The bill that offers a much-needed civil rights response to the rise in antisemitic incidents in K–12 settings
Over the last several years, as issues have arisen, and a response from the Jewish community has been needed, our Jewish Federation has served as that voice. As a result, we have found ourselves in need to advocate on a variety of different issues, including the rise of antisemitism.
As you may remember, back in the spring of 2023, our Jewish Federation worked diligently to get 29 of our community’s 48 city councils to adopt resolutions condemning antisemitism and all forms of hate. While I knew that this would not eliminate antisemitism, it was clear to me that this was a way we could address and confront the rise of antisemitism locally. I firmly believe that for us to diminish the frequency with which antisemitism takes place, we need to hit it from all sides, looking at every possible way to combat it.
This is why, for the last couple of months, my colleagues and I in other Jewish organizations have been rallying behind AB 715, a bill to tackle the rise of antisemitism in California’s elementary, middle, and high schools.
In the 2023 Annual LA County Hate Crimes Report, the data showed that anti-Jewish hate incidents surged by 153% to the largest number of anti-Jewish crimes ever recorded in the history of this report. These incidents accounted for 90% of all religiously motivated hate incidents. (It is important to remember that this report came out before Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, leading to an exponential increase in anti-Jewish hate and sentiment since then.) And hate crimes taking place at schools grew 46% and accounted for 10% of all hate crimes.
Sadly, as the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes has grown, they have found their way into our elementary, middle, and high schools over the last several years. Jewish students are increasingly experiencing bias-based incidents that disrupt their sense of belonging and ability to focus on learning. Schools must address these issues with care, transparency, and accountability to address the growing sense of intimidation and a lack of protection. In January 2024, the DOJ released a first-of-its-kind report stating that hate crimes had steadily increased since 2020. And the report also indicated that schools were now the third most common location for reported hate crimes in the US. And instances of anti-Jewish offenses were second to anti-Black or African-American offenses. According to the report, the most frequently reported offenses at schools were “Intimidation, Destruction/Damage/Vandalism, and Simple Assault.”
And even with this report, we know that a significant majority of hate incidents, including anti-Jewish hate incidents, go unreported in schools as well as in society. When hate incidents occur at schools, most often school administrators attempt to handle them internally and rarely report them, despite offers from our Jewish Federation and other organizations to work with local school districts to encourage them to utilize outside resources.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of sufficient clarity and guidance, school administrators are ill-equipped to address antisemitic incidents, leaving students to feel unsupported. AB 715 can help bridge this gap by ensuring schools are better equipped to respond appropriately and equitably.
When students do not feel safe in their learning environment, it is the school’s responsibility to improve the situation. I am fully aware that there is opposition to this bill because there’s a perception that it will limit free speech. But what this bill does is help protect Jewish students from feeling isolated, intimidated, and ridiculed, often leaving many to feel unsafe in the place where they should be protected. School should be a place where students feel comfortable and supported in learning and growing. However, when students feel intimidated and scared and feel they need to hide their identity, school officials, as well as elected officials, must take action to make the students feel safer than they currently do. AB 715 will do this.
There is an urgent need and opportunity for California’s schools to strengthen protections and cultivate a climate of inclusion for Jewish students, aligning with their existing support for other vulnerable groups. AB 715 offers a much-needed civil rights response to the rise in antisemitic incidents in K–12 settings. It brings parity to how antisemitism is addressed within existing anti-discrimination frameworks and offers a systematic and long-overdue response to the alarming rise in antisemitism across California’s K-12 schools.
This is why I am doing what I can to help get this bill passed, as it will help Jewish students feel safe and proud of their Jewish identity.
Jason Moss is executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Greater
San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.
