Senate committee advances AB 715 to create civil‑rights office and antisemitism coordinator after heated hearing

The California State Senate Education Committee voted to send Assembly Bill 715 to the Senate Judiciary Committee after an evening of testimony that included hundreds of public commenters and sharply divided views from education groups, civil‑rights advocates and community leaders.

AB 715, authored in the Assembly by Assemblymember Zabir and coauthored by Assemblymember Don Addis, would establish an Office of Civil Rights at the state level and an antisemitism prevention coordinator to provide technical assistance and prevention resources to local education agencies. The committee approved the bill 6–0 with one recorded abstention and referred it to Senate Judiciary.

The bill’s authors framed AB 715 as a targeted response to a rise in antisemitic incidents in California schools. "This bill should not be controversial. This bill is about values that we all share: safety, dignity, and equality and protecting all of our students," Assemblymember Zabir told the committee, citing recent incidents and the authors’ work with education stakeholders.

Student and religious leaders urged lawmakers to act quickly. Lev Miller Ruderman, a sophomore at San Lorenzo Valley High School, described being targeted by classmates and said, "By being bystanders, they were complicit in…