Witnesses tell hearing antisemitic content appears in K-12 curricula and teacher training

At a hearing chaired by Chairman McAllister, witnesses told committee members that antisemitic content appears across K–12 curricula, teachers’ colleges and some foreign-funded programs, and that one recent lawsuit led to a settlement requiring curricular changes.

The testimony centered on how materials and training influence classrooms and on a legal settlement tied to one school district. “Antisemitism is a terrible cancer that’s not only threatens the well-being of Jewish students, but also the emotional and spiritual health of every other student affected by it,” a Committee member said, adding that the inquiry has recurred “for the last two years.”

That committee member and other witnesses described concerns about teacher-preparation programs. “Teachers today in teachers’ colleges are not learning how to be better educators, how to teach phonics,” said Miss Neely, a witness who identified herself with Defending Education. “Instead, they are learning to view the world through an oppressor oppressed matrix. … If you have been in that program for 4, 6, 8 years, [you come] out at the other end … a complete and utter believer.” Neely characterized those curricula as steeped in “critical race theory, queer theory, anti‑whiteness, privilege” and said the teacher‑licensing pipeline requires degrees from such programs.

Miss Lehman of the Brandeis Center described a procedural lawsuit the group brought against the Santa Ana school district. She said discovery in that case showed committee members discussing how to “handle the Jewish problem” and arranging meetings at times they expected Jewish members would not attend. “We reached a settlement with them that they had to stop teaching these curricula that were full of anti‑Israel and anti‑Semitic content,” Lehman said. Under the settlement, she said, the district agreed to work with Jewish organizations to create alternative content and to follow California’s framework on teaching “controversial issues,” which Lehman described as a requirement to present multiple perspectives and to allow student disagreement.

Dr. Jafosukinski addressed foreign funding, saying some materials originate from outside the United States. “Part of that is coming from Qatari Foundation International where they’re funding Arabic language and culture classes in multiple school districts in multiple states,” Dr. Jafosukinski said, and added that some course material “demoniz[es] the state of Israel and also misdefin[es] Jews as an ethno religious group.”

Witnesses framed the concern as both an immediate classroom problem and a longer‑term pipeline issue, noting that early education is where they said ideas can spread quickly. The testimony described allegations, past litigation and a settlement affecting one district; the hearing record provided no vote or committee action directing policy changes during the session.

Committee members and witnesses urged that the matter be addressed but did not record a formal committee decision in the transcript provided. The witnesses said the inquiry has been ongoing for roughly two years and called for further steps to stop what they described as hateful instruction in schools.