Latest news with #MarciMiller
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California school district agrees to remove alleged antisemitic content from ethnic studies curriculum
A California school that attempted to cover up its alleged antisemitic ethnic studies program is no longer permitted to teach the curriculum, according to a settlement reached between the school district and Jewish advocacy groups. The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) agreed to settle the lawsuit brought by the Brandeis Center, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), who alleged that the district's Ethnic Studies courses were developed in secret and infused with antisemitism. As part of the settlement, SAUSD will cease instruction of Ethnic Studies World Geography, Ethnic Studies World Histories and Ethnic Studies: Perspectives, Identities, and Social Justice until the courses are reworked in line with public input and in accordance with California's open meeting laws. Marci Miller, director of legal investigations of the Brandeis Center, which is both a plaintiff and counsel in the case, oversaw the lawsuit and negotiated the settlement. She told Fox News Digital that she believes the effects of the settlement send a strong message to school districts throughout the state and country that they can't use ethnic studies to inject antisemitism into the classroom. Los Angeles High School Freshmen Will Be Required To Take Ethnic Studies Class In Order To Graduate "Hopefully this will be a cautionary tale for other school districts that are considering this type of wrongful behavior. We're watching, and we're willing to enforce the law," she said. "Curriculum can't be created in secret. It needs to be available to the public and to parents to avoid this in the future." Read On The Fox News App When reached for comment, SAUSD said it was pleased that it had reached an amicable resolution of the lawsuit filed by the Brandeis Center, but added there were some "misperceptions" that led to the filing of the lawsuit that have now been cleared up, according to a statement attributed to Superintendent Jerry Almendarez. "At no time has the District supported the teaching of instructional content to students that reflects adversely on any group on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin as alleged in the lawsuit," he said. "The settlement of this lawsuit affirms that principle and resolves any misunderstanding that may have occurred." As part of the settlement agreement, the school district said there is no finding that it violated the Brown Act, California's open meeting law, as alleged in the lawsuit. The district also said "the work of the ethnic studies committee is preserved and may continue with an opportunity for members of the public to provide input as the courses will be reviewed and possibly modified." But, James Pasch, ADL vice president of national litigation, said Santa Ana's past board and committee members knew that antisemitism was infecting their curriculum process and intentionally excluded the public. "Open meeting laws exist to prevent exactly what unfolded in Santa Ana," he said. "This case sends a message – not just in Santa Ana, but from coast-to-coast – that if school leaders proceed with implementing anti-Semitic curriculum and material in violation of the law, we will use the courts to protect the community." Ethnic Studies School Administrator Argued Some Jewish Americans Have 'Control Of Systemic Power' SAUSD also agreed to recognize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a controversial issue and to strictly adhere to the two policies that apply when teaching under this banner. As a result, instruction should be based on facts that allow for alternative views, ensure teachers discuss all sides of a controversial issue and that they are impartially presented, that students are taught to separate opinion from fact and that no teacher or speaker uses the classroom or materials to advocate their own religious, political, economic or social views. Additionally, the controversial Steering Committee will be permanently disbanded, the district will stop working with the outside consultant who expressed antisemitic views and SAUSD will allow input from members of the public before any new courses are presented to the school board for approval, according to the Brandeis Center. The antisemitic content will be removed from Ethnic Studies World Histories so that the course can continue being taught for the remainder of the school year. The lawsuit, originally filed in September 2023, was brought against SAUSD on behalf of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which works to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people, and its membership arm, Southern Californians for Unbiased Education (So-CUE). The ADL, along with the Brandeis Center, the AJC and the Covington & Burling law firm, filed a motion with new evidence in August 2024 alleging the school district prevented the public, in particular the Jewish community, from providing public comment to prevent antisemitic and biased content in its ethnic studies curricula. Under the Brown Act, California's open meeting law and AB 101, which was passed in 2021 and made ethnic studies a requirement for graduation from all public high schools in California, school boards must make the public aware of the course's proposed curricula and allow for public comment before approving any new content. School districts are also required to create courses free from bias, bigotry and discrimination. California Organizers Defend Pro-palestinian 'Teach-in' Against Criticism It's Anti-israel Propaganda' The Jewish organizations uncovered antisemitic statements by the school board and the SAUSD Ethnic Studies Steering Committee, which was in charge of developing the curriculum, through depositions, affidavits, documents, text messages and emails. Examples uncovered in the discovery period of the lawsuit show that members of SAUSD's Ethnic Studies Steering Committee noted in an official agenda that it needed to "address the Jewish question" when they learned about antisemitism concerns from the Jewish community. Members of the Steering Committee also reportedly said, "Jews are the oppressors" and do not belong in ethnic studies, referred to Jewish organizations as "racist" and urged that SAUSD not "cave" to their concerns. The committee also reportedly floated the idea of using Jewish holidays to approve courses to reduce the likelihood that Jews would attend school board meetings. According to the motion, one committee leader allegedly referred to the sole Jewish member as a "colonized Jewish mind" and a "f---ing baby" for expressing concerns over antisemitism, while another leader referred to the Jewish Federation of Orange County as "racist Zionists" and suggested that SAUSD should not "cave" to their representatives. That same representative reportedly refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization even after the October 7 terrorist attack at the hands of Hamas, arguing that it would be "dehumaniz[ing]" to call Hamas members "terrorists." That same committee also hired an external consultant whose social media musings equated Israel with "settler colonialism" and actively promoted anti-Israel bias and antisemitism, according to the motion. "Israel is nothing more than European settler colonialism draped in religion defended by white guilt and capitalism," the consultant espoused on social media. AJC Chief Legal Officer Marc Stern said the lawsuit and settlement should serve as a warning to other California districts that try to conceal anti-Zionist or antisemitic ethnic studies materials. "Ethnic studies are acceptable only if adopted in the light of day and, if, in the end, all sides of a controversial issue are taught by educators free of judgment," he said. "Classrooms must be places for education, not indoctrination." Miller explained that every state has an open meetings act similar to the Brown Act. The settlement "shows that in order to comply with the law, everything has to be made available to the public and that should hopefully shine some light on the process and help districts avoid this in the future," she said. Brandeis Center Vice Chair L. Rachel Lerman said similar "dangerous and deceitful behavior" is being attempted in other school districts. "We are watching those jurisdictions and will not hesitate to address similar violations of the law," she said. "School boards must operate in the light of day, and not 'under the radar' as SAUSD described its own conduct."Original article source: California school district agrees to remove alleged antisemitic content from ethnic studies curriculum
Fox News
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
California school district agrees to remove alleged antisemitic content from ethnic studies curriculum
A California school that attempted to cover up its alleged antisemitic ethnic studies program is no longer permitted to teach the curriculum, according to a settlement reached between the school district and Jewish advocacy groups. The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) agreed to settle the lawsuit brought by the Brandeis Center, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), who alleged that the district's Ethnic Studies courses were developed in secret and infused with antisemitism. As part of the settlement, SAUSD will cease instruction of Ethnic Studies World Geography, Ethnic Studies World Histories and Ethnic Studies: Perspectives, Identities, and Social Justice until the courses are reworked in line with public input and in accordance with California's open meeting laws. Marci Miller, director of legal investigations of the Brandeis Center, which is both a plaintiff and counsel in the case, oversaw the lawsuit and negotiated the settlement. She told Fox News Digital that she believes the effects of the settlement send a strong message to school districts throughout the state and country that they can't use ethnic studies to inject antisemitism into the classroom. "Hopefully this will be a cautionary tale for other school districts that are considering this type of wrongful behavior. We're watching, and we're willing to enforce the law," she said. "Curriculum can't be created in secret. It needs to be available to the public and to parents to avoid this in the future." When reached for comment, SAUSD said it was pleased that it had reached an amicable resolution of the lawsuit filed by the Brandeis Center, but added there were some "misperceptions" that led to the filing of the lawsuit that have now been cleared up, according to a statement attributed to Superintendent Jerry Almendarez. "At no time has the District supported the teaching of instructional content to students that reflects adversely on any group on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin as alleged in the lawsuit," he said. "The settlement of this lawsuit affirms that principle and resolves any misunderstanding that may have occurred." As part of the settlement agreement, the school district said there is no finding that it violated the Brown Act, California's open meeting law, as alleged in the lawsuit. The district also said "the work of the ethnic studies committee is preserved and may continue with an opportunity for members of the public to provide input as the courses will be reviewed and possibly modified." But, James Pasch, ADL vice president of national litigation, said Santa Ana's past board and committee members knew that antisemitism was infecting their curriculum process and intentionally excluded the public. "Open meeting laws exist to prevent exactly what unfolded in Santa Ana," he said. "This case sends a message – not just in Santa Ana, but from coast-to-coast – that if school leaders proceed with implementing anti-Semitic curriculum and material in violation of the law, we will use the courts to protect the community." SAUSD also agreed to recognize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a controversial issue and to strictly adhere to the two policies that apply when teaching under this banner. As a result, instruction should be based on facts that allow for alternative views, ensure teachers discuss all sides of a controversial issue and that they are impartially presented, that students are taught to separate opinion from fact and that no teacher or speaker uses the classroom or materials to advocate their own religious, political, economic or social views. Additionally, the controversial Steering Committee will be permanently disbanded, the district will stop working with the outside consultant who expressed antisemitic views and SAUSD will allow input from members of the public before any new courses are presented to the school board for approval, according to the Brandeis Center. The antisemitic content will be removed from Ethnic Studies World Histories so that the course can continue being taught for the remainder of the school year. The lawsuit, originally filed in September 2023, was brought against SAUSD on behalf of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which works to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people, and its membership arm, Southern Californians for Unbiased Education (So-CUE). The ADL, along with the Brandeis Center, the AJC and the Covington & Burling law firm, filed a motion with new evidence in August 2024 alleging the school district prevented the public, in particular the Jewish community, from providing public comment to prevent antisemitic and biased content in its ethnic studies curricula. Under the Brown Act, California's open meeting law and AB 101, which was passed in 2021 and made ethnic studies a requirement for graduation from all public high schools in California, school boards must make the public aware of the course's proposed curricula and allow for public comment before approving any new content. School districts are also required to create courses free from bias, bigotry and discrimination. The Jewish organizations uncovered antisemitic statements by the school board and the SAUSD Ethnic Studies Steering Committee, which was in charge of developing the curriculum, through depositions, affidavits, documents, text messages and emails. Examples uncovered in the discovery period of the lawsuit show that members of SAUSD's Ethnic Studies Steering Committee noted in an official agenda that it needed to "address the Jewish question" when they learned about antisemitism concerns from the Jewish community. Members of the Steering Committee also reportedly said, "Jews are the oppressors" and do not belong in ethnic studies, referred to Jewish organizations as "racist" and urged that SAUSD not "cave" to their concerns. The committee also reportedly floated the idea of using Jewish holidays to approve courses to reduce the likelihood that Jews would attend school board meetings. According to the motion, one committee leader allegedly referred to the sole Jewish member as a "colonized Jewish mind" and a "f---ing baby" for expressing concerns over antisemitism, while another leader referred to the Jewish Federation of Orange County as "racist Zionists" and suggested that SAUSD should not "cave" to their representatives. That same representative reportedly refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization even after the October 7 terrorist attack at the hands of Hamas, arguing that it would be "dehumaniz[ing]" to call Hamas members "terrorists." That same committee also hired an external consultant whose social media musings equated Israel with "settler colonialism" and actively promoted anti-Israel bias and antisemitism, according to the motion. "Israel is nothing more than European settler colonialism draped in religion defended by white guilt and capitalism," the consultant espoused on social media. AJC Chief Legal Officer Marc Stern said the lawsuit and settlement should serve as a warning to other California districts that try to conceal anti-Zionist or antisemitic ethnic studies materials. "Ethnic studies are acceptable only if adopted in the light of day and, if, in the end, all sides of a controversial issue are taught by educators free of judgment," he said. "Classrooms must be places for education, not indoctrination." Miller explained that every state has an open meetings act similar to the Brown Act. The settlement "shows that in order to comply with the law, everything has to be made available to the public and that should hopefully shine some light on the process and help districts avoid this in the future," she said. Brandeis Center Vice Chair L. Rachel Lerman said similar "dangerous and deceitful behavior" is being attempted in other school districts. "We are watching those jurisdictions and will not hesitate to address similar violations of the law," she said. "School boards must operate in the light of day, and not 'under the radar' as SAUSD described its own conduct."
Los Angeles Times
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Santa Ana Unified reaches settlement with Jewish groups over ethnic studies
Three contentious ethnic studies classes will be shelved from instruction as part of a legal settlement reached between a coalition of Jewish groups and the Santa Ana Unified School District. The terms of the Feb. 19 agreement, which is set to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that secrecy and antisemitism defined the district's ethnic studies rollout, also requires that any future instruction on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict be taught in line with its own 'controversial issues' policies. 'We're very pleased with the settlement,' said Marci Miller, Brandeis Center's director of legal investigations. 'We believe it sends the right message that ethnic studies can be a vehicle for bringing antisemitism into a classroom. We're watching other districts and states closely, and we're hoping that they're watching as well.' The district first faced litigation in September 2023 over its ethnic studies curriculum. At that time, Jewish groups like the Brandeis Center, StandWithUs and the Anti-Defamation League alleged that the district's board of trustees approved ethnic studies course outlines and materials on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that were blatantly antisemitic. Court documents filed in support of the suit last year further alleged that a Santa Ana Ethnic Studies Steering Committee secretively met in violation of the state's open meeting laws and became a platform for antisemitism itself. Documents obtained from the district appeared to show a committee meeting's agenda item on ethnic studies in relation to the 'Jewish Question.' Text messages between senior district officials also discussed the merits of holding votes on ethnic studies courses on Jewish holidays like Passover to avoid protest from the public. According to a district spokesman, the school board still has to give the agreement final approval. 'At no time has the District supported the teaching of instructional content to students that reflects adversely on any group on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin as alleged in the lawsuit,' said Supt. Jerry Almendarez in a statement. 'The settlement of this lawsuit affirms that principle and resolves any misunderstanding that may have occurred.' As part of the agreement, if the district decides to bring Ethnic Studies World Histories, Ethnic Studies World Geography and Ethnic Studies: Perspectives, Identities and Social Justice, back to the board for approval, it has agreed to publish course outline drafts online at least a week before holding a public meeting. Groups like the ADL, Jewish Federation of Orange County and Southern Californians for Unbiased Education are to be invited to meetings for input. 'Through the settlement, we're bringing the process into compliance with the Brown Act and also with ethnic studies laws and California law in general,' Miller said. 'When created in the dark, without public input, we saw some pretty heinously antisemitic materials brought into the classes.' The district admits to no Brown Act violation in the settlement agreement. Local Arab American groups packed school board meetings in 2023 to call on the district to keep the lessons. Pro-Palestinian activists saw them as a rare, critical lens on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the classroom. Rashad Al-Dabbagh, executive director of the Arab American Civic Council, called the settlement 'deeply troubling,' especially in a city where Palestinian American activist Alex Odeh was slain in an unsolved office bombing nearly 40 years ago. 'By stopping these ethnic studies courses from being taught, the district is denying students the opportunity to learn about a historically vilified and marginalized people — one that is actively facing genocide in Gaza,' he said. 'Our schools should foster critical thinking, not censorship.' Shira Klein, chair of history at Chapman University and an antisemitism expert, independently reviewed two of the classes in question and didn't find them to be antisemitic. The scholar described the settlement as part of a 'lawfare' strategy. 'This is what the Brandeis Center and groups like it do: They file lawsuits and complaints against individuals and institutions that criticize Israel, all in the name of protecting Jews,' she said. 'This doesn't make Jews safer, though. It silences everyone who wants to speak honestly about Israel, including many, many Jews.' The trio of ethnic studies courses are all to be discontinued at the end of this school year. Ethnic Studies World Geography was already on hold during litigation. Ethnic Studies World Histories and Ethnic Studies Honors: Perspectives, Identities and Social Justice will be allowed to finish the current semester but content Jewish groups found objectionable, including passages from Michael Mann's book 'The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing' and a glossary of terms from the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Coalition will be stripped from instruction. Future lessons on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, whether in ethnic studies or other classes, are to adhere to the district's 'controversial issues' policies, which expects that teachers should 'ensure that all sides of a controversial issue are impartially presented.' Course materials stating or implying that Jewish people don't have a right to self-determination or subject Israel to a double-standard of criticism cannot be presented outside of the policy. 'It's vital that the conflict be taught but it is vital that it be taught correctly,' said James Pasch, the ADL's senior director for national litigation. The district also agreed to sever a $92,000 contract unanimously approved last August with the Xicanx Institute for Teaching and Organizing, which provided professional development for ethnic studies teachers throughout the district. Plaintiffs in the suit objected to a Xito consultant's political opinions on social media, including a post that wondered aloud how anyone could 'support the settler colonial state of Israel?' In another stipulation, the district admits that the Santa Ana Ethnic Studies Steering Committee no longer exists and won't be reformed. It will pay $42,000 to the Brandeis Center's attorneys for out-of-pocket costs in settling the suit. For Pasch, the legal fight underscores the value of the Brown Act, the state's opening meeting law, in objecting to course content the ADL finds to be antisemitic. 'This settlement doesn't just have ramifications within Santa Ana, or even just within the state of California,' he said. There's open meeting laws from coast to coast.'
