California Gov. Gavin Newsom is being pressured by thousands of Californians to reject a recently passed bill mandating ethnic studies as a high school graduation requirement as his Oct. 10 deadline to sign or veto the legislation slowly approaches.
Assembly Bill (AB) 1010 would mandate ethnic studies a requirement for all students in California public high schools within the next 10 years.
In a letter to Newsom on Thursday, a total of 74 religious, civil rights and education groups that support California’s Jewish community said they also “strongly urge” the governor to veto the bill.
The first draft of the ESMC was rejected by Newsom, Jewish communal organizations, the State Board of Education and California’s Jewish Legislative Caucus due to its anti-Semitic rhetoric and promotion of the BDS movement. The California legislature recently voted to advance AB 101; Newsom has until Oct. 10 to take action regarding the bill.