"Beginning January 1, 2026, teachers in California classrooms will be looking over their shoulders to avoid running afoul of a frightening new "antisemitism" law. On October 7, despite widespread opposition from civil rights groups, teachers' unions, and education advocates, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 715, which amends the California Education Code to police what teachers can teach and what students can learn about Israel and Palestine."
""This problematic classroom censorship bill silences Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Jewish, and other marginalized voices in California public schools by shielding a foreign government - Israel - from legitimate criticism and criminalizes honest discussions on Palestine and other global human rights issues," the Council on American Islamic Relations said in a statement."
"Under this law, educators could be charged with unlawful discrimination and disciplined "if they expose their students to ideas, information, and instructional materials that may be considered critical of the State of Israel and the philosophy of Zionism," according to a lawsuit filed on November 2 by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)."
AB 715, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom and effective January 1, 2026, amends the California Education Code to limit what teachers may teach and what students may learn about Israel and Palestine. Civil rights organizations, teachers' unions, and education advocates contend the law silences Muslim, Arab, Palestinian, Jewish, and other marginalized voices and shields a foreign government from criticism. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the bill problematic and censorious. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California alleging violations of the First Amendment and due process, naming state officials as defendants.
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