Newsom Approves Attacks on Free Speech in CA Schools!
Photo Credit: CNN
Today, on October 7, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 715 and SB 48, companion bills that censor free speech, while pretending to prevent discrimination within public schools. These bills establish a new regulatory body under the guise of tackling antisemitism, but in reality they invite a crackdown against teachers and the freedom to teach the histories of the oppressed. This comes at the same time as the Trump Administration is orchestrating a broad crackdown on free speech and progressive movements, especially in education where the administration is currently demanding that nine universities sign a compact that severely curbs free speech in exchange for federal funding.
Though it is framed as a protection against antisemitism, language in AB 715 is clearly intended to prevent criticism of Israel and restrict teachers from teaching the true history of Israeli settler colonialism and genocide. The California Teachers Association, the CFT, and the California Faculty Association, all publicly oppose the legislation. At a time when the people of the world are waking up to the realities of the Israeli occupation and the Republican party is foaming at the mouth to curtail free speech, Newsom, like Trump, seeks to silence popular dissent from war crimes and genocide.
The passing of today’s legislation comes as the UC system is being pressured by Trump to cooperate with antisemitism investigations. Over the last several months, the Trump administration has targeted universities around the country in response to the courageous 2024 nationwide student encampments where thousands of university students mobilized to oppose genocide in Gaza. Rather than defend their students and the right to protest, many university presidents made false accusations of antisemitism against students participating in the encampments, paving the way for the Trump administration to launch an all out attack on major universities and push other facets of the far right agenda, including isolating and vilifying LGBTQ students and educators. In the same fashion, Newsom has now adopted definitions of antisemitism in this legislation that conflate hate speech with teaching about the Palestinian struggle and settler colonialism in K-12 schooling.
Criticizing Israel isn’t antisemitic. It is the valid and necessary response to a genocide which has taken the lives of 20,000+ children. It is chilling to people of conscience that Governor Newsom has signed this bill into law on the 2-year anniversary of the beginning of the genocide. He enacts this legislation at a time when support for the Palestinian cause is at an all-time high, at nearly 60% of adults supporting international recognition of Palestinian statehood, and holding an unfavorable opinion of the Israeli government. Teachers must be allowed to teach the history of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and provide necessary context for young people who are currently witnessing the same scenes of violence and suffering as the rest of us.
The Vote Socialist 2026 campaigns stand with the CTA, CFA, CFT and all those who have opposed AB 715 and SB 48 from the beginning. California faces dire threats to its education system, namely chronic under-funding and attacks from ICE against students and their families. Instead of fully funding education and enacting legislation to protect our public schools from ICE, Newsom is attacking teachers and students who act in solidarity with the people of Palestine. It is our moral duty to defend the right to teach the truth and the real histories of oppressed communities. Just as the Student Movement in the 1960s and 70s won the right to teach and learn about Black and Brown histories and culture, we say NO to censorship and will defend academic freedom for our students and our teachers!
