Bring AB 2159 to the floor

Last year, California passed AB 715, a bill that censors students and teachers in K-12 education, especially about Palestine. AROC Action joined over 100 organizations representing educators, students, labor, faith, community groups, and civil rights advocates in opposing it. This year, Assemblymember Robert Garcia has introduced AB 2159, a bill that addresses the grave issues of censorship in AB 715, and creates safeguards to protect students and educators.

However, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is not allowing AB2159 to be heard in committee. Denying AB 2159 from being heard silences the very discussion about our education that this bill is seeking to address.

Email and call Rivas’s office today and urge him to allow AB 2159 to be heard in committee.

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Step 2: Send Email

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From

Subject Email Text

The Hon. Robert Rivas
Speaker, California Assembly
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0029

Dear Speaker Rivas:

I’m writing to urge a prompt hearing on Assembly Bill 2159 (Garcia) which will address significant problems with last year’s AB 715, especially in light of ongoing and unaddressed concerns raised at the Assembly Education Committee discussion of AB 2615 on April 22, 2026.

Last year, I was deeply disappointed at the disregard for transparency, democratic process, and community input in how AB 715 moved through the legislature, despite the bill garnering widespread opposition from the education community and a diverse coalition of over 100 labor and community organizations. Serious concerns were raised around the threats of censorship and intimidation that AB 715 posed to teachers and students across the state’s K-12 classrooms, especially around education materials and discussion about Palestine.

After multiple attempts on the part of advocates at engaging AB 715 authors, as well as the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, Assemblymember Garcia has drafted AB 2159 to address some of these issues.

- AB 2159 removes the reference to President Biden’s United States National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which includes the widely discredited International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, instead referring back to the existing California Education code, which adequately and equally addresses discrimination against protected classes. As Dr. Kenneth Stern, author of this definition has said: “…enshrining [the IHRA] definition into law would have dangerous consequences, exposing schools to civil-rights investigations simply for allowing lectures, protests, or programs that cast Israel in a negative light.
- AB 715, and its companion bill SB 48, required that the newly created Discrimination Prevention Coordinators be appointed by the Governor. AB2159 ensures that these Coordinators are trained professionals hired through a merit-based civil service process.
- AB 2159 removes the use of vague and subjective terms as a basis for discrimination complaints.

Assemblymember Garcia focused on these issues due to the fact that Assemblymember Zbur’s staff clearly indicated that the author had no intent to address the serious issues raised, which were brought up consistently throughout the legislative process of AB 715’s passing. An indication of that good-faith effort on the part of Assemblymember Garcia is his leaving off of the “factually accurate” language in his amendments, as Assemblymember Zbur’s staff communicated that the member will address that concern. Indeed, AB 2615 (Zbur), does not address any of the concerns that have been raised over the last year, and not least the “factually accurate” language in AB 715.

I urge you to expedite a prompt hearing on AB 2159 so that all voices are heard. Barring AB 2159 from being heard would be a disservice to the discussion and attention these matters deserve. A committee hearing is the appropriate forum to address these very important issues.

Sincerely,
[Sender]

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