Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a quick donation.

A bill introduced in the California legislature meant to help ensure open discussion in the state’s public schools and protect teachers from attacks is facing intense backlash and demands for its withdrawal from pro-Israel groups.

Assembly Bill (AB) 2159 would make targeted amendments to a school discrimination law passed year. That law, AB 715, was championed by California’s Legislative Jewish Caucus (LJC) and expands the state’s authority to ban instructional material in K-12 schools based on ill-defined standards. Critics argue that it undermines the rollout of ethnic studies classes and censors Palestine-related speech and instructional materials in schools. At least one pro-Israel group is already citing AB 715 in a landmark antisemitism lawsuit against the state of California that could stifle speech in classrooms statewide.

“The Legislative Jewish Caucus tried to pass a bill that they claim was designed to address antisemitism. But in reality, the bill was designed to censor open and fair teaching on Israel and Palestine,” Seth Morrison told Truthout. “It was broadly opposed.”

Morrison is a spokesperson for Jewish Voice for Peace’s (JVP) Bay Area chapter and an organizer with the California Coalition to Defend Public Education (CCDPE), a diverse coalition of over 100 civil rights and racial justice organizations, religious congregations, and groups of parents, educators, and students that began organizing against AB 715.

AB 715 came as part of a yearslong series of legislative efforts introduced by LJC members, a group of lawmakers known for its pro-Israel bent, targeting public schools. Rather than defining antisemitism itself, AB 715 calls for using the controversial Biden-era United States National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism to inform decision-making; that white paper, in turn, references the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The bill also created a governor-appointed Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator position.

Educators Worry Palestine Censorship Could Reshape Public Education Entirely

AB 715 also requires that classroom instruction “be factually accurate,” a term critics argue is subjective and exposes schools and teachers to complaints. While the phrase may sound harmless, requiring “factually accurate” instruction while punishing teachers for statements about Palestine rooted in materials from trusted sources, for example, the fact that Amnesty International has labeled Israel an apartheid state, places educators in an impossible position.

Theresa Montaño, a member of the California Faculty Association (CFA) and a former public school teacher who now teaches Chicano/a Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, characterizes AB 715 as an attack on California teachers. “They’re losing the right to be able to teach the truth,” she told Truthout.

Many of the law’s critics, including........

© Truthout