Assembly Standing Committee on Education

All right, let's get this meeting started. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm calling this hearing of the Assembly Education Committee to order. Will the secretary please call the roll to establish a quorum?

[Roll Call] Muratsuchi? Muratsuchi here. Hoover? Hoover here. Addis? Addis here. Alvarez? Castillo? Castillo here. Lowenthal? Lowenthal here. Patel? Patel here.

All right, a quorum has been established. Like to welcome all the committee members who are here and invite the rest of the committee to come to room 1100 for today's hearing. We have one bill on file today, one bill. That is Assembly Bill 715.

I'd like to note for the record that Assembly Bill 1468, you know, is not being heard today. As a reminder, for each bill, we will have up to two witnesses in support and two witnesses in opposition, each of whom may speak for up to two minutes each.

Due to the short time frame for organizations to review and take positions on this measure, at this hearing only, we will allow time for two additional witnesses who have not already spoken and who have what we call tweener positions.

Those are positions that are either leaning support or leaning opposition, but do not have an official position to speak for up to two minutes each. We will allow this after the testimony and the public comments for the support and the opposition for AB 715 have been heard.

Members of the public in the hearing room will have an opportunity to state their position. Please limit your comments to your name, your affiliation, and position on the bill only. Members of the public are also welcome to provide additional comments through the committee's website through the position letter portal.

And before I go any further, I have a standard statement of conduct to read regarding conduct at our hearings. We seek to protect the rights of all who participate in the legislative process so we can have an effective deliberation and decisions on the critical issues facing the State of California.

As we proceed with the witnesses and public comment, want to make sure everyone understands that the assembly has rules to ensure we maintain order and run an efficient and fair hearing. We apply these rules consistently to all people who participate in our proceedings, regardless of their viewpoint that they wish to express.

In order to facilitate the goal of hearing as much from the public within the limits of our time, we will not permit conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this legislative hearing. And we will not accept or tolerate disruptive behavior or behavior that incites or threatens violence.

Rules include no talking or loud noises from the audience. Public comment may be provided only at the designated time and place and as permitted by the Chair. A public comment must relate to the subject being discussed and no engaging in conduct that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of this hearing.

Please be aware that violations of these rules may subject you to removal from the hearing room. We will now begin with the only file item on today's hearing, special hearing, Assembly Bill 715 of which is being presented by the joint authors, Assembly Members Zbur and Addis. Welcome, assemblymembers.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, members. Today, I'm proud to present AB 715 together with my joint author, Assemblymember Dawn Addis. This new bill is the product of deep discussions and partnership among the Jewish, AAPI, Black, and Latino legislative caucuses and represents a new approach to addressing growing and unacceptable antisemitism in K through 12 schools.

We are deeply grateful to the chairs of the Black, Latino, AAPI, and Jewish caucuses, Senator Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson, Senator Lena Gonzalez, Assemblymember Mike Fong, Senator Scott Wiener, and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel.

The decision of these chairs to join as principal co-authors of this important bill is a clear demonstration of allyship and solidarity in our fight against hatred and bigotry in all its forms.

And I also want to thank Assemblymember Addis and Senator Becker, whose commitment to ensuring that our schools are safe and affirming for not only Jewish students, but all students is unparalleled. Before Assemblymember Addis outlines what this bill does, I'd like to discuss why it's needed.

At its core, this bill is a civil rights and social justice bill, pure and simple. And it's a bill that underscores our responsibility to assure that every child in California can attend a school that is safe, respectful, and affirming.

While Jewish people make up approximately 3% of California's population, anti-Jewish hate crimes account for over 73% of all hate crimes motivated by religious bias reported in California.

In addition, there has been a massive, almost 900% increase in antisemitic hate crimes in the United States over the past 10 years, and we've seen a continued increase since the October 7th massacre. Unfortunately, California schools are not immune from this rise in antisemitism.

Reports of antisemitic content and incidents in our schools have reached alarming proportions across the state. Not a week goes by when I don't hear from multiple constituents in my district about the hostile climate Jewish kids and families are experiencing in our K through 12 schools.

And this problem is growing multiple school districts in California have adopted or are considering curriculum that results in vilification, ostracism, and hate of Jewish kids and families, and unbelievably, some school districts have even embraced course materials that justify violence against Jews.

If you, like me, are wondering how this could possibly be true in the State of California, I'd like to share a few real-life examples. Last year, the San Francisco Unified School District maintained a resource library for teachers that included educational material that justified the slaughter of civilians on October 7th.

Shockingly, that material originated from Hamas, the internationally recognized terrorist organization that was responsible for the October 7 terror attack.

In Santa Ana, the school district purposefully tried to hide the adoption of course materials that they knew the Jewish community considered objectionable, and even considered holding board meetings to adopt those materials on Jewish holidays so that Jews could not attend and object.

Recently, in the Pajaro Valley School District, Jewish parents who were raising concerns about the adoption of what they considered to be antisemitic curriculum were publicly castigated by two board members who made antisemitic comments about the entire Jewish community.

And when called out by the County Superintendent of Schools, the Pajaro Valley School Board refused to sanction its members for their antisemitic comments. Just last month, our own California Department of Education ruled that lessons taught in a class at Branham High in the Campbell Union High School District discriminated against Jewish students.

School districts have adopted harmful course materials, ignoring the concerns of Jewish parents. When Jewish families express concern, they have been berated and ignored. And when they file UCP complaints, those complaints are generally ignored as well. I want to be clear. This discrimination is not happening in all schools, and the vast majority of teachers are not antisemitic.

Yet we cannot hide from the profoundly unfortunate truth that Jewish kids are being isolated, made to feel unwelcome, and verbally and physically attacked. And far too often, our schools are failing to protect them. Some Jewish parents even feel compelled to go so far as to remove their students from California public schools.

These clear examples demand a clear response. The conditions that some Jewish children, teachers, and families are enduring is unacceptable. Full stop. Yet some are urging us to do nothing now. In the three days since the bill has been in print, I've seen numerous attacks on the bill and on its co-authors that contain outright fabrications.

I want to believe that this stems from a misunderstanding of the bill, because if someone actually understands this bill, which is fundamentally about preventing antisemitism and hate in California schools, and they still oppose it, I really have to wonder what their motivation might be.

This bill's Intent does little more than advance the goal of strengthening protections against antisemitism and hate for students who are facing truly hostile school climates. We have a responsibility to assure that every child and family enjoys a school climate that is safe, respectful, and affirming. AB 715 lays the groundwork to do just that.

Now I'd like to turn it over to my joint author, Assemblymember Addis, to provide additional information on what the bill will do.

Well, thank you, Chair, thank you, members, and staff for allowing us to present today in the fight against a very specific kind of hate that is directed towards Jewish students. And that hate is called antisemitism.

I do also want to start with a thank you to lead author Assemblymember Zbur for his incredible leadership, to Senator Becker, who has been an immense part of this policy work, and to chairs of the diversity caucuses.

Dr. Weber Pierson, Senator Gonzalez, Senator Wiener, Assemblymember Fong, Assemblymember Gabriel, who have come together as principal co-authors during this intense time of need. And I would say that this kind of unity is, really can be a beacon of hope for many of our families in California.

As you all know, and you've heard me say many times, I come to this work as a former teacher who has witnessed firsthand what happens when we create school environments that are safe, that are supportive, that are welcoming and affirming for students.

We know that when that happens, learning is unleashed, that children are allowed to become the best of who they are, and they can learn not only vital knowledge and skills for the workforce, but learn how to participate meaningfully in our multicultural democracy.

Unfortunately, as you have heard, this is not the case for many Jewish students who, particularly since the October 7 Hamas attacks, have faced increasingly dangerous antisemitic rhetoric, tropes, discrimination, and even physical attacks in our K-12 schools.

And I know that we all agree that no child should ever experience hateful behavior when let alone at school, simply for being who they are. So, how do we right this ship? Where do we go from here?

AB 17 is a bill that is joint authored by my colleague Assemblymember Zbur and I, principal co-authored as we mentioned, by chairs of the Black Latino, AAPI, and Jewish caucuses. And it's a very simple but effective and holistic solution that will both prevent and respond to antisemitism.

AB 17 has one simple goal, which is to fight antisemitism through a multi-pronged approach.

This bill will strengthen and expand the definitions of nationality and religion, create a more more robust protections for students facing religious or nationality based discrimination, ensure curriculum and materials are free from antisemitism and discrimination, increase district accountability for responding to complaints, strengthen and expand the uniform complaint process to include school board members and contractors and establish a state level antisemitism coordinator. In this age of divisiveness and polarization, school districts have to be stalwart in their responsibility to create safe and supportive environments where all children can learn and thrive.

And it's up to us and the legislator to provide the tools that districts need to be able to do this. And we do recognize AB 17 is intent language, and it absolutely will become more defined in the coming weeks.

I do want to reiterate that, disturbingly, there have been many misrepresentations about this bill, and unfortunately, many of those misrepresentations in and of themselves are tropes that the Jewish community has been subject to for decades. And the rhetoric used is yet another example of why we absolutely need a bill like this.

But the truth about the bill, as I mentioned, is much simpler; it's much more straightforward. AB 715 does one thing: it fights antisemitism in our K12 schools. And I'll end by talking about the process with our diversity caucus colleagues, our sister colleagues.

This bill is truly the result of deep and lengthy collaboration among the caucuses who understand that we have to respond to hate, to antisemitism, with commitment, with strength, and with clarity. And recently, the chairs of the caucuses came together and published the following statement.

They said, the California Legislative Diversity Caucuses have always prioritized solidarity, and we are firmly united in our commitment to combat hate and bigotry of all forms. In recent months, we have been alarmed by deeply troubling incidents of antisemitism in our K-12 public schools. This is not acceptable and cannot be normalized.

Our caucuses will not stand idly by while any community is targeted by hate. Instead, we are working together to craft meaningful legislation to protect Jewish students in our classrooms. And we look forward to passing that legislation this year, and we'll have more to share about this effort in the coming weeks.

And today is that more to share kind of day. So in closing, I want to say that I'm deeply grateful for the partnerships with our colleagues and look forward to together ensuring that every school district is a welcoming and affirming place for California's Jewish students and our entire multicultural student body.

And so with that, I would like to turn over to our witnesses, David Bocarsly, Executive Director of the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California, and Ella, a student who has come here from the Bay Area to share with you her experience.

My name is Ella, Santa Clara County and have lived there my whole life. Last year, I was a seventh grader in a public middle school in San Jose. October 7, 2023, changed my life. From a happy middle schooler with many friends, I was reduced to loneliness and abuse. All my friends turned their backs on me.

They called me the Jew. They yelled at me that I was a murderer and that Jews were terrorists. I was made fun of, harassed, and followed around. When I spoke in Hebrew, none of this was something I did. I was the same child as before when they were my friends.

They hated me because of my identity, my religion, and my parent's nationality. I did not say or do anything to deserve this. At first, I hoped that the school staff would help and protect me. But some teachers and the school board continued to say and do biased things that made it seem like Jews were bad people, giving additional fuel to the students who said those awful things about me.

With my parents, we attempted to ask for help from the counselors, assistant principal, and principal. They did not take action. We submitted a UCP about the harassment I encountered. It took four months to get a response. That's two months after the legal deadline to respond.

And that response didn't do anything to address the actual issue. As the weeks went by, the situation only got worse. Some days I have to stay home. I couldn't stand it, and I feared for my own safety.

Finally, at the end of the semester, my parents withdrew me from the public school and enrolled me in a private Jewish school, Yavneh. The fall semester of 2023 was when I lost all trust in peers, friendships, adults, and good intentions. I struggled to sleep at night and with my self-esteem.

Thank you.

I asked you today to take action so other students won't go through the pain that I went through. Thank you.

Thank you, Ella. And thank you, Chair, and members. My name is David Bocarsly, and I'm the Executive Director of JPAC, a coalition of nearly 40 major Jewish organizations across the state and the proud sponsor of AB 715. You just heard Ella's story. A brave and painful reminder of the stark rise of bullying and harassment of Jewish students.

This isn't happening in a vacuum. Students are being exposed to increasingly biased content and outright antixemitism in their schools. We've uncovered statements from schools and district leaders like there are too many Jews. Acknowledge your economic power. Jews are the oppressors. Jewish organizations are racist.

Students internalize these messages and direct that judgment at their Jewish peers, and schools often have no training, no tools, and no accountability to respond. According to the DOJ, the Jewish community is now the second most targeted group in California, despite being just 3% of the population.

And the ADL reports that antisemitic incidents in California's K-12 schools have increased 623% over the past decade, with a major spike since October 7th. Our community is deeply shaken. Many students no longer feel safe, and as we heard from Ella, they are unsafe.

We've heard heartbreaking stories of students hiding their identities, skipping school, and parents pulling their kids out of public education altogether. And yet, when Jews speak up for our safety, we're often met with suspicion, as if protecting ourselves is political or somehow anti-something else. We're accused of silencing others' voices. But it's simple.

If Jews are flattened to a single negative stereotype, you're denying our diversity, our vulnerability, and our pain. That's a dangerous double standard reserved for the Jewish community alone. And it creates a harmful environment for our students. But addressing antisemitism is not a zero-sum game, it's additive.

Because when antisemitism rises, it's never just Jews who suffer. It fractures communities, it poisons school environments, and it makes all of our students less safe. AB 715 responds to that reality. Yes, it focuses on antisemitism, but it also creates tools to confront hate that targets other vulnerable communities.

It builds empathy and understanding, and solidarity, ensuring that no student is left unprotected. White nationalism and other hate movements are trying to divide us. Coming together to combat antisemitism and hate is how we fight back. Many of you know that last week, 600 concerned Jewish community Members and allies came to this building to demand action.

AB 715 is how we turn that call into change. We're proud that this bill was shaped by the leaders of the diversity caucuses. It really reflects a historic partnership and a shared moral clarity. We hope you'll join them. I respectfully urge your aye vote.

Thank you. Public comments in support of the measure. Please come forward to the microphone.

Okay, we're going to do row by. Row first, so support on this side. Make your way to the to the mic.

Reminder to please keep your comments limited to your name, affiliation, and your position on the bill.

Can I start? I'm Lori Lander Goodman, Executive Director of LEAP, a nonprofit in Santa Barbara County that serves low-income children through CCTR and CSPP contracts. And I'm strongly in support of this bill.

Rabbi Ben Herman, Senior Rabbi, Mosaic Law Congregation, strongly in favor of this bill.

Douglas Jaffe, JPAC. Very strongly in support of this bill. Thank you.

Seth Schlussel, Deputy Director for the ADL covering Northern California, and strong support of AB 715.

Mickey Weiss, a mother of four, an educator. I'm strongly in favor of supporting AB 715. Thank you.

Orif Rome Eichler, parent in San Jose, strongly support this bill.

Hi, I'm Jenny Rimboim. I'm a mother of three kids in our district in San Jose, and I'm strongly supporting AB 7015.

Maria Wong, from Cupertino, mother to two successful academically kids. I am strongly supporting this bill. It is anti-racism. Thank you.

Dr. James Castleman, board member of the Jewish Democratic Coalition of the Bay Area. I urge a strong support for AB 715 for the safety and health of Jewish students.

Doreen Castleman, President of the Jewish Democratic Coalition of the Bay Area. In 35 years, a social worker working with students. Strongly in support of this bill. Thank you.

Elet Aron, mother of four from Cupertino School District in Fairmont Heights. I strongly support the bill.

Deborah Goldeen, grandmother of two in Sunnyvale Unified School District. I am strongly in support of this bill.

I'm Dr. Ron Laufer. I have two teenagers in the toxic environment of the Palo Alto School District. Very much in support.

I'm Neret, mother of three in the Sunnyville Cupertino School District. I strongly support this bill, as an educator myself.

I am David Rieber. I live in Redwood City. Father of three children who all attended public schools, K-12. I strongly support this bill.

I'm Eleanor Tamari, mother of three kids from Los Altos public school system who suffer every day since October 7th. Please support this bill.

My name is Michal, and I'm a mother of three daughters in the school district in the Bay Area. I strongly support this bill so our kids can all feel safe in their schools, in education, with their peers and their teachers. Thank you.

I'm Tal Shalon. I have four kids in the public school of Los Altos and Mountain View, and I strongly support this bill. Thank you.

I'm a father of three kids. Antisemitism is a real problem. Please protect our kids, please. Thank you.

Nava Berenstein, mother of four from the Bay Area. Antisemitism is a problem. Please support AB 715.

Maggy Krell, Assemblymember representing Sacramento. Also a mom of two kids in Sac City Unified School District. Member of the Jewish Caucus. Strongly in support of AB 715.

Pardon me. My name is Sam Cramer. I'm a resident of Sunnyvale and an active and proud member of the Jewish community. I strongly support this bill.

My name is Anna Stepanenko. My girls graduated recently from Fremont Union High School District, where antisemitism is on the rise. Please support this bill. Thank you.

My name is Nicole Stepanenko. I'm a Fremont High School in Sunnyvale graduate, and I strongly support this bill.

My name is Batsheva Raviv, second-generation Holocaust survivor, mother to two children from Cupertino School District. I support this bill. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Ronit Rose. I'm a worried mom of two children and a director in San Jose School Unified. Please, please, please support this bill. Thank you.

My name is Ivy Chesser. I'm the parent of three students in Campbell Union High School District who have faced antisemitism in every single aspect of campus life. I strongly support this bill.

Hello, my name is Jane Firestein. I'm a mother of the kids in Santa Clara Unified School District, where the antisemitism is not fighted by our district. So please vote yes on AB715. Thank you.

My name is Olshi Ghat, father of two in Santa Clara. I urge you to vote yes. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Sharon Resheff. I'm from San Jose, mother of two in the Summit Schools. My kids do not feel safe. Please make school safe for our children again. Thank you. Please vote yes.

I'm Desmid Lyon, child of Holocaust survivors, mother of five, resident of Berkeley, where kids are distressed by antisemitic incidents every day. Please support this bill.

Hi, my name is Tal from JCRC Bay Area. And as the rise of antisemitism only gets worse, I strongly support this bill so that all students can feel safe in school.

Hello, I'm Allison Barnes, Mendocino County resident with kids in public school and a former public school teacher. And because of those experiences, I strongly support this bill.

My name is Sam Stone. I'm a Bay Area native, and I urge members to strongly support this bill. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Rebecca. I spent 17 years in California public schools and currently do not feel comfortable sending my own two children to school in San Mateo County. I am in favor of this bill. And hope you are too.

Hello, my name is Karen Stiller with JCRC Bay Area, and a public school parent of two whose children have had to hide their Jewish and Israeli identity because of fears of antisemitism. I strongly support this bill. Thank you.

My name is David Schoenholtz. I'm a Jewish professional with JCRC Bay Area. Because the teenagers I have worked with for years feel unwelcome and unsafe at school. I strongly support AB 715.

Hello, my name is Naomi Katz. I'm an educator with Oakland Unified for over 20 years, where antisemitism has driven out so many Jewish students, families, and educators. I support this bill, and I hope you do too.

My name is Avery Kaufman. I'm a member of the Jewish Silicon Valley Board of Directors. I'm also a parent of three children in the public school system in the Bay Area who have each faced antisemitism, and I strongly support this bill.

Hello, my name is Daniel Klein. I'm the CEO of Jewish Silicon Valley who also has several children in public schools. And the stories that we're hearing from them and community Members is extremely troubling. And for that reason, I encourage you to support this bill. Thank you.

My name is Kim Green. I'm the parent of two students in the systemically anti Jewish San Francisco Unified School District. And I strongly encourage you to support this bill.

Hello, I'm Sherry Dimmerling. I'm with the JCRC Sacramento as well as the National Council of Jewish Women. And I strongly support AB 715.

I'm Harriet Gaddesman. I'm a Member of the board of the Jewish Community Relations Commission who is concerned that schools do no harm to by indoctrinating children with anti Semitic or anti Zionist propaganda. Please support this bill.

Hi, my name is Michelle Kletter. I'm a concerned lesbian Jewish parent who has kids in San Francisco schools who have experienced direct anti Semitism in their schools. And I'm in strong support of AB 715. Thank you all so much.

Hi, my name is Oren. I'm a parent of a high school student in the Jefferson Union High School District in Pacifica and a family Member of five loved ones that were murdered at Kibbutz Barre and three that are taken hostage. And I support this bill.

Hi, I'm Sandy Fawn. I'm a parent of two daughters who is afraid about the future of the State of California in our country. If we continue to allow hate and indoctrination in the schools that are educating our citizens, our future voters and leaders. Please, please support bill. It is very important to everyone.

Dr. Marianne Leff, past President of the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, daughter of a woman who fled Nazi Germany, grandmother of a child in the San Juan School district. Please support this bill.

My name is May Rav. I have three kids and live in the Cupertino School district area in the Bay Area. I'm in strong support of the bill to protect children from racism. All the children, not just Jewish children.

My name is Ofra Pleban, I'm public interest attorney from Auckland where they're teaching practically hating schools causing scores of children to leave the school district. I urge you to vote for this Bill so we can all feel safe again.

Thanks.

Hi, I'm Susan Cohen Grossman. I'm a Jewish person who wants all of our classrooms to be safe and meaningful for all students, including the Zionist Jewish ones. I support AB 715 and hope you will too.

I'm Miller Saltzman, Director of Policy and partnerships at JPAC coalition of 38 Jewish organizations and an uncle who is concerned about my 2 year old niece encountering antisemitism when she begins school and I'm in Strong support of AB 715.

I'm also here on behalf of 32 organizations congregation Besh Shalom Hadassah Jewish Center for Justice Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys Simon Wiesenthal, Center Jewish Democratic Club of Marin Jewish Federation Los Angeles Agadath Israel of California, Jewish Federation Children's Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma counties California Jewish Democrats Beverly Hills Synagogue JCC Federation of San Luis Obispo, Holocaust Museum, L.A.

J.C.R.C. of Greater Santa Barbara J.C.R.C of the Sacramento Region Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region Jewish Democratic Coalition of the Bay Area Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara Adat Shalom Los Angeles B' Nai David Judea Congregation JCRC Bay Area Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund J Kan Democrats for Israel Orange County Hillel of San Diego Jewish Council for Public Affairs Stand with us American Jewish Committee, Northern California American Jewish Committee, Los Angeles American Jewish Committee, San Diego California Teachers Association, Jewish Affairs Caucus and the Jewish Long Beach.

Thank you.

My name is Darrell Smith. I have four kids in the TAM District. We've experienced two different instances in literally a four month period very similar to this young lad and please protect our family and support this bill. Thank you.

My name is Scott Kravitz. I'm a concerned parent of a child at the SCFUSD who has been subjected. To and witnessed acts of anti Semitism. I ask you to please support this bill.

My name- little taller. My name is Jackie Karsh. I'm a Los Angeles based journalist who's covered the rising anti Semitism across our state and our country.

I'm also a board Member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and most importantly, I'm a mom to three young Jewish and proud children ages 7, 5 and 3 who just want to grow up safe, seen and understood by their fellow Californians. And I strongly support this bill.

Hi, I'm Skylar Cohen. I'm on the Executive board of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish movement in North America, including over 100 congregations in this state. Our teens, in a recent mental health survey listed antisemitism as the second leading cause of stress in their lives. I strongly support this bill.

My name is Sarah Stetler. I'm the San Francisco parent of a high schooler who is deeply concerned about antisemitism in our public schools. Thank you. I strongly support AB 715.

Hello, Susan George, Executive board Member of the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club in. San Francisco who is alarmed by the. Rise of anti Semitism in K-12 curricula. And I strongly support this bill. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Matthew Finkelstein, a board Member of the Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club. I'm speaking on behalf of the children. Of our membership being actively discriminated against on condition of their Zionism, which is. Irrefutably and categorically discrimination on the basis of national affiliation. This bill will protect those abused children.

On the basis of this long standing and precious provision against discrimination.

Reminder to please try to keep to the name, affiliation and position on the bill.

Is it on? Yes. Thank you. My name is Teresa Drenick. I'm the Deputy Director at American Jewish Committee for Northern California. I'm also a daughter of two Holocaust refugees and the mother of two high school or recent high school graduates from public schools who witnessed other kids doing Heil Hitler's in the hallway. And for that reason and many others, I very strongly support this bill. Thank you.

Seth Brysk, American Jewish Committee, California. Son of a Holocaust refugee, parent of three children in public schools in the Bay Area, one of whom is forced to leave public schools because of the anti-Semitism. I urge you to support this bill.

Shlomit Blum, San Jose. Second-generation Holocaust survivors. Educational consultant who is helping the Jewish community cope with the anti-Semitism. Especially in Santa Clara County, where we do not have the education board to defend us. Thank you for supporting AB 715.

Hello, my name is Igal Blum. My mother got her education in Terezin concentration camp. Therefore, please vote yes for AB 715.

Hi, my name is Marcy Weiss. And I'm the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who had 40 family members slaughtered in the Holocaust. And I'm a former teacher. I am in strong support of AB 715. Thank you.

Hello, I'm Lisa Lohurst. I am the daughter in law of two Holocaust survivors and a concerned Jewish mom from Danville. I am here in support of AB 715.

Hello, my name is Maya. I'm a mother of four children. Over the last year and a half, I have helped over 300 students who faced anti-Semitism in school just as a volunteer. None of these kids deserved it. All our kids deserve to be safe. I urge you to protect them and support this bill. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Sarit Anigstein. I have three kids in the Palo Alto School District. The anti-Semitism our students are experiencing is unacceptable. It's just unacceptable. Please support AB 715. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Hila Shoukhat. I am a parent and educator myself. I have three kids in the public schools, Moreland School District and Campbell Union High School District. We have witnessed anti-Semitism in school in the form of biased lesson plans, flyers, and other materials targeting Jewish students. Please support the bill.

Good afternoon. Jonathan Mintzer, Senior Director of Government Affairs for JCRC Bay Area. Largest collective voice of Bay Area Jews. Representing 70 organizations, District 18 resident. Please support this bill.

My name is Yael. I have two children in El Dorado Public Schools and I support this bill.

Cliff Berg here for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in support of this bill. And of course, JPAC.

George Revutsky, parent to a 16-year-old, former first-generation refugee from the former Soviet Union, grandson of a Holocaust survivor, and proud Zionist. I'm here as a board member of the Jewish Democratic Club of the Bay Area, the founder of Jews and Allies, and I'm here in support of AB 715.

Good afternoon, Randy Pollack. I'm here today as President of Mosaic Law Congregation here in Sacramento in support.

My name is Lori. I'm here not as a political activist, but as a parent of three and on behalf of Tam Union Together in Marin County, a diverse group of 500 local parents and community members in strong support of AB 715. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Diana. I'm here on behalf of over 100 diverse members of Marin Jewish Parents and Allies Union. I support AB 715. As a refugee who fled persecution for being Jewish, and now I see anti-Semitism around my children in our public schools. I implore you to protect our children. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no further public comments and support, I do want to acknowledge some of our colleagues in the audience. Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Assemblymember Gail Pellerin. Thank you for joining us. We earlier had Assemblymember Maggy Krell testifying support of the bill. Witnesses in opposition, please come forward. Two witnesses each. Two minutes each.

Primary witnesses.

Where would you like us to sit?

Good afternoon. When you're ready, you may begin. Two minutes each. Of course.

I'm new here. Thank you. Good afternoon, Chair and Members, and thank you for your time today. My name is Gabriel Kahn. I'm a proud Jewish teacher in Oakland and a CTA member in Assemblymember Bonta's district. I teach 8th grade humanities at Life Academy.

And I'm here because my students deserve a critical education that helps them contextualize their experience and examine the underlying forms of power that shape our world.

If I do right by my students today, by the end of the speech, you will see how this Bill as it is written, jeopardizes not only the study of Palestinian history or ethnic studies, but our existing English and history curriculum as well.

Looking at this journey of this Bill, first as 1468 and now as 715 we can tell the goal of the Bill is to target and censor Palestinian voices and voices critical of Israel. The weaponization of anti-Semitism makes me and Jewish students less safe.

It conflates our religious identity with a political ideology and with a foreign state. In order to target discrimination of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, we should do so through a collaborative and transparent process which includes key stakeholders in the classroom. The vague language around national origin could lead to some very worrisome and unintended consequences.

In eighth grade, our approved curriculum has a fantastic unit on Japanese-American internment, a terribly shameful moment in our history, one of government failure, racist assumptions, and mass incarceration.

Should I be prevented from teaching about Manzanar because the actions of white Americans during World War II might be interpreted as "subjecting a white pupil to unlawful discrimination based on their country of origin," the USA? Moreover, this Bill changes the way we must look at this sentence from the UC Davis 10th grade curriculum about World War II.

Quote, "British government officials hoping that through diplomatic means that they could convince Germans to stop seizing territories." Will we not allow this curriculum because they lumped all Germans in with the Nazi party in this sentence? Education policy should be made carefully and slowly with input from students, teachers, and families.

Not in 72 hours, and not after clear legislative deadlines have passed without any input from community. We have to trust teachers to provide students the appropriate tools to deal with the challenging conversations and contradictions that our world holds in store for them.

And it is for the reasons outlined above that we strongly urge you to vote no on this bill. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello. Okay. Sorry. I can either see far or I can see near. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for this opportunity to speak. My name is Lisa Adhikari, and I'm here as an educator. So before addressing the content of AB 715, I must raise a fundamental concern.

This bill was introduced over Mother's Day weekend through a gut-and-amendment maneuver without public notice, hearing, or debate, or a chance to even register formal opposition. This is undermining legislative transparency and eroding already kind of shaky public trust in the democratic process.

I'm urging you to reject AB 715, not only on procedural grounds, but because of what it represents. So, over a decade ago, I was teaching a high school freshman class. One day, a Palestinian student arrived, visibly distressed.

Her young cousin, who was just a child, maybe 8 to 10 years old, had been shot and killed by an Israeli soldier while going to the local bakery. I was instructed by administration to keep things quiet to avoid upsetting the few Israeli students we had in class.

But silence in the face of grief and injustice is not neutrality. It is erasure. And honestly, it's cowardly. So I created open space. I created a space for open and respectful dialogue. The conversation was difficult but meaningful, and the students were grateful to be heard. And ironically, especially the Jewish students were grateful for this chance to talk.

Under AB 715, that kind of honest conversation would be penalized. Let's be clear. The intent of this bill mirrors the violent crackdowns by the Trump Administration against students and teachers speaking out in support of Palestinians under the guise of combating anti-Semitism. That is a dangerous precedent.

We do not ban instruction on slavery, the Trail of Tears, the Japanese internment camps, or civil rights movement based on how white people like me might be offended or worried. So why then do we single out this one issue for exceptional censorship?

If the goal is to address discrimination in classrooms, California already has mechanisms in place: the uniform complaint procedure. AB 715 is not a solution for anything. It is a threat to education across all classrooms, to equity and to students right to speak and learn freely.

I'm asking you to reject AB 715 to uphold the integrity of the legislative process, protect our classrooms and defend inclusivity of education for all Californians without exceptionalizing. I want to say for all the people who were here, I've been to, I went to the Terezin Ghetto and I felt the ghosts.

I saw what happened and my heart breaks and I am so sorry. And you want to know something? I hear those same stories from Palestinians. So why? This bill is not solving anything. Please.

Thank you, ma' am.

Thank you.

Public comments in opposition to the bill. Please come forward to the microphone.

Chair, could I ask a point of clarification? I'm new to this. Hi. I was wondering, I heard that there might be a question and answer period. Is that, would that have already lapsed or is that to come?

That is to come. And while we're waiting for public comments in opposition, want to acknowledge Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens, Assemblymember Marc Berman and Senator Josh Becker. Thank you for joining us.

Hi. Thank you. My name is Giselle Cunanan. I'm Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at Sacramento State. And I'm asking you all to oppose AB 17. AB 17 is part of a broader national-

Let me remind everyone, name, affiliation and position on the bill only.

I'm representing students from Sac.

Thank you, ma' am. Let me remind everyone, name, affiliation and position on the Bill. That is what. Let me remind folks that if you're going to get disorderly, then we're going to have to take you out of the hearing room. Ma' am, please proceed.

Hello, my name is Vicky Martinez. I'm a parent from Los Angeles. I have four students in LAUSD and I oppose this bill.

My name is Helen McCloskey. I'm the widow of Congressman Pete McCloskey and an environmental activist. This bill shamelessly erodes constitutional free speech and academic freedom, and I oppose it.

Eve Hirschkopf, mother of two and the daughter of a refugee from the Nazi Holocaust as a child. I ask you to oppose this bill. I know what anti-Semitism is.

I'm Maggie Coulter. I'm the secretary of the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights, which is an organization made up of over 25, a coalition made up of over 25 organization. Silencing Palestinians and allowing criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic. Please oppose the bill.

I'm Juliet Lee. I'm a member of, from Berkeley, California. I'm a member of Berkeley Unified School District Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation. I'm also a member of Berkeley Families for Collective Liberation and Chavurah for a Free Palestine. I'm the proud parent of a Berkeley High School student who's been a public school student all his entire life and has had a wonderful experience. And I strongly oppose this bill.

Hello, I'm Maria Deluz-Alexandrino. I'm a lecturer at Sac State, and I have an experience. I lived under dictatorship and censorship, and I strongly oppose this bill. I hope you do too.

Hello. My name is Brian Calderón Tabatabai. I'm an ethnic studies teacher, representative of the Association of Raza Educators, former mayor of the City of West Covina. Our members have had lawfare used against them and they've been consistently thrown out of court. And we strongly oppose this bill.

Good afternoon. My name is Yanoz and I'm a student of Sacramento State. And I am an ethnic studies major. Who knows this is censorship of our students, censorship of our education, and censorship of our teachers.

Hello, everyone. My name is Catherine Mua. I am a student at SAC State. I'm an ethnic studies major. I am also the daughter and granddaughter of Hmong refugees who have fled war and persecution. I am here to ask that all of you oppose this bill. That is censorship and will harm my own degree in future. Thank you.

Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Dr. Samila Amani Ralph Bor. I'm a Professor at California State University, Los Angeles. As an educator, I believe after 12 years of high education, higher education, it should be up to me to form my curriculum. What it needs to be taught in the classroom and not up to politicians.

So therefore, we educators, we really appreciate if you guys oppose AB 715. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Linda Corey Umilli. I have two children in The Belmont Redwood Shore School District. I'm Palestinian American, and criticism of Israel is not anti Semitic.

I oppose this bill.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Nadia Rahman. I'm with AROK Action, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, and I oppose this bill.

Hello, my name is Jasmeet Singh. I'm a student at Sac State, and I oppose AB 715.

Hello, I'm Arden Fredman from Berkeley, California, a Member of Berkeley Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation and daughter of the Holocaust survivor. And I oppose this bill.

Juliana Fredman, Berkeley, California. I'm also a Member of Berkeley Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation. I'm also the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. I'm also the parent of two children, proud Jewish children, who reject the conflation of their identity with their religious identity with the State of Israel. And I oppose this bill.

My name is Robin Lindheimer, and I am also a proud Jewish parent of a Jewish student at Berkeley High who is worried about the weaponization of antisemitism to stifle his free speech and that of his teachers. He's very worried.

I'm a Member of Jewish Voice for Peace since its founding, and also a Member of Berkeley Unified School District, Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation. And I urge you strongly to oppose this bill. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Deborah Duenas. I live in Marin County. I'm a mother and a grandmother. I worked for 13 years at a high school in Marin County. I know many teachers who are afraid for their jobs if they talk about Palestine in the classroom. Anti anti Semitism is not the same as being pro Palestinian.

Okay, let's just say it that way. Thank you. And.

Thank you.

Hi, I'm Elliot Hellman. I am a Member of Jewish Voice for Peace. I'm also active in my synagogue in San Francisco. Had a daughter in public school for 13 years. Totally normal experience. And I urge you to vote against this misguided bill.

Hi, my name is Vivek Kambayan. I'm an organizer with Hindus for Human Rights, representing hundreds of Hindu Members across. The State of California because this bill changes the definition of.

Nationality, name, affiliation, and position on the bill.

Position?

No, I mean your support or opposed to the bill. I'm trying to be fair to. To everyone. Go ahead. Go ahead sir.

We strongly urge you to oppose this bill because it changes the definition of not allowed.

Thank you. Go ahead, sir.

Hi, I'm Ranjit Tate. I'm the parent of two South Asian Hispanic kids from Cupertino Public Schools, proud of their frontline participation in the movement for black lives. I'm also a Member of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action of JVP. Bay Area, and I stand proudly with a rock. I urge you to oppose this bill.

Hi, my name is Bella Ahwal. I am a student at Sacramento State and I strongly oppose this bill.

I'm Randy Hicks with California with the Sacramento County Green Party, and I'm in strong opposition of this bill. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Linda Sneed. I am a community college educator of English, logic and good rhetoric, and I strongly oppose this bill. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Elisa Mamaklai. I'm here to represent the Philippinex Igniting Engagement for Collective Empowerment Coalition, and we strongly oppose this bill.

Hello, my name is Tara Marino. I'm from Nevada County. I'm on the Grass Valley School board. I'm a trustee, and I'm also with Nevada County for Palestine. And I urge you to strongly oppose this bill.

Hi, my name is Diane Muganamstrecher. I am from San Jose, mother of four and the President of the Arab American Cultural Center in Silicon Valley, which represents 22 Arab countries, local community Members, and we strongly oppose this bill. Thank you.

Stephen Ellen, Redwood City, San Mateo Peace Action Free Speech.

Hi, my name is Dina Saba. I'm a daughter of a Palestine Nakba survivor and President of the Democrats for Palestinian Rights Bay Area. This bill will only contribute to the climate of fear and erasure of the Palestinian people.

Thank you, ma' am.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Janine Cohen. I am a mother of two Berkeley Unified School District students. I'm a Member of Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation. I'm also a Member and founder of Students for Palestine at CIIS in San Francisco.

Lastly, I am a Member of all those morally injured by the ongoing siege and blockade against food, education and livelihood of all the children in Gaza. I strongly oppose this bill.

Hello, my name is Aishwarya Komu. I am a student at California State University, Sacramento, and I strongly oppose AB 715.

Hello, my name is Alan Fisher. I'm the son of two Holocaust survivors. Who lived 12 years in Palestine. I have two children who went through public schools. I strongly oppose this bill. Don't conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Hello, my name is Ana Chavez and I represent AFT 2121, American Federation of Teachers, and I oppose very strongly this bill.

Hello, my name is Ismail Lehmoon. I'm an attorney from the San Francisco Bay Area, and I strongly urge you to oppose this bill. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Michael Washington, educator and Member of SEIU 1020. I oppose this bill.

Hello, my name is Arlette Hakome. I'm a Guatemalan American resident of Newark, California. I am a part of SEIU 1021, Bay Area labor for Palestine 1021, Members for Palestine and the National Network labor for Palestine. And I strongly oppose this bill. Notice censorship and yes to honest education.

Hello, my name is Alicia Yaffe. I'm an anti Zionist Jew here with JVP and I'm the volunteer Director for an independent, independent humanitarian aid organization that supports displaced Palestinians in Gaza that currently cannot access food to feed our beneficiaries due to the blockade that's been going on for years, but specifically three months.

I'm also a Member of the International Jewish Labor Bund who experienced anti Palestinian racism 3 weeks ago directly outside this chamber at the hands of Senator Henry Stern. If you can't tell the difference.

Thank you, ma' am. Thank you, ma' am. Thank you, ma' am.

Hello. Dr. Tracy Noriega. I'm the immediate past President of FAEAC, the Filipino American Educators Association of California and Faculty for Liberated Ethnic Studies. An educator of almost 30 years, having been a teacher, principal, Assistant Superintendent. Please oppose this bill.

Hi, my name is Reem Audrashmali. I'm here from Davis, California and I strongly oppose this bill.

Hello, I'm Natalia Tipsosa. I'm originally from Bogota, Colombia. I'm a political refugee of faculty in chicanx studies at UC Davis for over 19 years.

I am the co chair of the UC Ethnic Studies Faculty Council that represents 300 faculty at the UC wide system and a faculty that supports teachers in the authentic implementation of ethnic studies that see every day the hurt and pain of our bipoc students of anti hate and anti racism against them.

And so I ask you to oppose this terrible bill. Thank you.

Dr. Teresa Montano, Professor Chicana and Chicano Studies, Interim Chair of the CSU Council of Ethnic Studies. And on behalf of hundreds of Ethnic Studies faculty, I strongly oppose this bill.

Good afternoon. My name is Lada Kiswani. I'm coming here from Oakland. I am the Executive Director of Arab Resource and Organizing Center and Arab Resource and Organizing Center Action representing thousands of Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians across Northern California who have faced an unprecedented level of anti Arab racism and violence.

I am also a faculty Member at the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, a Member of the California Faculty Association. I'm a daughter of Palestinian refugees have lost over four dozen family Members to this genocide. In Gaza.

And I am a mother of a two year old that I want raised in a state that actually respects public education, doesn't censor stories, and supports all people, including Palestinians, Arabs and Jewish people.

Good afternoon. My name is Mohammed. I'm here from Oakland. I'm the organizing Director of the Arab Resource and Organizing center. And with Aroc Action. I have lost 51 Members of my extended family who have been exterminated over the last year and a half by the genocidal campaign in Gaza.

I am an anti racist organizer and for that reason I oppose this bill.

No applause in the audience, please. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Samir. I am the Research Director at Accountability Council, a legal nonprofit that supports communities around the world to protect their human rights and environment. And a Member of AROC and AROC Action. And a proud uncle of five current students. I strongly oppose this bill. Thank you.

Hello.

I'm here today as a Member of AROC, Arab Resource Organizing Center and Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights. And I oppose this bill because I am anti racist, whatever your race is. And I stand with my Jewish friends and allies.

Hello, I'm Tony Loken and I'm an ethnic studies educator. But I also have the Loken Foundation. This is also Roxy. So I apologize. I oppose this bill because this bill talks about the creation of a coordinator that is unparallel. And if we are going to. Thank you, ma' am.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Barry Preisler. I taught for the last 50 years. I am retired, but I've taught For the last 50 years the California State University system. Teaching Middle Eastern topics, but primarily the Palestine Israeli conflict. And I ask you to reject this bill.

Hello, my name is Sandra Reed. I'm a Member of the Retired Teachers of California. I had two girls that went to the public school system. Three grandchildren that are in the public school system in Davis, in Albany, California. I oppose bill 715 do. Its poorly written. Thank you.

Thank you, ma' am.

My name is Peter Bernhardt. I'm a resident of Albany, California. Support JVP, the Middle East Children Alliance, ACLU. And I strongly oppose this bill.

My name is Hai Ganoush. I'm a resident of Alameda County and a daughter of a survivor of the Nakba. And because this bill does not define exactly what they mean by anti Semitism, I oppose this bill.

Hi, my name is Deborah Condon, Sacramento. I'm a Member of Sacramento Jewish Voice for Peace. A former teacher and a person of faith. I oppose this bill as it wrongly conflates criticism of Israel with anti Semitism.

Hello. My name is Azra Haley and I'm a Member of Jewish Voices for Peace, Sacramento, and I oppose this bill.

Shirley Osgood. I live in Grass Valley. I'm a retired school social worker. I'm a Member of the Peace and Justice Center of Nevada County. And I'm also affiliated with Nevada County for Palestine. And I support free speech and I'm against this bill.

Thank you, ma' am. Thank you.

Noga Wazanski. A Jewish Israeli American, resident of Nevada county, retired Professor where I taught the arts of Palestine and Israel together. A Member of SEIU 1021 and Jewish Voice for Peace. Mother of a California high school teacher, also Jewish. We both strongly oppose this bill.

My name is Jeffrey Gottesman. I'm a retired Professor of education, JVP Member. And I strongly oppose this anti Semitic bill which tars me. Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. David Mandel. A proud American Jew and an Israeli. Citizen as well, and grandfather of two children who are just starting their lives in public school. Among many other reasons this bill has no business. Thank you, sir.

Your position? Yeah. Support or oppose? Okay. No, they were not.

Hello, my name is Thomas Eggman. I'm a student at Sacramento State University and I oppose this bill.

Thank you.

My name is Nyah Zavala. I'm a student at Sacramento State and I oppose bill 715.

Hello. I'm Mindy Spatt from San Francisco and I wanted to express that the Harvey Milk Club Political Action Committee is very much opposed to this bill.

Good afternoon. My name is Ruby Viridiano. I'm a proud product of an ethnic studies education and I strongly oppose this bill.

My name is Monica Ceves Robles. I'm a former ethnic studies teacher and a future ethnic studies master's program student. And I oppose AB 715.

Good afternoon. My name is Bria Puaneni Tennyson. I am a lifelong Sacramento resident. I hold degrees in history from Sacramento State and UC Berkeley. I am an incoming ethnic studies master's student at Sacramento State. I also represent my ancestors and family from the Philippines and the Kingdom of Hawaii who understand illegal occupation.

Good afternoon. My name is Emily Lipski. I'm a resident of Nevada County. I'm an American Board certified prosthetist working. With children who have survived limb loss. Or live with limb difference. And the founder of my profession's O and P Ceasefire Collective for Collective Liberation. And I strongly oppose this bill.

Marie Hoff. I'm a Jewish American with Jewish Voice for Peace and a Member of Temple Beth Israel in Redding, California. And I am deeply opposed to this bill.

Rob Lipton, Bay Area Richmond Member of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, Founder as well of a Jewish Voice for Peace and because not known? No, because we strongly are opposing this bill. Thank you.

Hi, My name is Dr. Najma Bishlani. I am a refugee from East Africa and as well I have lived through martial law and I strongly oppose this pro censorship bill.

Anna Rogers from Marin. I'm a Jewish grandmother who very strongly opposes this bill. Long term Member of Jewish Voice for Peace and Christians for Justice in Palestine, you name it. I'm 25 years at this don't go with this bill.

Hello, my name is Moussa and I'm a policy coordinator at the Council on American Islamic Relations California and CARE California for short. And we strongly oppose AB 715's attempt to erase Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, Jewish and other critical voices in our schools. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Wendy Greenfield. I'm the former national coordinator for New Jewish Agenda of the Argentine Prisoners Project against anti Semitism and for Human Rights in Argentina and I traveled there during the Argentine dictatorship at great personal risk to document the anti Semitism there.

I am presently San Jose JVP Coordinator and a retired educator of about 35 years and I support human rights and a meaningful education. Please vote no on this bill.

Margaret I'm Margaret Okuizumi. I'm an elected Member of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party. I'm also a Japanese American who believes that history must be taught honestly and that we should uphold civil liberties and civil rights. Oppose the bill.

John Lehman, Student Opposed.

I'm Makos Faberson with Nevada County for Palestine and if we. Want to end anti Semitism, rather than support this bill, I suggest you work against the occupation.

My name is Ellen Goodwin, I live in Nevada County. I strongly oppose the bill which is about censorship, not safety.

My name is Dana Schwartz and I live in Sacramento, California. I'm both a mother and a grandmother who have been in lots of California schools and have not faced anti Semitism. I am a Member of Kahila Community Synagogues Middle East Peace Committee and I strongly oppose this bill. It will not help.

Thank you. Thank you.

I'm Christina Call from Berkeley, California. I oppose this bill.

My name is Julia Sen. I'm a parent of two children in Berkeley Unified School District. I'm a Member of Berkeley Parents for Collective Liberation and I oppose this bill.

Hi, my name is Adriel. I'm a student at the Sacramento State University and I strongly oppose this bill.

Hello My name is Valentino Rodriguez. I am a student at Sacramento State University and I strongly oppose this bill.

Thank you. Eva Crisanti, investigative reporter. I write Marin county confidential.substack.com I'm also the daughter of a Holocaust that doesn't get much mentioned. The tens of millions who are killed in China as a result of 10 years of Japanese occupation and the war. I strongly oppose this bill. It is an attack on free speech. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Alyssa Leyva, Director of Mental Health and Wellness with Stockton Stands, Member of Empowering Marginalized Asian American Communities in Stockton and community organizer with Central Valley BIPOC Coalitio, Violence Thrives on Ignorance. Please suppose oppose this bill.

Hi, I'm Katarina Beeler from Modesto. I am a former educator and worked in refugee resettlement for seven years. I'm with Central Valley BIPOC Coalition and we strongly oppose this bill.

My name is Helen Finkelstein. I'm a Member of Jewish Voice for Peace and a retired faculty Member of San Francisco State University. And I oppose this attack on freedom of speech.

Thank you.

Michael Lyon, a retired Jewish educator conflating criticism of Israel and its genocide. Thank you, sir. Is not.

Hi, my name is Wendy Yamashita. I'm a Professor of ethnic studies at SAC State. Next part. My grandparents were incarcerated in America's concentration camps during World War II. I'm a Member of the Manzanar Committee, a Member of the Japanese American Citizens League of Florin, Sacramento, and I strongly oppose this bill.

I'm the Reverend Dr. Steve Hong with the Presbyterian Church, USA. I'm part of a denomination that is officially rebuked Christian and Jewish Zionism. And I strongly oppose this bill.

My name is Maya Narumi for El Segundo, California. I'm a Fulbright researcher in Cambodia, which has gone through genocide in the 70s and learning about what suppressing free speech and education looks like. And I'm a Japanese American who stands in solidarity with the Palestinians. I oppose this bill.

My name is Noor. I'm a lifelong student of the California public school system, and I'm here representing my ancestors, including Iranian immigrants and a Jewish grandmother who escaped the Holocaust. And I oppose this lobby that will never erase Israel's genocidal legacy.

My name is Deena Ahmad and I am a product of the California public school system. I'm a mother of a child in the California public school system. I'm a faculty Member at UC Berkeley. I teach Arab and Palestinian literature.

I was a former Member of Students for Justice in Palestine, and I'm currently a faculty Member for Justice in Palestine, representing hundreds of thousands of people across the United States. Jewish, Muslim, Christian people who have a commitment to thinking critically and who oppose censorship and who work really well together.

And I ask you all to think critically about the language of this bill. Thank you. And.

Thank you, ma' am.

Hi, my name is Daryanna. I am an anti Zionist Jewish educator from a family of Holocaust survivors and a former Jewish student of the California public education system. I am also representing Jewish Voice for Peace International, Anti Zionist Jewish Network, Queers Against Israeli terrorism, Kehillah Synagogue, Jews 4 and volunteer at Urban Ottoma.

As an educator and student, I have repeatedly witnessed anti Semitism be weaponized against Palestinian stories to suppress the ongoing genocide of 2 million people. Please vote no. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Dean Breyman. I am an Israeli and an American and the grandson of a Holocaust escapee and someone who is a graduate of the Davis school system and someone who feels very deep regret and shame about my ignorance and my lack of regard for the oppression of Palestinians.

And I ask you to not deny young students the opportunity to actually learn and think critically about what is happening in the world.

Hello, my name is Zainab Abdullah. I'm an adjunct ethnic studies Professor. I also teach African American studies and I encourage you to oppose this bill.

Hello. My name is Monique Mcdaniel. I'm an alumna of California State University, Sacramento, a current doctoral student at Claremont Graduate University. I'm a Member of the Foster Youth Education Fund and the California Faculty Association. I am currently a lecturer of over 250 students between California State University, Sacramento, Folsom Lake College and Sierra Community College.

I strongly urge you to oppose AB 715 and protect inclusivity and academic freedom for our students. Thank you.

My name is Hugo Balmaceda. I'm an ethnic studies instructor. I'm a Chicano studies instructor at Folsom Lake College and I strongly encourage people. To oppose this bill.

Hanmaske. My name is Dr. Tamara Cheshire. I'm Lakota. My family's from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. I am a Native American studies Professor and ethnic studies Department chair at Folsom Lake College. I'm also a lecturer at SAC State.

I'm also the co chair of the California Community College of Ethnic Studies Faculty Council who represents hundreds of ethnic studies faculty statewide. I strongly urge you to vote no on AB 715. Thank you.

My name is Carla Schick. I am a Jewish queer secondary school teacher working for over 30 years. I am the proud teacher of thousands of Students, many of whom I have protected from and advocated for as they faced harassment.

I am a Member of the Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies, Queers United, QUIT and CTA retired Member who I am not repping. I vehemently oppose AB 715 because it will create.

Thank you, ma' am. Thank you.

Greetings. My name is Sam. I'm the grandson of Holocaust survivors. I have a student in Assembly Member Banta's district who is a Jewish child who has faced censorship for their pro Palestinian stance in opposition to the genocide. I urge you to oppose this bill.

Dr. Eleanor Levine, Professor Emerita Cal State University, East Bay Used to be Hayward. I get confused. I am a Jewish woman. My family has suffered the pogroms. My family has also been affected by the Holocaust and this bill will do nothing to address the issue of anti Semitism and racism.

I oppose the bill and hope you will too. Thank you.

Mary Handle, Jewish Voice for Peace. You let the gentleman from from JPAC list the organizations that endorse this bill. We were not able to do that because of the time limits. I'm about to read them.

ABC National, Arab American Civic Council, AROC Action, Association of California School Administrators, Association of Raza Educators, California Faculty Association, CARE California, California Latino School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, California School Boards Association, Coalition for Liberated Ethnic Studies, Code Pink Central Coast, Democrats for Justice in Palestine, Sacramento Dolores Huerta Foundation, JVP Action, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Hindus for Human Rights,

Filipino American Educators Association of California, Luther Burbank Education Association, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, NORCAL Chapter, Showing up for Racial Justice, Bay Area JVP, Sacramento JVP, South Bay JVP, Bay Area APEN, which is the Asian Pacific Environmental Network.

BUSD, Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation, IMEU Policy Project, If Not Now, Democrats for Palestine Rights in the Bay Area, QUIT, which is Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism Dolores Huerta Foundation, Muslim American Alliance, United Teachers Los Angeles South Asia Resource Action Center and the Asian Pacific School Board Members Association.

Thank you.

Seth. Excuse me. Seth Morrison, Jewish Voice for Peace. My great grandmother was killed in the Holocaust and I know that falsely using anti Semitism to protect Israel only hurts the Jewish people.

My name is Dave Hart. I live in Davis. I was a state employee doing the water supply forecast for this state. So I'm very heavily invested in data. I believe that the University systems are under attack and I'm also a voter who's trying to survive the second Trump presidency. And I'm really upset that I don't understand how.

Thank you, sir. Name, affiliation, position on the bill. Thank you.

Okay, thanks. My name is Jonathan Mead. I'm a retired paramedic and a Member of SEIU Local 1021—allowing teachers to teach students actual truth.

Sir, Name, Affiliation? Thank you, sir. Thank you. Everyone's trying to follow the rules. Thanks. Thank you, sir. Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon. I'm Dr. Laura Einhorn, a proud Jew, a synagogue Member of Temple Beth Shalom, a public-school teacher of 15 years, and the founder of my school's newcomer program for our newcomer immigrants. And, actually, my school's teacher of the year.

I am the daughter-in-law of Japanese Americans interned at Poston and Tule Lake and the mother of 33 Jewish and Japanese American public school students. Everyone in this room opposes anti-Semitism. Under this Bill, I'm labeled an anti-Semite. Please oppose. Thank you.

My name is Ann Wolf from Richmond, California—Member of BUSD, Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation, Member of SEIU 1021; mother of a thriving Jewish high school student in Berkeley Unified School District; and friend of Giselle Cunanan, my colleague who was silenced in this room. And I oppose this Bill because it will not keep anyone safe.

Hello, my name is Ian Hart. I'm from Berkeley, California. I have two kids in the Berkeley School District—white kids who benefited from a teacher who had the courage to wrestle with white supremacy and who have also been harassed for also having the courage to deal with the Palestine issue.

I want to defend my kids' chance to have courageous teachers who can wrestle with these hard issues. And, therefore, I oppose this, Bill.

Hello, my name is Lou Williams from Berkeley, California. I'm a retired school teacher, a proud grandfather of an Oakland school child, a Member of Sears Bay Area, and I oppose this attempt to snuff out the mention of Palestinians in school. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Ellen Brodsky. I'm a proud Jewish mother and grandmother of public school kids, Member of Jewish Voice for Peace. The this Bill makes both Jewish and Palestinian kids less safe.

Thank you. Thank you, ma' am.

Hi, my name is Catherine Chen. I'm from Albany, California, and I am here on behalf of my best friend, Dania Baraka, whose ancestral lands are in Gaza and whose uncle's aunts and cousins have been murdered by Israeli bombs.

We grew up on the same block along with Jewish friends, but I never learned about the oppression and violence that her family went through. Thank you. Let ethnic studies tell the truth. And I oppose this.

Thank you.

Dr. Marcia Ishii from Berkeley. I am a mother of two sons, a lifelong California resident, a graduate of California's public schools, an educator and a Japanese American who values academic integrity and freedom from politically motivated surveillance, interference and censorship.

I oppose this Bill and ask you to vote no and preserve our students ability to have honest evidence based discussion of difficult topics. Thank you.

Dr. Alyssa Novik. I'm a Jewish mom in Berkeley, clinical psychologist and I have a child in the Berkeley school system. I'm here with Busd Berkeley Parents for Berkeley Jewish Parents for Collective Liberation. My father was a Holocaust survivor from Warsaw, Poland and I know anti Semitism. I oppose this Bill.

Hi, my name is Haitham Keswani from Playa Del Rey, California in Los Angeles. And I oppose this misguided Bill.

Hello, I'm Diana Scott from San Francisco, Chair of the Bay Area chapter of Workers Circle Arbiter Ring. You used to be known as Workman's Circle. We advocate for voting rights against bigotry of all forms, including antisemitism and object to any single definition. Thank you.

That you object. We got the point. Thank you.

My name is Lisa Roful. I'm a Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I'm on the National Board of Jewish Voice for Peace. And we are strongly opposed to suppressing Christian criticism of the Israeli genocide of Palestinians. So I strongly oppose this Bill.

I am Katherine Ouraid from Stockton, California, Member of Code Pink, Jewish Voice for Peace, Amnesty International. I'm a retired pediatric nurse who knows the difference between being antisemitic and being anti genocide. I oppose this Bill.

My name is Dominique Williams. I'm from Sacramento, California. I'm a credentialed teacher of history and social science in the State of California. I piloted ethnic studies in Sacramento City Unified School District and testified for AB 2016. I'm now working with in service teachers who are also piloting ethnic studies.

And I'm concerned with the weaponization of the complaint process. Thank you. And I oppose this Bill.

Thank you.

My name is Grace from Sacramento, California. A proud Filipino American student at Sacramento State, studying ethnic studies and a paraeducator in the greater Sacramento area. And I strongly oppose this Bill.

Hello, my name is Juanita Mendoza. I am a proud Mexican American daughter of immigrants from Assembly District 7. And I strongly oppose AB 715.

My name is Simon Hyatt, a resident of Assembly District 7. I strongly oppose this Bill.

This is Farzad Kumer, District 6, Assembly District 6. I raised three sons by myself, two of them with autism. So I know hard times and I'm definitely very very much against anti Semitism, but it's not right to politicize. So these bls use that I'm against AB 715. Thank you.

Hi. David Bollog. On behalf of taxpayers, Oversights for parents and students. California Moms for Liberty Serving Family Value Informed Alhambra mom and dad Army Ethnic Studies. Its curriculum is the culprit here. We are neutral on this unnecessary legislation. Thank you.

Hello, I'm Aliza Horowitz. I live in Sacramento. As a Member of JVP, I'm a proud Jewish American and I oppose AB715. Thank you.

Happy Hmong American Day. My name is Kao Yitao, representing Hmong Innovating politics here in Sacramento. Strongly opposed.

Good afternoon. I'm Professor Dr. Bao Lo from Ethnic Studies at Sac State. I acknowledge that the chair and the Committee are hearing us out today. We sent a letter last week to oppose 1468 with over 4400 signatures.

I'm Lorraine Mallory and I'm also a Professor at SAC State Ethnic Studies. I'm also a former Commissioner of Immigrant Rights in San Francisco and a legal advocate. And I oppose 7:15.

Honorable Chair and Members of the Committee, My name is Jen Galinato. I have the distinct pleasure of representing over 31,000 to 32,000 students across Sacramento State. We have taken a position of opposition, strong opposition, might I add, against Assembly Bill 1468.

But I want it to be personally noted that I wanted to state my personal strong opposition as a Filipino American to Assembly Bill 715. Thank you.

My name is Samara Mahmood and I'm a SAC State student. I'm a Member of Students for Justice in Palestine. And I'm a worried citizen who's afraid for the school system not telling the truth. I strongly oppose this Bill.

Hi, my name is Cole Krawitz. Also Malka Sima Benyakov, Shmuel Va Yitayuda. I'm a former lecturer of poetry at the June Jordan Poetry for the People center at UC Berkeley and also at Holy Names University. I'm a gun go to many kids across the California public education system.

I'm also a proud anti Zionist Jewish song and ritual leader and Member who participated in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and is a Member of Jewish Voice for Peace. We have thousands of anti Jewish families across California who deeply believe that Jewish safety is through solidarity and against weaponizing Jewish pain the way that this Bill does.

Please, please, please. We strongly oppose this Bill.

Thank you. See no further public comments in opposition. I'd like to invite the witnesses who have not taken official position but would like to express comments either leaning in support or leaning in opposition.

And I'd like to ask one witness from each for and against to give space for our tweener witnesses and you'll have an opportunity to be called back. All right, these are our so called tweeners. Two minutes each.

Good afternoon. Carlos Machado with California School Boards Association. CSBA is committed to supporting our Members in their effort to provide a safe environment for students to learn and to thrive. We appreciate the author's time recently to meet with us earlier on 1468. Unfortunately, Monday is the first time we saw the language in 7:15.

CSBA wasn't able to take positions since the Bill was just introduced, but we wanted to share, respectfully, respectfully share our serious concerns with the Bill that will likely result in CSBA taking the opposed position on the Bill. The changes to Education Code 244 is problematic. Boards approve and adopt agenda items.

They do not act to allow specific materials used by teachers. We are concerned that if a district doesn't directly disallow, for example, a specific resource that might be used, then a district could be subject to a complaint that asserts that the district De facto allowed it.

This opens districts up to a whole new category of complaints and puts boards in a position to micromanage what's happening in the classroom. The place planned expansion of the UCP is also problematic. Board Members are locally elected and accountable to their communities. It's unclear what the intent is.

In instances where a complaint is appealed to the cde, this would set a troubling precedent elevating the Department over locally elected officials. What remedies would CS would CDE have the authority to pursue in response to these complaints? We don't believe this tool is designed for this use.

There are already tools available at the local and state level to resolve many of the issues that these provisions attempt to address. We have other concerns as well, but wanted to share some of them with you today.

I'm happy to provide more information and answer questions on these issues, and CSB is committed to working with the authors as the Bill moves forward. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. My name is David Goldberg. I'm the President of the California Teachers Association and a bilingual elementary school teacher from Los Angeles. I want to, I guess, start out by sharing the values we all share.

And anti Semitism, I think we all agree, has no place in our school or in any other corner of our society, and that every child deserves to feel safe in school. And as we provide these safe and nurturing spaces for all students, we recognize that that is consistent and intentional work.

Educators dedicate our lives to the work we think about, how to best reach our students and help them achieve their dreams well into the evening hours.

Even when we're with our own families, we're in constant dialogue with parents and communities about how to best navigate these complex complexions and anti Semitism and frankly, all forms of hatred are pernicious and often learned behaviors. And addressing eradicating will take all of us working together in consistent dialogue in every corner of our state.

But with a federal Administration that sows divisions on all levels of academia and seeks to drive a wedge between communities, we must also work together to protect young people's rights to live and breathe and engage and be passionate and debate about the future of our society.

Young people are being targeted for trying to figure out this world we live in and their own political views and campuses across our country. And this isn't okay. We need ongoing discussion to work through this dangerous era, not a Bill that in effect provides incomplete solutions and targets and penalizes educators and creates confusions.

Teachers should never be scapegoated for addressing controversial issues in the classroom. Critical thinking and open dialogue is essential to education. In fact, I've received hundreds of emails in the last day and a half from educators across the state that have deep concerns about the proposed language and how it'll impact our efforts.

I have received messages across the state with deep concerns and confusion about the intentions of this legislation and also what the impacts will be in the months and years to come.

One consistent concern is how the language as written could actually have unintended consequences, including giving more power to extremists on school boards to threaten, intimidate and control teachers and push harmful agendas into our classrooms. So we stand ready to work on any anti hate legislation writ large.

And I thank you for allowing me to testify today because of the timing of this and cta, we're a big organization that deliberates and sometimes long into the nights and days. We do not have yet an opposed position, but this Bill, at this point, if our concerns are not likely addressed, we're likely to pose AB 715.

Thank you. Okay. All right. If there just to be fair to give the broad range of opinions, if there is anyone who hasn't already spoken a Public comments for those that don't have a position but want to express thoughts or concerns either for or against the Bill.

Hi Aubrey Rodriguez with ACLU California Action. We have serious concerns as well, but really look forward to working with the authors on this morning. This will be a very collaborative process with all the organizations. I know there's lots of Members with their fingers on this Bill, so I get it.

As a former staffer, we are an organization deeply committed to education, equity and to the civil liberties and civil rights of Students, parents, and all educators, regardless of their background. And we look forward to working on this Bill. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no further public comments, Bring it back to the Committee. Dr.

Patel, I'm going to open with a question. Want to first express some thoughts around this being a very emotional topic. We are trying to keep students safe in school. As a former school board trustee in a suburban school district with a very diverse population, I understand the concerns being brought up here in this room today.

From the witness at the. At the stands today who is a brave student to come forward. It's not easy to. To do this. I appreciate your civic engagement. It's to be commended.

And to those in the audience also who have expressed your support, opposition, and in between viewpoints, it's great to see this much civic engagement on such an important topic. I do have some questions for the authors. I know this was a long process to get here. Lots of compromise have already been shared.

It's a collaborative effort between our ethnic caucuses. We've been working to try to get it right. It's not easy to get legislation this weighty. Exactly. Right on the first salvo. So I want to appreciate, send appreciation to the authors for working with all of our ethnic caucuses, making progress towards trying to get it right for everybody.

So in the room today, we heard some concerns, genuine concerns, that this Bill, AB 715, could be used to suppress certain kinds of viewpoints on campus, in the classroom. How would you respond to those concerns?

And can you explain the intent and how the Bill is designed to try to protect students from harassment, all students from harassment, frankly, without silencing legitimate academic debate in an academic classroom setting.

First of all, let me start by talking a little bit about sort of the assertion and the concern that this is intended to silence educators and silence legitimate academic debate. First of all, we deeply value teachers. We recognize that they are professionals who profoundly are dedicated to the service of our students.

This Bill will put protections in place that will ensure that material taught in schools and is balanced, fair, factual, and won't harm Jewish or any other students. We're not looking to micromanage teachers in the classroom. But, you know, I think it's fair to say that when we're talking about our schools, not everything goes in the classroom.

I mean, imagine if someone decided to teach that being LGBTQ is wrong or sinful, or imagine someone introducing elementary school kids to racist talking points. Those would clearly be inappropriate, and there would be no debate about that.

So this is looking at the kinds of protections that are sort of similar to make sure that we actually have a safe and supportive school climate for Jewish and all students. And that is really what the intention of this Bill is.

There's a lot that's been said about this Bill that it doesn't have anything to do with what's written in the intent language. A lot of assertions were made that, frankly, we haven't actually gotten to the point of actually negotiating the operative language with other Members of the diversity caucuses with the stakeholders that are in the community.

And all of that is still to occur now. And I'll leave it to Assemblymember Addis to respond to whether or not this Bill prevents discussion of Palestine and Israel in the classroom, because I think people have asserted today that it would prohibit any kind of instruction in that area.

Well, first of all, thank you for the question. And I too, want to thank all who have come here to express their thinking and their views on our public education system, and particularly those who have come to say that they too, are against anti Semitism and against any form of hate in our schools.

And I also would like to, to welcome the opposition and the tweeners to continue in conversation with us, as we've done for almost two years now, with a variety of folks that have deep, deep connection and emotion to this issue. And it's clear that there is a lot of pain in this room.

There's a lot of pain when it comes to these discussions. And there are also very rich and important discussions at we need to have. We need to have in our schools.

I remind all of us that we're working with K12 students, number one, and that we should be cognizant of the age range of children that we are working with.

And that when we're discussing challenging or potentially controversial topics, which I think is important as children learn and grow, that we have to do that in a way, it's really our charge to do that in a way that continues to make every single child feel welcomed in a in the classroom, regardless of what the topic is.

There's nothing in this Bill that would prevent somebody from having a difficult conversation around any current event that is happening anywhere in the world. And in fact, some of our state standards do call for that. But you have to do that in a way that is welcoming, affirming, and creates a safe and supportive space.

And I will say that, you know, we heard from a student just now who said that she has been called a murderer, that she has been called the Jew, that she has experienced horrific things both in the classroom and on the schoolyard to the extent that she had to leave that school and go to a school that she and her family felt like they could be safe to be at.

We have heard these stories from children, from family after family, from district after district, from every single corner of, of the State of California where children and families are saying that it's one thing to discuss a conflict or controversial issue, it's absolutely another thing to target children.

And I think we need to be clear, and our diversity caucus chairs and our diversity caucuses have certainly been clear in saying that any form of hate directed at a child in our school system is not okay and that we need to have strong, an immediate response to that.

And I do think that our schools need tools to do that. Our school boards and our school districts need tools to do that. And that's what this legislation would do.

So with that in mind, what ways do existing bullying and anti discrimination policies that our school districts have the tools that they currently have, in what ways do they fall short? Speaking specifically in creating these safe, affirming, inclusive environments for all students, particularly for those facing ethnic, ancestral based religious harassment across the board from all categories.

How are we falling short that we need this Bill?

Well, you know, I think what we have heard from families, particularly families who have experienced these situations, is that they aren't listened to, they aren't believed that the response has been lengthy, delayed or not at all, and that they simply haven't been able to get the help that they need.

This Bill would be more explicit in identifying religion and nationality, identifying discrimination around religion and nationality, and then giving tools to be able to respond to that within a timely manner, specifically around anti Semitism, but also around other forms of discrimination.

I would add to that that the UCP system is something that's in place now that already governs this area. So it's not that it's expanding it, although this Bill would make clear when it's appropriate to file UCP complaints.

But I think we're looking at ways of strengthening to make sure that when a parent files a UCP complaint, it just doesn't sit there for months and months and months. And so that is something that we're hopeful will be some strengthening of the, of the law.

I know that one of the comments that was made by CSBA was they raised concerns about, about the Bill.

And what I'd like to point out, if the concerns they raised about the Bill are an existing law, those are not parts that we changed in this Bill so that that's already the Area that you voice concerns about are not about this Bill. Those are already in existing law.

If the chair will allow a couple more questions looking at implementation, should this Bill make it through and across the governor's desk? Can you give me some examples of what you intend for remedies that would be available to the Department of Education in response to a UCP complaint, specifically against a school board Member or even a contractor?

I mean, you know, right now we're in discussions about the Bill. You've seen that it's intent language. It's absolutely our intent to get the Bill more defined and to keep it moving. And that'll be, you know, part of the discussions as we move forward will be what that looks like specifically.

Now, I would say that we've had communications from stakeholders on all sides. I think we do need to talk to csba, to the teachers unions. There are Members of the, of the community that have actually submitted a host of things that we want to look at carefully.

And we also want to make sure that as we do this, we're consulting with stakeholders and with the other primary authors to make sure that what we do is something that everyone is aligned on, completely understood.

I think this is where we, you know, implementation is the key. And having been a school board trustee, we definitely want policies that are feasible and implementable. Otherwise that creates a lot of heartache.

So another one for looking at school boards specifically, as we look at implementation, if should this pass, what kind of increased legal jeopardy could a school district face? Are we talking about legal penalties, et cetera?

I think, again, what we're hearing from families, just to get back to the core of the issues, what we're hearing from families is that their complaints are simply not responded to or they're not responded to in a timely manner. So, you know, the goal is to be able to address antisemitism when it occurs. The unfortunate situation.

And I just, you know, I've invited our colleagues from CSBA to join us in addressing antisemitism that has occurred at the school board level. I would love for them to join us and just say that that's not okay. But the unfortunate situation is that anti Semitism has, has happened at the school board level.

It's happened sort of district wide in some situations. And that's the thing that we need to get at how that happens and the very specifics of that. You know, we're still in conversations around how this all gets formulated.

And I'll say again that we would love the input of, you know, the opposition as well as supporters to form this policy as we move forward and.

To address the concerns of those who have said this was a very rapid process getting to the current State of 7:15. My understanding is that you are completely open and willing to work with the concerns that are being raised here today to make sure we do get this policy correct as it moves forward.

My hope is that we create learning environments where all kids feel safe, included and able to obtain a high quality public education. This is what we hope to do in California. A free and public education for all children in California is in our constitution. We want to make that a reality here.

So I look forward to seeing you working with the opposition to make sure we get to a point where the Bill is feasible and implementable. And I appreciate that this is intent language.

As a freshman board Member or Assembly Member here, I understand that sometimes we do let things move because they need to move, but that there's still work to be done. And I acknowledge that there's still work to be done on this Bill.

But I'm willing to let it go through at this time with a commitment from the authors that they will continue to work on it as it goes to the next Committee and the Committee after that. I will get another chance to vote on this formally.

This is just to get it out of Committee so that you can continue to work on it.

Thank you. Before move to Mr. Lowenthal, I think Mr. Machado with School Board Association wanted to respond to one of the comments made.

I appreciate that. Thank you. And just to clarify, so the change that the Bill is making to education code 244 is new. It is adding the word allow in that in that instance. And we're saying that that does significantly. Change. How districts are, how they could be a complaint that's filed pursuant to that.

It's not clear because districts don't currently allow specific materials to be used in the classroom. They do adopt curriculum. They do adopt instructional materials, but they're not looking at specific titles that are being used by teachers. They're not looking at teacher syllabus.

This would appear to put boards in that position to have to allow or disallow because if they don't disallow, then we're concerned that there could be complaints filed that would assert that a board allowed something because it didn't disallow it. So we're concerned about opening up that that arena in those complaints.

The last thing I'll add too is that under 1078, around complaints there was there is an opportunity for complaints to be filed directly with the, with the Superintendent.

So if there is, and there are timelines for response on these complaints now, so there are options available locally and then under the UCP CDE can act on those complaints before the district acts on those complaints.

All right, thank you, Mr. Goldberg.

This may be the first time the school board is speaking in favor of the Teachers Union speaking in front of the favor of the school board. But you could just to take his point a little bit farther because that is a significant change. That is a significant change.

And if that gets happens with school boards, you can imagine then the pressure being put on classroom educators right when they're there saying I can't allow this, you cannot do this in the classroom, that becomes weaponized. You can see how very easily that would happen.

Secondly, as I point out my comments, you can imagine this is happening across the state where we have extremist school boards.

You can imagine what they would and would not allow in classrooms, would in fact deny students an education on a well rounded stuff, weaponize this language in this proposed law to make sure that students don't get a well rounded education around certain issues that that extremist school board would consider controversial.

Could you give an example where you're thinking about an extremist cohort?

Yeah, no, maybe I shouldn't, but. But I mean it's happening across the state and you see how there's fights about a bunch of different issues across the state around issues with a whole range of issues. And now you're telling school boards that they are responsible for what is allowed.

You could see how that could be weaponized and how they would use that tool unintended, probably, but they would use that tool to then really aggressively push what happens in classrooms. So this impacts both school boards and classroom educators.

Mr. Subur.

So first of all, I wanted to just clarify that when I indicated that the all the changes that were referred to all the Comments related to 244, I was referring to 244b, which of course is the area that wasn't changed. That's existing law.

The the witness is accurate that the change to 244A is a change which actually goes to the issue of making sure that what is being used in the classroom is something that is a product of what folks are focused on when you're filing a UCP complaint.

You know, our goal is really not to, you know, to target teachers.

We I think are have been in two years of working on this and in dialogue with the teachers unions and all the Education associations, we've been very focused on and have pulled back on a number of strategies when we thought that they might be weaponized in ways that are inappropriate in the classroom.

And we're very, very sympathetic to those kinds of issues and looking forward to working with the teachers unions on those issues. But I think the bottom line is we can't have school boards basically walking away from what happens in the classroom based upon whether or not they technically approved the curriculum or they didn't.

And so we've got to find ways of making sure that what students experience in the classroom is something that we have an ability to grapple with, especially when what's happening in the classroom may be anti Semitic or may cause a hostile school climate with the.

Zero, I'm sorry. With the permission of the chair, I'd love for the opposition to get a chance to respond to some of these comments, too.

Please.

If the authors would like to continue, I can wait till after the author speech.

Okay, Ms. Addis.

Thank you. You know, respectfully, I disagree. School boards ultimately are in charge of. Of what happens in the school district. They are the ultimate deciders. But more specifically, 244A is very specific. It says it would be subject. Would subject a pupil to unlawful discrimination pursuant to section 220 of ed code. So 244A is not about controversial topics.

It's not about just picking and choosing. It's not for school boards that just some somehow decide a curriculum isn't right. It's very specifically aligned to ED code 220, which is very much about discrimination in the classroom. And so we just have to be very specific.

We do want to continue to work with opposition to make sure that we are not doing things that are going to open the door unknowingly to really horrible things that we have also heard some school boards do. But that's not what this section of this Bill about.

Thank you.

Thank you. Gabriel Kahn, teacher at Life Academy in Oakland, California. That wasn't easy for me to do, to interrupt. And so I would have waited and deferred, but I was reminded by one of my students last week while we were at a board meeting last month. I'm sorry.

As I was waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting to speak, one of my students said, what are you waiting for? If you don't speak for us, who will? Right. And so that's the energy that I'm here with.

I'm here with the energy of Oakland students who appreciate maturity in the conversations and the resources that we give them to engage with critical conversations. Luckily enough for us, the ED Code already does protect against antisemitism. We don't have to label it separate and apart from other forms of discrimination.

It's protected under discrimination against on the basis of religion. It's protected on the basis of discrimination on ethnicity. And we could go back and forth about whether Judaism is an ethnicity or a religion and still not come to an answer we hear all the time, you know, three Jews, four opinions, right? zero, I'm sorry.

Maybe that's not anti Semitism. So these conversations continue to happen, and they happen in safe classrooms all over this, all over this state with trusting teachers who have their students in mind. In addition to that, I was heartbroken to hear the testimony of somebody of the young student who was here, who was called.

I did not write it down. I'm sorry. But there were many pejoratives that are definitely anti Semitic. Right. And what I heard, when I heard those statements is a need for the education that we would provide if allowed to talk about the difference between Judaism and Zionism. Right. And whether or not.

Whether or not that's included in the definition of anti Semitism. This Bill would invariably result in less instructional, sorry, fewer instructional minutes spent on the discussion of Israel and Palestine because teachers would be afraid and school boards would be afraid to touch the subject.

So we don't get at the root of that problem that our student, colleague and brave speaker had. We actually continue to perpetuate the same things that make Jews unsafe in schools because we make teachers and school boards afraid to talk about them.

And so if you want to find, we have plenty of ways, and please talk to us about the ways that we engage students in hard conversations amongst people of different ethnic backgrounds and needs and priorities to create spaces where they can have conversations oftentimes more bravely than we can as adults.

But I really want to encourage us to not because we have a hard time having those conversations, not perpetuate that onto the younger generation. They are ready to have those conversations in safe ways.

And when we talk about my last comment, you know, this idea that we hope to get this policy correct as we move it forward, I encourage us to think about this Committee as a classroom. And we would never give somebody an A on work that doesn't meet the expectations and say, well, get better next time, right?

We would say, hey, go back to correct your work. Come back. Here are the expectations that we have, and we need this piece of work that you've turned in to meet the expectations so we can give you the grade that you deserve.

Passing this Bill should be the endorsement of this Committee that this Bill is ready for the Assembly floor. And so I implore us to have the conversation here about this Bill being problematic in many ways around censorship around the definition of Zionism and Judaism.

And I would invite a question later about just how the explicit nature of calling out anti Zionism separate from other forms of hate is problematic.

I will end my time here, but I would really invite the chairs, the Committee to have that conversation around why we're pulling anti Semitism out from other forms of hate and discrimination as separate and apart and exceptional from those other forms. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Lowenthal. Mr. Alvarez. Anyone else in the queue? Ms. Bonta? Okay.

Okay. First of all, I want to acknowledge the obvious, the deep levels of pain that so many people in this room are experiencing and the unbelievable levels of mistrust that exist between the folks here that are all advocating for the best interests of our children.

Two people here that I didn't know were going to be here today from different points in my life, one of whom was a camp counselor, that I had a Jewish overnight camp. I grew up in Long Beach, California, where I represent today is not a huge Jewish community at all.

I was the only Jewish kid in my school and I would be, you know, stood up in school around any Christian holiday to always talk about the equivalent Jewish holiday. My teachers who always thought that was well intentioned opportunity for me to talk about my culture ultimately ended up in bullying that would take place for me.

And that's the experience of many Jews and many other ethnic groups in California. Well intentioned discourse can actually have an unintended consequence as a result. And going to that Jewish camp, I felt a different level of comfort, of acceptance and so forth.

I also want to acknowledge one of my best friends is here who is here to speak in opposition of this Bill and his sister is here who has worked and dedicated his her entire life at Iraq. And I want to acknowledge the pain and the indignity with which Palestinian Americans and certainly the Palestinians are feeling right now.

There's nothing that we should be doing in the Legislature to add to that indignity. Take away from any of those things, I want to paint a different type of picture for everybody. All of the discourse that I've heard in this room today is about misunderstanding.

It is about the Arab Israeli conflict and it is certainly about when one side is determining how the other side should feel about the issue of antisemitism. And what is anti Semitic and what is not.

I can tell you, not as a Legislator, but as a dad of three kids in public schools, that antisemitism in our schools is a problem. It's not the only problem. It's not necessarily driven by curricula. It's a problem. All three of my daughters deal with, antisemitism.

And it gets amplified by digital life today, the way kids communicate with each other and the way they amplify those things. And it's truly, truly, truly challenging. In our community, we're alarmed by empirical data. Antisemitism is up. Antisemitic events are up 360% in the last 18 months.

For a community that has such awful generational trauma, it's not something that we're easily able to let go of.

What we should try to do today and on the other side of today is to listen to each other, to understand each other, to validate each other, and to try to work with each other to come up with ways by which all sides can be validated.

And you start by acknowledging the trauma and the pain the other side is in. With very respect to the opposition, I must disagree. It is not how bills are made. Oftentimes get the viewpoints of stakeholders along the process, including our colleagues that are not here in this Committee and certainly on the Senate.

And we value the input people as yourself and others, and we incorporate that input in the process, along the way. So we are beginning a journey together, and your input is critically important, and we will make informed decisions based on that input, try to incorporate those feelings and those views as we go along.

I'd like to ask a question, though. I'll ask this question for both the authors and for the opposition. I don't see anywhere in this Bill the mention of Israel or Palestine.

Can you affirm to the author, can you affirm that this Bill does not intend to silence nuanced, balanced discussions over controversial topics, and that this Bill is only a means to draw a line between lessons that are appropriate for a classroom in a way that's not biased, so that students coming from families of all different viewpoints can feel valid.

And I invite both sides to answer this question, please.

Well, thank you, Assemblymember. And I really want to thank you for your empathy and the understanding that you have for the deep pain that is in this room and that there's a lot happening in the world, particularly in this issue, that has caused communities deep, deep pain for generations.

There is nothing in this Bill that would prevent the teaching around Israel and Palestine. However, what is Important when teaching that topic or any other topic is that every child is made to feel welcomed, safe, affirmed, supported during what could be very, very difficult conversations.

And so if we have situations in our schools where a child is being called a murderer, that would be contrary to creating a safe and supportive environment, that would be contrary to a fair, balanced and fact presentation of a conflict.

So, you know, as we've discussed here, it's very important for our schools to be able to discuss difficult issues, particularly in high school.

I do think we need to think about age appropriateness, but I do think that our students in high school should be digging into difficult and challenging kinds of conversations, but they shouldn't be put at risk, they shouldn't be targeted, they shouldn't be told that they are bad people.

They shouldn't be subject to the kinds of tropes that were described at the very beginning of this hearing or the kinds of rhetoric that was described at the beginning of this hearing, both by our very eloquent witness who is a student herself, but also by Assembly Members of Burr.

And I'm reticent to repeat any of that rhetoric or tropes because we've heard so many of them so much of the time. There's absolutely a way to teach about conflict without leaning into anti Semitism or any other kind of hate. And that's what this Bill is looking for.

I thank the author for their words. And taken at face value, I would agree that when we read this text, it does not mention Israel or Palestine. Importantly, it would be weird if it did.

Unfortunately, for those of us who care deeply about this issue, or for, like me, someone who has consistently been identified with a group of people who I have no affiliation or connection with.

We've been watching a particularly interesting strategy that I think this Committee needs to hear about, which is define antisemitism separate and apart from other forms of hate, and then change the definition of antisemitism to include critiques of Israel. The IHRA definition might be a term that we've heard in this Committee or otherwise.

Like, I'm not sure if the IHRA definition of anti Semitism has crossed your desk, but it does conflate criticism of Israel with Judaism or, sorry, with anti Semitism. That is a really dangerous place for us to be as a Jew, that those sorts of connections make spaces less safe for me to include. Right.

So what we see in this, what we fear and the opposition fears in this text, is that this is step one of a second step, which is redefining antisemitism to include critiques of Israel that would ban the use of the term apartheid, for example, when examining or describing what is happening in the West Bank because it is a critique of the Jewish ethnostate that is promised to Jewish people.

That is the fear that we've seen over and over again in other places where the IHRA definition or a similar definition of anti Semitism has come to the desk. And so we need that opposition to happen to be named up front to avoid those exact things which would result in censorship at the school wide level.

So perhaps this Bill could go further. If we redefined antisemitism specifically to include the discrimination of Jewish people solely based on their ethnicity or their religion, then perhaps the opposition would have a different opinion on this Bill to be separate and apart from Israel.

I appreciate response and I can assure you of the, you know, each and every Member of the Legislative Jewish Caucus that this is their loan priority Bill is extremely critical of the government of Israel, just as we are extremely critical of the federal Administration, each and every one of us.

And that makes us more patriotic, not less so. While I can identify with the fears that you have, I invite you to work with the authors on ways that can validate that fear and at the same time validate the very things that I'm talking about right now. The blaming of all Jews for the actions of some.

The notion that Jews are loyal only to themselves and not to their country of birth or choice. The myth of the blood libel. The idea that because a complex and a truly awful, awful war is rampaging, that all Jews, despite their protestations, are complicit. That is dangerous.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Mr. Alvarez. Thank you. Thank you to the chair and thank you to the thank you to the authors and thank you to the Members of the public for the discourse and the certainly the lead witnesses, but also the testimony.

This has been an issue, as was stated by the authors of a couple of years, and over the course of the time I've had the opportunity to meet with individuals in the community who are both opposed to the author's efforts and supportive of the efforts. And it has not always been so civil as it has been today.

And I think it's important to acknowledge that when we can have discussions in a way that we can hear each other, we can potentially get to a solution that is better for all of us. And so I thank those of you who have done so today and with me personally through hearing from you.

I don't have the lived experience of the Jewish community. And so I think I'd like to share with all of you here and just publicly something I've said before, but maybe never crystallize this particular way.

As an individual who doesn't have a lived experience, who doesn't have the experience on a subject matter, and we deal with every subject matter in the State of California, and there's different committees that we have here in the Legislature, it's our duty to learn more and to understand better and to try and be as informed as possible.

And I try very, very difficult, very hard to accomplish that. And there's two things that I take in mind as I am making decisions on whether I vote for something or against something.

And first and foremost, the question has to be is there a problem in California with this particular issue and what this Bill and what this author is trying to resolve? And I think it is unquestionable and can't say it any better than our colleague from Long Beach.

The anti Semitism is unfortunately something that is happening in our state. And so if you've met that threshold, then the second question that I ask myself is are you working in a way that's productive to address that issue? And is the solution are you working on a solution towards getting to a final product that gets us there?

And I think the answer to that question for me is that these authors in particular over the last couple of years have been working on this. And the solution that was presented to this problem only a few months ago was something that was different than what's before us today.

And to me, that speaks volume about whether the author is willing to listen to others perspectives, to work in ways to correct course with what their solution is. So I want to point that out because as was stated also from our colleague, this is not like a final exam in a classroom.

This is a process that goes through significant discussion, debate and amendments. And our job as Members of committees is to make sure that we make those clear, that we make those positions clear, and those concerns clear to the authors because we will be voting again at some point.

And if those issues aren't addressed, then perhaps our votes today may be different tomorrow. And so I do want to acknowledge that and I think I've heard and I would like to give the authors another opportunity.

There are some challenges that have been presented as it relates to implementation and certainly the concerns of the opposition as it relates to the ability to make sure that that we are teaching what we all want to teach our kids, which is a way to be respectful and to treat each other the way that we would like anybody to be treated.

And there are concerns from a very technical aspect on implementation. And I think there are some validity in that concerns from what I'm hearing. So I'd like to give you the opportunity to respond to some of those concerns and any thoughts that you'd like to add to to those concerns.

So I think first of all, we, as you know, we've been working on trying to address the impact that Jewish students have been experiencing in schools over the last couple years, which has actually increased after the October 7th.

And we have looked at a number of ways in which we might address that and have actually course corrected a number of times now.

And where we're headed is due to the discussions that we have actually had, not only with our colleagues in the other diversity caucuses, but also other stakeholders, some of whom are sitting at this table with us.