SACRAMENTO (Press Release) –The California Senate Appropriations Committee advanced critical legislation to combat antisemitism in California’s K-12 public schools in a bipartisan 4-1-2 vote on Thursday, sending Assembly Bill 715 to the Senate Floor for consideration on Friday. If the Senate passes the bill, it will return to the Assembly for a concurrence vote. The Assembly and Senate each announced Thursday that they will extend the end-of-session deadline to Saturday, September 13.
“AB 715 represents a major step forward in ensuring that Jewish students — and all students — can learn in environments free from hate, discrimination, and intimidation,” said JPAC Executive Director David Bocarsly. “California has led in protecting vulnerable students before, and we can do so again here. As the bill moves to the Senate Floor and then back to the Assembly, we respectfully urge legislators to honor their shared responsibility to protect all students from discrimination and give every child the opportunity to succeed in school and in life.”
Authored by Assemblymembers Rick Chavez Zbur and Dawn Addis, sponsored by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC), supported by a coalition of more than 70 Jewish organizations, and principally co-authored by the Chairs of Jewish, Black, Latino, and AAPI Legislative Caucuses; the recently amended version of AB 715 will help prevent and combat antisemitism in California’s K-12 public schools and maintain an inclusive learning environment that protects all students’ abilities to learn and speak freely by:
–Giving schools the tools to identify, respond to, prevent, and counter antisemitism;
–Ensuring classroom content and materials are unbiased, respectful, and welcoming to everyone;
–Creating an Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator to educate teachers and school leaders about antisemitism, track incidents, advise on accountability measures, and recommend future legislation; and
–Requiring an annual notification to all schools on the protections, requirements, and responsibilities in this bill.
What’s Next
–Senate Floor Vote: The bill is eligible to be voted on by the full Senate after 5:51 pm on Friday.
–Return to Assembly: Following Senate passage, AB 715 will return to the Assembly for a final concurrence vote – all before this Saturday’s end-of-session deadline.
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Preceding provided by the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California