Two takes: Should California pass AB715 and establish an antisemitism prevention coordinator for K-12 schools? |
Teacher Gesine Cotteral prepares for the first day of school in 2022 at Lincoln Elementary School in Oakland. Proponents and critics of AB715 agree that antisemitism is a problem in California’s kindergarten through 12th-grade schools; they differ on how to address it.
The California Assembly will soon vote on AB715, which would require the appointment of an antisemitism prevention coordinator. If signed into law, the bill would “provide training, education, and educational resources to identify and prevent antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, and document and track all complaints made pursuant to the uniform complaint process involving antisemitism and take part in subsequent action” to address it. Critics of the measure, however, say that while antisemitism is a real problem, AB715 is the wrong tool to try to address it.
We asked two Californians with opposing views, Rabbi Ryan Bauer and George Bisharat, to succinctly lay out their case in support, or in opposition, to the measure. After reading both views, please vote in our poll at the bottom of the article and let us know which author you agree with more.
Every child deserves to walk into a classroom and feel safe, seen and free to learn. Yet in San Francisco and across California, Jewish students have faced incidents that would rattle any family. In November 2023, a swastika was found at George Washington High School. Earlier, anti-Jewish slurs and Nazi imagery interrupted a Lowell High School lesson on Zoom, hijacking the classroom with hate.
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These are not isolated events. The California Department of Justice reports antisemitic incidents increased 56% from 2022 to 2024. Over the past decade, antisemitic hate crimes have more than tripled statewide.
AB715 is a practical, values-driven response to ensure every child feels safe in school. The bill establishes a state antisemitism prevention coordinator to provide school districts with training, data and accountability. It also requires prompt remediation when a district is notified that an “antisemitic learning environment” exists. Importantly, AB715 updates state law to clarify that discrimination “on the basis of religion” includes antisemitism and Islamophobia — protecting students without pitting communities against one another.
Some critics falsely claim the bill chills speech. As someone who values open debate, I........