California Senate Passes Landmark Bill to Counter K-12 Antisemitism with Overwhelming Bipartisan Support

Assembly Bill 715 Heads Back to Assembly for Final Concurrence Vote After Clearing Senate Floor 35-0-5

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California State Senate passed critical legislation on Friday to combat antisemitism in California’s K-12 public schools in a bipartisan 35-0 vote, with 5 abstentions, advancing Assembly Bill 715 to its final step before becoming law. The bill now returns to the Assembly Floor for a concurrence vote ahead of Saturday’s end-of-session deadline.

“Today’s Senate passage of AB 715 is a statement to every student in California that our state is committed to combating hate and discrimination,” said JPAC Executive Director David Bocarsly. “This legislation sends a clear message that antisemitism and all forms of hate have no place in California classrooms. With great appreciation for the Speaker and Pro Tem’s attention and urgency to this critical bill, we respectfully urge the Assembly to take swift action and deliver AB 715 to the Governor’s desk.”

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

Assembly Concurrence Vote: AB 715 will return to the Assembly Floor for a final concurrence vote – before tomorrow’s end-of-session deadline.

Governor: If the Assembly passes AB 715, the bill will go to Governor Newsom for final consideration. The Governor will have 30 days from the Legislature’s adjournment for joint recess (expected tomorrow, September 13) to sign or veto the bill.