Lawsuit: Santa Ana schools hid ethnic studies creation from Jewish residents

The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) concealed the development of ethnic studies courses because its members did not want Jewish community members to know or interfere in the process, the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, and Covington & Burling charged on Monday in a motion to add supporting evidence of a key committee’s disdain for California’s Jewish residents.

Evidence uncovered during discovery in the ongoing September lawsuit over SAUSD allegedly violating public access law detailed how members of the SAUSD Board of Education’s Ethnic Studies Steering Committee reportedly operated since it was created in 2020.

“Discovery in this case has revealed a persistent pattern of antisemitism in the steering committee,” American Jewish Committee Chief Legal Officer Marc Stern said in a statement.

Jewish groups had repeatedly contacted the steering committee over the years to provide input on the course development due to community concerns about the portrayal of Jews and Israel in the controversial 2019 Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, which California Governor Gavin Newsom had rejected.

The Jewish groups were reportedly ignored because “the Jewish community was seen simply as a roadblock to their vision.” The filing further alleged that in October 2022, a meeting was held to discuss how to “address the Jewish question – do we have to create a response?”

“We may need to use Passover to get all new courses approved,” a committee official allegedly texted to another, suggesting to use the distraction and unavailability of the Jewish holiday to avoid public comment.

Other texts by SAUSD employees referred to the Jewish Federation of Orange County, one of the Jewish organizations that attempted to provide input, as “racist Zionists.” One employee reportedly repeated this statement and stood by it in her deposition.

The filing alleged that the Steering Committee was motivated by animus against Jews, with Board and Steering Committee member Rigo Rodriguez reportedly declaring in the deposition that Jewish Americans were “racialized as under the White category.”

In 2020, an SAUSD employee allegedly said that American Jews should not be included in ethnic studies because they “have been able to enjoy the melting pot experience after generations of being in this country” and did not suffer at the hands of white supremacist actors. In another exchange, an employee referred to the only Jewish member of the steering committee as a “colonized Jewish mind.”

SAUSD employee comment

“We only support the oppressed, and Jews are the oppressors,” said an employee during a committee meeting.

The Jewish committee member reportedly claimed that peers on the body “spread an antisemitic myth about a former Israeli prime minister commenting on eating Palestinian children.”

In April 2023, the board voted to approve two courses developed by the committee. According to the filing, the courses portrayed Israel as a settler-colonial oppressor and the product of European imperialism. The plaintiffs claimed that the board did not hold two meetings, as required by the California Education Code, and that the presentations it did have were light on the substance of the courses.

“The Committee did not post agendas or issue any public notice of their meetings,” said the lawsuit, adding that only one Jewish resident was able to make it to the meeting to comment.

The two courses were approved, and despite the public backlash and the September lawsuit, the motion claimed that additional courses have been introduced, including a glossary that explains BDS.

“To date, SAUSD is unrepentant,” said the petitioners. “Its Steering Committee continues to work behind closed doors to churn out courses and materials that are biased against Jews.”

The September lawsuit requested that the court recognize that by holding covert meetings and plans, the SAUSD violated the 1953 Brown Act, which ensures the public can attend meetings of public agencies. The plaintiffs also requested that the court bar the district from teaching unlawfully approved and antisemitic courses and require SAUSD to follow open meeting laws in the future.

“Open meetings are required by law specifically to prevent this type of situation,” said ADL Senior Director of National Litigation James Pasch. “As the evidence shows, the district intentionally hid information from the public to try to get away with teaching antisemitic lies to the next generation in Santa Ana. The antisemitism that infected this process sent a clear message to Jewish students and families that their voices are not welcomed and that they were intentionally excluded.”