First read to the California State Assembly on Feb. 12, AB 715 was a bill aimed at protecting lawyers licensed under the California State Bar from disciplinary action due to the laws of other states. Now, three months after its first reading, the bill bears no resemblance to its inception — no mention of lawyers, the California State Bar, nor the laws of other states.
The new, unanimously passed AB 715 now expands upon existing anti-discrimination protections by extending protections to religion and national identity. Additionally, the bill appoints a state Antisemitism Coordinator to judge the content of K-12 ethnic studies curricula, though it fails to provide a definition of antisemitism.
These measures would centralize ethnic studies curriculum, and would, according to the bill, “impose a stated mandated local program,” restricting the content that could be taught in ethnic studies courses.
According to critics, such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, this bill is “an attempt to stifle open, honest education about Israel and Palestine,” in California public schools.
“It’s an attempt by those in power to be able to police what teachers do, what teachers say, what curriculum materials they develop, and it’s really frightening. It’s what I call ideological lawfare,” said Theresa Montaño, a founder of Liberated Ethnic Studies. “If I don’t believe [in] or adhere to your political perspective, and I’m a classroom teacher who teaches anything related to the content area, then you can label me and report me.”
Liberated Ethnic Studies is an organization that develops and distributes curriculum to be used by high school ethnic studies teachers across California. Prior to the passage of AB 715, school districts had full autonomy in the development and implementation of ethnic studies courses.
Initially written by Los Angeles District 51 Councilman Rick Chavez Zbur, a heavily amended AB 715 was jointly reintroduced to the assembly on May 14 by Assemblymember Zbur and San Luis Obispo District 30 Assemblymember Dawn Addis, both of whom are members of the California Jewish Legislative Caucus.
The California Jewish Legislative Caucus is a collection of 18 California lawmakers, including Assemblymembers Addis and Zbur. It is one of seven “diversity caucuses” present in the California Legislature. Three other diversity caucuses, the California Latino Legislative Caucus, California Black Legislative Caucus, and the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus accompanied the California Jewish Legislative Caucus in the drafting of AB 715.
Furthermore, AB 715 changes the definition of nationality in the Education Code to now include citizenship, country of origin and religion. It also greatly expands the scope of nationality to include “a person’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics,” and adds specifics to religion, stating that religious discrimination “include[s], but is not limited to, antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
“Repackaging censorship under the guise of combating antisemitism does a disservice to the very real fight against hate. We already have laws protecting students from discrimination,” said Council on American-Islamic Relations California Chapter President Hussam Ayloush in a press release. “AB 715 would effectively silence educators and erase Palestinian voices.”
Past legislation, namely AB 1468, which was withdrawn from the assembly on May 14 following the passage of AB 715, has attempted similar overhauls of ethnic studies curricula in California, such as prohibiting school districts from developing their own ethnic studies curriculum in favor of a single, state-wide framework. It was abandoned in favor of AB 715, but its specter remains within the new bill, with AB 715 serving as a slimmer, more streamlined version of its predecessor.
AB 1468 was also spearheaded by the California Jewish Legislative Caucus and, similar to AB 715, was introduced by Assembly Members Zbur and Addis in addition to 31 co-sponsors. AB 715, like AB 1468, was drafted in response to complaints of antisemitism stemming from the ethnic studies curriculum of select school districts.
“AB 715 demonstrates solidarity among California Legislative Diversity Caucuses to resolutely stand with the Jewish community to adopt meaningful legislation to root out hate in our classrooms,” said Assembly Member Zbur in a press release.
According to critics, state legislation mirrors repressive federal legislative tactics. The Trump administration is currently engaged in a legal battle with Harvard, threatening to withhold funding, in part, due to the university’s handling of student protests against the genocide in Gaza, something the Trump administration labels as antisemitic.
“We see what has happened in our universities and we see what it’s doing to the country,” Theresa Montaño said. “These are Trump-like tactics that you are approving, that you are emulating, that you are promoting. We don’t need those tactics in the state of California.”
Attacks against the curriculum at both the federal and state level have left Montaño and other educators questioning the place of ethnic studies in a hostile system.
“Do I ever think there will come a day when the institutions of K-12 and higher education will finally say, ‘Let’s welcome these folks with open arms?’” she said. “Only when we ultimately change the system, to be honest.”