AB715 and CTA's Refusal to Protect Jewish Students

The California Teachers Association (CTA) stands in opposition to AB715, a bill that would offer  Jewish students the same protections other minority groups already enjoy. The Jewish Affairs Caucus of the National Education Association (NEA JAC) cannot remain silent about CTA’s opposition. CTA’s objections amount to a refusal to protect Jewish students from hate, sending a message to the rest of the country that the safety of Jewish students, educators and communities is not a priority, not even in the very schools CTA claims to defend.

Antisemitism in California schools is not hypothetical. Jewish students are harassed with slurs and told they do not belong. They are mocked for their identity or excluded because of their perceived connection to Israel. These are not isolated incidents. These are patterns we hear about again and again, left unaddressed until now. 

In Etiwanda School District, a civil rights complaint alleges that a 12-year-old Jewish girl was beaten with a stick, pinned against a table, and choked while another student told her to “shut your Jew ass up.” The complaint further claims that after she escaped, the harassment continued for weeks with Hitler jokes and taunts in front of her peers, and that the school knew but failed to act.

In Sequoia Union High School District, Jewish families have filed a lawsuit claiming their children endured pervasive antisemitic harassment that teachers and administrators failed to stop. The lawsuit names district leaders and a teacher, alleging systemic neglect that left Jewish students unsafe in their classrooms.

In Campbell Union High School District, the California Department of Education concluded their investigation into classroom  instruction. The State found that teachers presented biased lessons, creating a hostile environment for Jewish students. There are currently several other cases related to curricula used in many California school districts.

AB715 ensures that Jewish students are recognized as both a religious and an ethnic group, ensuring harassment does not slip through the cracks. It requires that instructional materials and professional training do not perpetuate antisemitic tropes. It gives Jewish families the same tools to file complaints that every other marginalized community already has. AB715 does not call for special treatment; it calls for equal treatment.

Jewish students’ safety has been ignored for far too long. Every child in California (and throughout the country) deserves to learn in a safe environment. AB715 could serve as a model for the nation. Therefore, the NEA JAC calls on the CTA to change its position. We also call on all organizations that partner with or support CTA to tell CTA that singling out Jewish students as undeserving of the same protections as other students is completely unacceptable. A union of educators should be the first to insist that all children are protected from hate.

Sources

Complaints and Lawsuits

• Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, ADL, and StandWithUs. Federal Anti-Semitism Complaints Filed Against Three California Schools – Scripps, Cal Poly, and Etiwanda District. 6 Mar. 2025. PDF

• Ropes & Gray LLP. “Jewish Families File Lawsuit against California School District for Failing to Address Antisemitism.” Ropes & Gray Newsroom, 14 Nov. 2024. Link

• Deborah Project. VTA Explicit, Detailed Lawsuit Alleging Jew-Hatred at CA District Is Testament to Courage of Families. Nov. 2024. Link

• Deborah Project. Berkeley Dad Sues School District for Access to Ethnic Studies Curriculum. Apr. 2024. Link

• Deborah Project. Liberated Ethnic Studies Group Hit With Lawsuit Alleging Civil Rights Violations. May 2022. Link

Legal Analysis

• Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP. “CDE Citations Hold Lessons for Districts in Discussing Gaza Conflict.” F3 Law, 16 Apr. 2025. Link