ICAN Statement Urging Californians to Stay Engaged Following Governor Newsom’s Signing of AB 715

Key Points:

• What Happened: Governor Newsom signed AB 715 today. During the Senate Education Committee hearing, lawmakers systematically removed the bill’s antisemitism definition, enforcement mechanisms, and investigative authority. The final legislation creates an Office of Civil Rights coordinator who cannot investigate complaints or enforce protections — only provide “technical assistance.”
• ICAN’s Position: We are grateful to the bill authors and supporters for starting a conversation about antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination in California schools. However, lawmakers made clear during the hearing that AB 715 serves primarily as legislative cover to advance the Ethnic Studies mandate, not as a genuine civil rights enforcement tool. Senator Lena Gonzalez stated: “The diversity caucuses want Ethnic Studies. We absolutely believe in Ethnic Studies. We want Ethnic Studies to move forward.”
• What’s Next: Governor Newsom’s signing statement promises “follow-up” legislation in 2026 to address concerns about requirements like factual accuracy in instruction. ICAN will closely monitor implementation and any follow-up legislation. We also encourage the community to stay ready and prepared to advocate in 2026 to ensure AB 715 becomes a foundation for genuine protections rather than cover for the Ethnic Studies mandate. The conversation must continue.

Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 715 today. First and foremost, ICAN is grateful to the bill authors for introducing legislation that started a conversation around antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination in California’s public schools. We initially supported this legislation because it appeared to create a foundation for addressing these issues and establishing enforceable civil rights protections against antisemitism in California schools — potentially building toward the framework in Senate Bill 1421 (2024).

However, during the September 10, 2025, Senate Education Committee hearing, lawmakers detailed the drastic changes made to AB 715 and explained their reasoning — raising serious concerns that the bill serves primarily as legislative cover to advance the Ethnic Studies mandate rather than as a genuine civil rights tool to protect Jewish and Israeli-American students.

Senator Lena Gonzalez, a diversity caucus chair, made the priorities clear during the AB 715 hearing: “The diversity caucuses want Ethnic Studies. We absolutely believe in Ethnic Studies. We want Ethnic Studies to move forward.”

Lawmakers positioned AB 715 as necessary to “address concerns” around Ethnic Studies — creating the appearance of action on antisemitism, effectively neutralizing future opposition to their actual priority: expanding Ethnic Studies funding and triggering the AB 101 (2021) graduation mandate.

Governor Newsom’s signing statement makes clear this is far from over. He references a “follow-up measure next year” to address “urgent concerns about unintended consequences” — specifically about requirements around factually accurate instruction and other measures that California teachers unions viewed as punitive.

This indicates that the relevant statutes will be revisited in 2026, while AB 715 provides Ethnic Studies activists with the legislative cover to assert that concerns about antisemitism have been addressed.

To make AB 715 palatable as an Ethnic Studies prerequisite, lawmakers systematically stripped away major elements. Education Committee chair Senator Sasha Renee Perez detailed the gutting during the September 10th hearing:

On removing the antisemitism definition 

“There was a definition of antisemitism that was included in AB 715 Previously… that equated… antisemitism with criticisms of Israel. This was a major issue and that was removed.” She continued: “The bill does not directly define antisemitism and it no longer defines or includes provisions specific to an antisemitic learning environment.”

On eliminating enforcement authority

“The Office of Civil Rights and Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator established by this bill would not function for the intake or investigation of complaints. This office will not be doing investigations.”

The result is an antisemitism coordinator who cannot investigate antisemitism, cannot enforce antisemitism protections, and exists only to provide “technical assistance” alongside other discrimination prevention coordinators. All actual enforcement remains with the existing backlogged Uniform Complaint Process, which lacks the capacity to address antisemitism effectively without clear definitions and support.

Senator Perez acknowledged that “unfortunately, as we discuss these issues around antisemitism, much of it has become conflicted with what is happening right now in Gaza.” She then shared her personal views, stating that it is a “fact that Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal” and that “what is happening in Gaza is criminal.”

The priority was ensuring that criticism of Israel — and by extension, public school activism against Israel — would not be constrained by any new provisions of law. Ethnic Studies curricula, which have included deeply problematic content about Jews and Israel, needed legislative cover. 

We are grateful that AB 715 has initiated an important conversation about antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination in California’s public schools. We hope that the conversation continues.

The 2026 legislative session will determine whether AB 715 serves as a foundation for genuine protections or legislative cover for the AB 101 Ethnic Studies mandate. 

ICAN will closely monitor the implementation of this and any follow-up legislation. Our goal remains enforcement mechanisms for existing law that actually protect Jewish and Israeli-American students from discrimination in California schools. We encourage the community to stay ready and prepared to advocate for safer classrooms in 2026.