemitism prevention coordinator position within the Office of Civil Rights, which will be tasked with consulting with school staff and reviewing complaints.
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“One of the examples that was discussed at the hearings was a handout given at a school,” Schuman said. “It displayed a hand that symbolized the Jews controlling the world; that’s what we’re dealing with here. Not people having views about Israel, but egregious mistakes that are leaving Jewish kids feeling very confused, socially isolated and depressed.”
Andrea Terry, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies , said that AB 715 would prevent people from talking about certain topics in the classroom such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. She said teachers might not be able to share facts about what’s happening in Gaza or how Israel became a country without being accused of antisemitism.
The bill emphasizes antisemitism but applies broadly to any form of unlawful discrimination based on race, gender, nationality or sexual orientation. Still, opponents of the bill say the focus on antisemitism, jointly with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance framework, diminishes other groups from discrimination.
Amy Bentley-Smith, the director of Media Relations and Public Affairs from the California State University Office of the Chancellor, said in a statement that “AB 715 does not directly connect to the CSU and was not on its legislative agenda.”
However, AB 715 also includes rules about career technical education classes in high schools. If a school district allows a CTE class count towards graduation, the district is required to tell families whether those classes also meet college admission requirements for CSU or UC schools.
The district also has to give a full list of which CTE courses count for college and explain which requirements they cover. While the bill focuses on antisemitism, critics worry these added rules could affect what’s taught in schools and how future teachers are trained.
“There’s concern that this bill sets up a situation where in K-12, [teachers] cannot be critical of particular governments without being accused of antisemitism,” Terry said. “That’s going to have a spillover effect into other areas.”
The California Faculty Association, a union representing professors at Sac State, has been outspoken in its opposition, warning the bill amounts to state-sponsored censorship.
“It’s disheartening that the Legislature did not listen to the people who are in the classrooms,” Terry said. “This is basically telling teachers how to do their jobs.”
Under the bill, if a school district knows or has reason to know that any educational or professional development material has resulted in unlawful discrimination, it must investigate and take corrective action.
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Educators across California, particularly those involved in teacher training programs within CSUs, are voicing concerns about the potential long-term impacts of the proposed changes.
“The CSU prepares most of the K-12 teachers in California,” Terry said. “So if this were to go into effect, it would have to be part of how we prepare our future teachers. There’s concern it could eventually affect universities too.”
On Sept. 26, the CSU system received an antisemitism complaint from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint alleges racial discrimination and antisemitism due to interactions with the PhD Project.
In a statement from the CFA regarding the investigation, they argue the bill is part of a coordinated attempt by the government to censor dissenting perspectives rather than protect students and staff. The statement notes a pattern of behavior among CSU administration alongside federal agencies, such as the EEOC and OCR, to exercise power over educational institutions.
“If [AB 715] becomes law, it would censor educators from addressing topics that challenge the status quo,” the statement said. “It undermines real efforts to fight antisemitism by silencing nuanced, critical dialogue.”
Despite opposition from more than 100 organizations, including the California Teachers Association, California Federation of Teachers, Association of California School Administrators, ACLU and California School Boards Association, the Legislature passed the bill after the third reading.
Al-Sheikh said she and other students engaged in protests, hall campaigns and direct lobbying efforts to raise awareness of the bill’s implications. That included silent protests outside the State Capitol, with students wearing tape over their mouths that read “AB 715,” a symbol of what Al-Sheikh said is government-enforced censorship.
“It sets a dangerous precedent,” Terry said. “Limiting how teachers can cover content, especially by nationality – it violates the core civic values of free speech and critical inquiry.”
Now, all eyes are on Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must decide whether to sign AB 715 into law or veto it. If he signs, companion bill SB 48 will also take effect, creating additional coordinator positions within the Office of Civil Rights to address discrimination based on race, religion, gender and LGBTQ identity.
Newsom has not yet indicated whether he will sign or veto the bill.
