California Bill Would Broaden Discrimination Protections in Schools

Epoch Times

20-05-2025

A committee in the California Legislature will consider a bill on May 21 that seeks to strengthen and broaden existing discrimination protections in K–12 schools to target anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
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The bill, introduced by Democratic Assembly members Rick Chavez Zbur of Los Angeles and Dawn Addis of San Luis Obispo, would also establish a state anti-Semitism coordinator who would ensure schools and staff, including contractors, are in compliance with existing anti-discrimination laws.
To address specific forms of discrimination, the bill expands the definition of 'nationality' to include a person's actual or perceived shared ancestry, ethnic characteristics, or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity. It also explicitly defines religious discrimination to include anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, aiming to provide clearer protections against these forms of bias.
It also prohibits schools from adopting, approving, or allowing any content in their teaching materials if its use would subject a student to unlawful discrimination.
The bill unanimously passed the Assembly Education Committee on May 14 and will next be heard by the Appropriations Committee.
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Zbur, a member of the California Jewish Legislative Caucus, says the bill lays the framework to address a rise in anti-Semitism in schools.
'Jewish and all students deserve to be safe, affirmed and respected in our schools and communities,' Zbur said in a
AB 715 is co-authored by the chairs of the other Ethnic caucuses, including the Black, Latino, Asian, and Pacific Islander caucuses.
Zbur and Addis withdrew a similar piece of legislation last week that failed to gain ground in the Legislature. Assembly Bill 1468 had called for creating academic standards that would have laid out what could and couldn't be taught in mandatory ethnic studies courses.
Opponents of AB 1468 and AB 715, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said the bill amounted to censorship and threatened academic freedom.
'AB 1468 was a blatant attempt to undermine Ethnic Studies and silence Palestinian narratives,' the CEO of CAIR's California Chapter, Hussam Ayloush, said in a
The decision to replace AB 1468 was the result of collaboration with the other ethnic caucuses and aims to take a broader focus on discrimination that would apply to all schoolwork, not just ethnic studies, said lawmakers.
In
Since Oct. 7, 2023, when the Hamas terrorist group launched a land, sea, and air attack on Israel, tensions have increased among the Israelis and Palestinians amid the subsequent war in Gaza, especially on U.S.
The U.S. Department of Education has in recent months
On March 7, the department, along with the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration,