Antisemitism at my child’s school: what should I do?
Antisemitism in California high schools is pervasive. Jews are often portrayed to be part of a “dominant” oppressor group, and Israel is taught to be “colonial” and “genocidal.” This kind of instruction creates an environment where Jewish students are singled out, marginalized, and harassed by peers who have absorbed these messages. Lawmakers passed AB715 specifically to address these issues, but schools appear unable or unwilling to protect Jewish students. The system set up to handle school antisemitism complaints has failed. In February 2026, the Brandeis Center filed a landmark complaint announcing that the entire system for complaints (known as “Uniform Complaint Procedure” or “UCP”) has failed Jewish families. Despite hundreds of UCP complaints filed by Jewish parents, the administrative process has produced no measurable results. The Brandeis complaint alleges that the State of California has used its enforcement powers to protect Black, Hispanic, and disabled students, but has taken no comparable action to protect Jewish students. The system is not just ineffective — it is specifically broken for Jewish families.
What are my options to force the school to comply with the law?
As pessimistic as the situation appears, the tools offered by the legal system are stronger than ever. Civil rights laws entitle your child to be free from a hostile environment based on their Jewish, Israeli, and Zionist identity. When a school district knows about harassment and fails to act, that failure may amount to “deliberate indifference,” which can be addressed by legal action.
The legal tools described in this guide are straightforward and available to every family, but they are rarely used. Our community could make far better use of the full range of remedies when confronting high school antisemitism. Despite facing an increasingly hostile school environment, only a handful of Jewish parents and students have sued school districts for discrimination or for violating their First Amendment rights — even as curriculum routinely instructs students what to think rather than how to think, crossing the First Amendment line into compelled speech. With little court enforcement, many schools have drifted into openly illegal territory: teaching antisemitic and antizionist propaganda, and silencing Jewish students’ viewpoints with impunity.
This guide is designed to help you understand your family's legal rights and take effective action. It will walk you through the most common illegal situations that are occurring in today’s California public schools. We will explain on what basis these situations are illegal and explain how to document and prepare your case for civil legal action, including helping you preserve evidence and document what is happening, as well as connecting you with attorneys who handle these cases.
Where should I start?
Families experiencing antisemitism are often overwhelmed with questions and other thoughts about how to respond. Should I meet with the principal? Should I report antisemitism to a Jewish organization? Does the principal know that antizionism is today’s form of antisemitism? Should I file a UCP complaint? Should I ask for the school to “adopt IHRA?” Before you do anything, read this guide to get the full picture. This guide is not just about how to file a lawsuit. Most families who read this guide will never file a lawsuit, and yet a guide on preparing for a lawsuit is still for you. The reason is simple: a school district that believes you might be building a case treats you very differently than a school district that believes you are just a frustrated parent. When you document incidents in a structured log, send formal notice letters citing statutes and caselaw, preserve evidence, and communicate through an attorney, the district's lawyers will recognize that you are doing exactly what a plaintiff does before filing a complaint.
Every step in this guide — from the incident log to the sample letter to the evidence preservation checklist — makes your position stronger. You are preserving your rights, building leverage, and creating a record that the district cannot ignore. If the school fixes the problem, you win. If it does not, you have everything you need if you choose to proceed with a lawsuit. This guide is organized to give you the most important information first. Part I of this guide explains why seeking legal advice should be your first step (not your last resort), why you should focus on documenting conduct rather than debating politics, and why you should think carefully before filing a UCP complaint. Part II presents the 15 Types of Illegal Antisemitic and Antizionist Discrimination in High School — each with a case study explaining the legal framework. Part III covers preserving evidence, keeping an incident log, the sample notice letter, and resources for finding the right attorney. While most of the legal framework discussed here applies to public schools, if your child attends a private school or uses a private tutor, a parallel set of legal tools can accomplish nearly the same anti-discrimination effect in the private context.