California Legislature Passes Landmark Bill to Counter K-12 Antisemitism, Sends AB 715 to Governor’s Desk

AB 715 Earns Final Approval from Assembly in Bipartisan 71-0-9 Vote, Sends Bill to Governor Newsom 

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California State Assembly gave final approval late on Friday to Assembly Bill 715, landmark legislation to combat antisemitism in California’s K-12 public schools, in a bipartisan 71-0 vote, with 9 abstentions. This follows a strong bipartisan 35-0 vote, with 5 abstentions, in the Senate earlier in the evening.

Having now passed both chambers of the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, the bill moves to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for signature.

The final vote count is still subject to change in the next few hours, but the outcome is final. Having now passed both chambers of the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, the bill moves to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for signature.

“With today’s vote, California has taken a historic stand against antisemitism in our schools,” said JPAC Executive Director David Bocarsly. “For far too long, Jewish students have endured slurs, bullying, and open hostility in their classrooms with nowhere to turn. AB 715 is a promise to those students — and to all children in California — that they are not invisible, that their safety and dignity matter, and that our state will not stand idly by in the face of hate. This bill is about more than policy. It’s about protecting children, defending civil rights, and ensuring every student can walk into school proud of who they are. We urge Governor Newsom to sign AB 715 into law without delay, so California can lead the nation in saying loudly and clearly: hate has no place in our public schools.”

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

Governor’s Desk: Governor Newsom now has 30 days to sign AB 715 into law, ensuring stronger protections for Jewish students and reaffirming California’s leadership in fighting hate and safeguarding civil rights.