AB 715 and SB 48 Address Antisemitism and Discrimination in Schools

01.05.2026

On October 7, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 715 and its companion measure, Senate Bill (“SB”) 48, relating to educational equity and discrimination. Both laws will take effect January 1, 2026.

Creation of a Statewide Office of Civil Rights

AB 715 amends various sections of the Education Code to create a statewide Office of Civil Rights under the Government Operations Agency to work directly with local educational agencies (“LEAs”) to prevent and address discrimination and bias. The Office of Civil Rights is required to, among other things, provide education and educational resources to identify and prevent antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and bias, share relevant laws and regulations with educational state agencies, school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and community stakeholders. It also must employ an “Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator” to develop, consult, and provide antisemitism education to schools in order to identify and proactively prevent antisemitism in educational settings. In addition, SB 48 requires the Office of Civil Rights to create discrimination prevention coordinator[1] positions to address religious, racial, gender, and LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Uniform Complaint Procedures (“UCP”)

Existing law allows parties involved in the investigation of a written complaint of prohibited discrimination under the UCP to appeal the action of the school district’s governing board to the California Department of Education (“CDE”). Previously, complainants could request CDE intervention based on the failure to timely issue an investigation report.  Effective January 1, 2026, AB 715 amends Education Code section 262.3 to grant parties a statutory right to appeal to the CDE based on the governing board’s failure to issue an investigation report within a certain timeline.

Notably, AB 715 and SB 48 do not seek to elevate complaints of certain types of discrimination over others, nor do they create a new complaint process. The OCR and Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator will not conduct intake or investigations for complaints. Rather, the existing UCP remains the formal, operative complaint procedure for processing discrimination claims.

Instructional Materials

Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district, county board of education, or charter school from adopting or approving the use of any textbook, instructional or supplemental instructional material, or curriculum if its use would subject a pupil to unlawful discrimination. AB 715 adds to this, prohibiting the adoption or approval of the use of professional development materials or services to train teachers and staff that promote, endorse, or otherwise support the use of textbooks, instructional materials, supplemental instructional materials, or curriculum that would subject a pupil to unlawful discrimination. Further, the bill prohibits instructional materials found to have resulted in unlawful discrimination to be used in any course offerings. Under the new law, instructional materials must be “factually accurate” and align with adopted curriculum and existing standards, rather than advocacy, personal opinion, or bias.

If the State Superintendent of Public Instruction determines, pursuant to a complaint filed with the Superintendent directly or an appeal of a LEA decision regarding a complaint, that a LEA adopted or used such discriminatory materials, the LEA must take “specified corrective action.”[2] If the unlawful discrimination involves antisemitism, an improvement plan must be created in consultation with the Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator.

The discriminatory bias in instruction or school-sponsored activities need not directly harm the members of a protected group, nor must members of a protected group be present while the discriminatory bias is occurring, for the instruction or school-sponsored activity to be considered discriminatory.

Annual Notification

Existing law requires school districts’ governing boards to annually notify parents or guardians of specified rights and responsibilities of the parent or guardian and district policies and procedures. This annual notification must now also advise parents or guardians of the protections, requirements, and responsibilities prescribed in AB 715.

AB 715 also requires the CDE to notify all LEAs by October 1 every year of the protections, requirements, and responsibilities prescribed in the various laws amended by AB 715 referenced above. In addition, the bill requires the Superintendent, in consultation with the Executive Director of the state Board and the Antisemitism Prevention Coordinator, to develop and maintain a distinct website containing resources and information specific to antisemitism.

Impact on California Educational Agencies

The enactment of AB 715 and SB 48 reflects the state legislature’s intent to curtail and proactively prevent antisemitism and other forms of discrimination in public schools. Although the bills received widespread support within the legislature, they drew significant criticism from educators, civil rights advocates, and free speech groups who cautioned that AB 715 may have unintended consequences for classroom discussions on controversial issues. The American Civil Liberties Union and the California Teachers Association voiced particularly strong opposition to AB 715 based on its vague and overbroad definitions of antisemitism and “factually accurate” instructional materials. During a Senate Education Committee hearing, attended by 500+ constituents who voiced their support or opposition for the bill, several senators voiced similar concerns about the structure and definitions of AB 715, and asked the authors to commit to continuing to work with the Committee to address remaining issues.

It is not clear what this ongoing commitment to the “remaining issues” will look like now that these bills have been enacted and go into effect on January 1, 2026, but this could indicate future “clean-up” bills which may, for example, clarify ambiguous definitions.

LEAs should ensure all complaints alleging unlawful discrimination are processed timely under the LEA’s Uniform Complaint Procedures. LEAs should also review appeal rights for discrimination claims and annual notification requirements to ensure compliance under AB 715 in the new calendar year.

AALRR attorneys will continue to monitor further legislative updates and structural changes to the California Department of Education to provide updated guidance for educational agencies.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding AB 715, please contact the authors of this alert or your usual AALRR counsel.

[1] SB 48 amends the Education Code to create the following additional roles within the newly-established Office of Civil Rights: Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, and LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator.

[2] Such “specified corrective action” includes, but is not limited to: (A) obtaining technical assistance from the Office of Civil Rights; (B) Requiring LEAs to engage in regular reporting to the Office of Civil Rights and to use alternative instructional materials; and (C) require the LEA, in consultation with the Office of Civil Rights, to develop and implement an improvement plan to address discrimination and bias at its school sites.

This AALRR publication is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in reaching a conclusion in a particular area of law. Applicability of the legal principles discussed may differ substantially in individual situations. Receipt of this or any other AALRR publication does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Firm is not responsible for inadvertent errors that may occur in the publishing process.

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