California school district agrees to remove alleged antisemitic content from ethnic studies curriculum

A California school that attempted to cover up its alleged antisemitic ethnic studies program is no longer permitted to teach the curriculum, according to a settlement reached between the school district and Jewish advocacy groups. 

The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) agreed to settle the lawsuit brought by the Brandeis Center, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC), who alleged that the district's Ethnic Studies courses were developed in secret and infused with antisemitism. 

As part of the settlement, SAUSD will cease instruction of Ethnic Studies World Geography, Ethnic Studies World Histories and Ethnic Studies: Perspectives, Identities, and Social Justice until the courses are reworked in line with public input and in accordance with California’s open meeting laws.

Marci Miller, director of legal investigations of the Brandeis Center, which is both a plaintiff and counsel in the case, oversaw the lawsuit and negotiated the settlement. She told Fox News Digital that she believes the effects of the settlement send a strong message to school districts throughout the state and country that they can't use ethnic studies to inject antisemitism into the classroom.

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Superintendent Jerry Almendarez speaks during a board meeting at the Santa Ana Unified School District Board Room on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Santa Ana, CA.? (Getty Images)

"Hopefully this will be a cautionary tale for other school districts that are considering this type of wrongful behavior. We're watching, and we're willing to enforce the law," she said. "Curriculum can't be created in secret. It needs to be available to the public and to parents to avoid this in the future."

When reached for comment, SAUSD said it was pleased that it had reached an amicable resolution of the lawsuit filed by the Brandeis Center, but added there were some "misperceptions" that led to the filing of the lawsuit that have now been cleared up, according to a statement attributed to Superintendent Jerry Almendarez. 

"At no time has the District supported the teaching of instructional content to students that reflects adversely on any group on the basis of religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin as alleged in the lawsuit," he said. "The settlement of this lawsuit affirms that principle and resolves any misunderstanding that may have occurred."

As part of the settlement agreement, the school district said there is no finding that it violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, as alleged in the lawsuit. The district also said "the work of the ethnic studies committee is preserved and may continue with an opportunity for members of the public to provide input as the courses will be reviewed and possibly modified."  

But, James Pasch, ADL vice president of national litigation, said Santa Ana's past board and committee members knew that antisemitism was infecting their curriculum process and intentionally excluded the public. 

"Open meeting laws exist to prevent exactly what unfolded in Santa Ana," he said. "This case sends a message – not just in Santa Ana, but from coast-to-coast – that if school leaders proceed with implementing anti-Semitic curriculum and material in violation of the law, we will use the courts to protect the community."  

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Opening statements are made during a board meeting at the Santa Ana Unified School District Board Room on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Santa Ana, CA. (Getty Images)

SAUSD also agreed to recognize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a controversial issue and to strictly adhere to the two policies that apply when teaching under this banner. 

As a result, instruction should be based on facts that allow for alternative views, ensure teachers discuss all sides of a controversial issue and that they are impartially presented, that students are taught to separate opinion from fact and that no teacher or speaker uses the classroom or materials to advocate their own religious, political, economic or social views. 

Additionally, the controversial Steering Committee will be permanently disbanded, the district will stop working with the outside consultant who expressed antisemitic views and SAUSD will allow input from members of the public before any new courses are presented to the school board for approval, according to the Brandeis Center. The antisemitic content will be removed from Ethnic Studies World Histories so that the course can continue being taught for the remainder of the school year. 

The lawsuit, originally filed in September 2023, was brought against SAUSD on behalf of The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, which works to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people, and its membership arm, Southern Californians for Unbiased Education (So-CUE). 

The ADL, along with the Brandeis Center, the AJC and the Covington & Burling law firm, filed a motion with new evidence in August 2024 alleging the school district prevented the public, in particular the Jewish community, from providing public comment to prevent antisemitic and biased content in its ethnic studies curricula. 

Under the Brown Act, California's open meeting law and AB 101, which was passed in 2021 and made ethnic studies a requirement for graduation from all public high schools in California, school boards must make the public aware of the course's proposed curricula and allow for public comment before approving any new content. School districts are also required to create courses free from bias, bigotry and discrimination. 

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A speaker walks back to her seat after speaking during a board meeting at the Santa Ana Unified School District Board Room on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Santa Ana, CA.? (Getty Images)

The Jewish organizations uncovered antisemitic statements by the school board and the SAUSD Ethnic Studies Steering Committee, which was in charge of developing the curriculum, through depositions, affidavits, documents, text messages and emails. 

Examples uncovered in the discovery period of the lawsuit show that members of SAUSD’s Ethnic Studies Steering Committee noted in an official agenda that it needed to "address the Jewish question" when they learned about antisemitism concerns from the Jewish community. 

Members of the Steering Committee also reportedly said, "Jews are the oppressors" and do not belong in ethnic studies, referred to Jewish organizations as "racist" and urged that SAUSD not "cave" to their concerns. The committee also reportedly floated the idea of using Jewish holidays to approve courses to reduce the likelihood that Jews would attend school board meetings. 

According to the motion, one committee leader allegedly referred to the sole Jewish member as a "colonized Jewish mind" and a "f---ing baby" for expressing concerns over antisemitism, while another leader referred to the Jewish Federation of Orange County as "racist Zionists" and suggested that SAUSD should not "cave" to their representatives. That same representative reportedly refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization even after the October 7 terrorist attack at the hands of Hamas, arguing that it would be "dehumaniz[ing]" to call Hamas members "terrorists." 

That same committee also hired an external consultant whose social media musings equated Israel with "settler colonialism" and actively promoted anti-Israel bias and antisemitism, according to the motion. "Israel is nothing more than European settler colonialism draped in religion defended by white guilt and capitalism," the consultant espoused on social media. 

The Israel-Gaza war sparked concerns of antisemitism across the United States, including in schools and on college campuses.? (Fox News Digital)

AJC Chief Legal Officer Marc Stern said the lawsuit and settlement should serve as a warning to other California districts that try to conceal anti-Zionist or antisemitic ethnic studies materials. 

"Ethnic studies are acceptable only if adopted in the light of day and, if, in the end, all sides of a controversial issue are taught by educators free of judgment," he said. "Classrooms must be places for education, not indoctrination."

Miller explained that every state has an open meetings act similar to the Brown Act. The settlement "shows that in order to comply with the law, everything has to be made available to the public and that should hopefully shine some light on the process and help districts avoid this in the future," she said. 

Brandeis Center Vice Chair L. Rachel Lerman said similar "dangerous and deceitful behavior" is being attempted in other school districts. 

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"We are watching those jurisdictions and will not hesitate to address similar violations of the law," she said. "School boards must operate in the light of day, and not ‘under the radar’ as SAUSD described its own conduct."