AB 715: Strong Opposition Derails Dangerous Pro-Israel Public Education Censorship Bill in California
An update on the fight against the weaponization of antisemitism in public education in liberal California.
On July 8, the California Coalition to Defend Public Education (CCDPE), a diverse multiracial grassroots coalition of more than 70 organizations across labor, educators, students, parents, and religious and community groups, won its first battle in opposing AB 715, a pro-Israel public education censorship bill that is currently making its way through the California Senate.
The win came in the form of delaying the bill’s first hearing in the Senate, in the Education Committee, which was set to take place today at 9AM. The bill was hastily introduced in May, fast-tracked through an overtly biased special Education Committee hearing in the Assembly, and then voted through the Assembly to the Senate in early June.
How is the delay in the committee hearing a win for those opposing AB 715?
It is a win primarily because the bill did not have the votes to make it out of the Senate Education Committee, a necessary step in the legislative process. Instead of suffering an embarrassing defeat at the beginning of the process in the Senate, the bill’s author, Senator Rick Zbur, pulled the bill from the agenda just yesterday afternoon, less than 24 hours before it was to be heard in committee.
Why was AB 715 going to die in the Senate Education Committee vote?
The bill has strong opposition from key groups, most notably the California Teachers Association (CTA), the California Faculty Association (CFA), and ACLU California Action in addition to the 70+ organization CCDPE coalition which includes CAIR California, Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) Action, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies, among many other organizations. Across the coalition groups, thousands of grassroots constituent communications in the form of emails, phone calls and meetings were made over the last several weeks.
In the case of AB 715’s predecessor, AB 1468, a bill designed to attack and gut California Ethnic Studies program and curriculum, in addition to strong grassroots opposition, the California Teachers Association’s opposition was the death nail that effectively killed the bill before it was even heard in committee in the California Assembly. It was only through last minute political dealmaking and special legislative procedures that AB 1468 was pulled at the last minute and AB 715 was introduced and quickly rushed through an Assembly Education Committee hearing with the support of committee Chair, Al Muratsuchi, who demonstrated significant bias during the hearing against those opposing the bill. Muratsuchi has a history of free trips to Israel (2024, 2018) and is currently running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction to oversee California’s public education system. One calculation could be that his calculated path to victory to this statewide seat includes the support of JPAC, the key driver behind both AB 1468 and AB 715.
Suffice it to say that AB 715’s supporters were not happy that the California Teachers Association (CTA) opposed their latest bill weaponizing antisemitism in the classroom. On July 7th, JPAC issued a statement blasting the CTA in coalition with the other Israel lobby organizations supporting the bill.
Why does the California Teachers Association (CTA) oppose AB 715?
The California Teachers Association letter opposing AB 715 is detailed, thorough, and intentional. In summary, the following reasons are why CTA opposed the bill largely because the proposals included in the bill raised “significant concerns about unintended consequences” unrelated to combatting antisemitism. The concerns outlined in the letter included:
“Defining ways that educators must talk about Israel, Palestine, and the Israel Palestine conflict compromises academic freedom.”
“The Uniform Complaint Procedure (UCP) was recently amended, and it is premature to open up this language again so soon.”
“Efforts to strengthen a process weaponized against educators gives more tools to extremists to disrupt public education.”
“We believe we need to stand together to combat hate, discrimination and bigotry in all forms.”
Additionally, the CTA, went as far as to recommend a different approach to combating antisemitism in California public schools - “1) prepare and train educators with the tools they need” and “2) utilize restorative practices to immediately address incidents of hate and discrimination.”
Additional detail is included in the CTA’s three page opposition letter.
How AB 715 Weaponizes Antisemitism to Censor Public Classrooms
Background on AB 715:
AB 715 comes directly from MAGA’s Project Esther playbook, which is designed to dismantle pro-Palestinian advocacy in the United States by weaponizing false charges of antisemitism - labeling actions and rhetoric that are not actually antisemitic as anti-Jewish discrimination and hate.
While AB 715 is being championed by Democrats in California, it employs the same mechanisms to censor educational content when it comes to Israel and Palestine that MAGA Republicans have employed in red states to silence critical perspectives on race, sexuality and other controversial subjects.
While AB 715 is framed as an effort to combat antisemitic discrimination in California public schools, the reality is that the bill’s authors seek to:
Stifle any criticism of Israel and
Prevent teaching about Palestine and Palestinian history within California public education
Additional background: AB 715; its predecessor, AB 1468.
Issues with the Amended Version of AB 715:
Although the initial text of the bill (introduced in May 2025) was vague on details, the amended version of the bill (published last week) made clear that the intent of the bill:
1) Shield Israel from critical conversations in the classroom by defining antisemitism to include criticism of Israel
2) Write the pro-Israel + Zionist narrative directly into California law
After seeing the amended version of the bill, many wondered if the Diversity Caucus members who signed on to AB 715 back in May had any idea of what they were actually signing onto as this amended version is heavily anchored in pro-Israel and Zionist political ideology.
As of July 9, Assemblymember Fong and Senators Gonzales and Weber Pierson are still Principal coauthors on the bill.
Issues with AB 715:
The bill’s attempt to define antisemitism conflates it with criticism of Israel by adopting a reworded version of parts of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition is widely considered problematic and has been rejected by over 100 international bodies and civil society organizations, including even Israeli groups.
The bill would ensure that the Zionist ideological narrative about Israel is the only perspective allowed within California public education on related issues, including Palestine, Arab American history and the U.S. Jewish diaspora. The bill falsely conflates the Jewish religion with support for the state of Israel, totally ignoring and negating the reality that many Jews do not identify with or support Israel.
AB 715 would amend the definition of nationality to include “a social organization where a collective identity has emerged.” Any group with an ideological agenda (be it on the basis of politics, religion, etc.) could use this to make a case to censor speech in the classroom. They could characterize educators’ discussion of foreign governments that practice severe discrimination against minority populations (such as Israel, India, Myanmar, China, and many more) as discriminatory against people from those countries.
AB 715 would create an ”antisemitism prevention coordinator,” a position that does not exist for any other ethnic or religious group within the public education system..
Creates an opening for bans on books and other content that someone finds controversial, particularly “instructional materials regarding Jews, Israel, or the Israel-Palestine conflict,” which among a list of restrictions, must not “introduce or promote antisemitic content, including inaccurate historical narratives such as labeling Israel a settler colonial state.”
This legislation will have a chilling effect on what California public school teachers are allowed to teach and what our students are allowed to learn in K-12 classrooms. The idea that history must be viewed from multiple perspectives is an integral part of California's public education standards, but AB 715 would instill fear and censorship in our classrooms.
An analysis of the bill by the Assembly Education Committee consultant noted that almost everything in AB 715 is already covered in existing state law when it comes to discrimination on the basis of religious identity.
Additionally, ACLU California Action identified a number of additional concerns outlined in their 10 page opposition letter - at a high level: “AB 715’s provisions will dangerously:”
▪ “Censor student speech;”
▪ “Increase litigation against inclusive curriculum and teaching; and”
▪ “Create a chilling effect on educators and students engaged in constitutionally protected expression”
Additional opposition letters included: California Coalition to Defend Public Education, AROC Action, CAIR California, California Faculty Association, Hindus for Human Rights, Queers Undermining Israeli Terror!, Jewish Voice for Peace - Bay Area, California Latino School Boards Association
What’s Next for AB 715: Taking Action & The Path Forward
Per POLITICO, the next committee hearing for the bill (or a gut and amended version of it in a different bill) will be in the Senate and is expected to be in late August following the legislative recess (August 17).
Given the special exceptions and procedures and fast tracking AB 715 has experienced thus far, there is concern that the bill’s authors are intentionally making the process confusing to shorten the window for constituent engagement in an effort to shove the bill across the legislative finish line (this legislative session ends September 12) by cutting out the grassroots as much as possible and deal making directly with legislators.
Due to the above concern, constituents need to ensure that Senators keep hearing from us:
Email. Please continue to send action alert emails into Senator’s offices: CAIR, JVP, ADC, AROC Action, CFA
Call. Keep calling Senate Education Committee members and urge them to vote NO on AB 715:
Optional call script: “Hi, my name is ________, and I’m calling to urge the senator to vote NO this Wednesday on AB 715, a dangerous censorship bill that threatens our teachers and our students’ public education in California. Rather than protecting our youth, this bill only seeks to protect the state of Israel from criticism, and has no place in our state’s schools.”
Office contact numbers:
Senator Sasha Renée Pérez - (916) 651-4025
Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh - (916) 651-4019
Senator Christopher Cabaldon - (916) 651-4003
Senator Steven Choi - (916) 651-4037
Senator Dave Cortese - (916) 651-4015
Senator Lena Gonzalez - (916) 651-4033
Senator John Laird - (916) 651-4017
So gad we stopped this very bad bill, even for a short time. This proves that the pro-Israel lobby is not invincible. We need to keep working to prevent this bill from passing if they bring it back.
We have a small reprieve to regenerate our energy, and then it's back to our ongoing efforts to prevent this bill from ever becoming law. It helps that every day we see more people awakening to the horrific reality of the terror and destruction Israel is wreaking. Daily we are seeing Zionist influence withering slowly but surely. We cannot take for granted that we've stopped it; we can stand solid in our commitment to prevent it as a collective. Together we are strong.