The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has filed a federal suit seeking to block a new California law that creates an Office of Civil Rights to address antisemitism in schools, arguing the statute is vague and chills free speech. Plaintiffs — including public-school teachers, students and Los Angeles Educators for Justice in Palestine — say the law could be applied to classroom material critical of Israel or Zionism. Supporters, including the Anti-Defamation League, argue stronger protections were needed after hundreds of antisemitic incidents were reported in K-12 schools last year. The case will test how to balance anti-discrimination protections with First Amendment rights in public education.
California Antisemitism Law Challenged in Court Over Free-Speech Concerns
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has filed a federal suit seeking to block a new California law that creates an Office of Civil Rights to address antisemitism in schools, arguing the statute is vague and chills free speech. Plaintiffs — including public-school teachers, students and Los Angeles Educators for Justice in Palestine — say the law could be applied to classroom material critical of Israel or Zionism. Supporters, including the Anti-Defamation League, argue stronger protections were needed after hundreds of antisemitic incidents were reported in K-12 schools last year. The case will test how to balance anti-discrimination protections with First Amendment rights in public education.
09:35, 03.11.2025Politics
SAN FRANCISCO — Lawsuit seeks to block new state measure protecting Jewish students
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a recently enacted California law intended to protect Jewish students from discrimination, arguing the statute is unconstitutionally vague and infringes on teachers' and students' First Amendment rights.
The complaint, filed Sunday in federal court in San Jose, asks judges to overturn legislation Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last month that creates an Office of Civil Rights to help schools identify and prevent antisemitism. Lawmakers advanced the bill amid heightened political tensions in the U.S. over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Central concern: The statute, which takes effect Jan. 1, does not define "antisemitism," and plaintiffs say that omission leaves educators uncertain about what classroom speech or instructional materials could be deemed discriminatory. The complaint contends teachers may reasonably fear they could be accused of discrimination "if they expose their students to ideas, information, and instructional materials that may be considered critical of the State of Israel and the philosophy of Zionism."
"They censor themselves very broadly because they don't know what's going to get them into trouble," said Jenin Younes, national legal director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The lawsuit names individual California public-school teachers and students as plaintiffs and also includes the group Los Angeles Educators for Justice in Palestine. One named plaintiff, middle school science teacher Jonah Olson, says students in his rural, largely Christian district often ask what it means to be Jewish; he tells them his Judaism does not necessarily include support for the State of Israel and now fears that expressing that distinction could be treated as a violation under the new law.
Parents involved in the case say they worry the measure could prevent students from learning multiple perspectives about Israel, Palestine and the Middle East. Plaintiffs emphasize that the law's lack of clear standards has a "chilling effect" on classroom discussion and academic inquiry.
Supporters of the law, including the Anti-Defamation League, say additional protections were necessary after a rise in harassment and bullying of Jewish and Israeli students. The ADL reported 860 antisemitic incidents — including harassment, vandalism and assault — at non-Jewish K-12 schools nationwide last year, a figure it described as 26% lower than the previous year but still far higher than in 2022.
The dispute sets the stage for a legal battle over how schools should balance the need to protect students from discrimination with teachers' rights to discuss contentious international and political issues in class. The court will ultimately weigh whether the law's language provides sufficient guidance to avoid unconstitutional restraints on speech.