Bill would make Arizona teachers liable for civil damages if they're found to promote antisemitism

The Arizona Legislature is a vote away from passing a bill that would make teachers personally liable for civil damages if they are found to promote antisemitism.

House Bill 2867 would be a first-of-its-kind law.

Rep. Michael Way said he crafted the legislation in response to a series of what he said are antisemetic incidents, especially following the October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas that left more than 1,000 dead and resulted in hostages being seized.

At the same time, the Hamas-run Ministry of Public Health says about 81,000 in Gaza have been killed in Israeli response.

The Queen Creek Republican particularly singled out the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, saying that teachers were promoting antisemetic ideas, including giving students extra credit to participate in demonstrations against Israel. But he said he also has "an inbox full of examples" of antisemetic incidents in public schools including "propaganda" on classroom walls.

Individual teachers, public schools and higher education institutions would not be immune from any civil damages for violations.

The bill passed the state House by an almost two-thirds majority.

But the measure has drawn criticism from members of the Senate Education Committee and community education advocates. They say the bill’s definition for antisemitism could bring litigation against teachers for discussing historical events and the Israel-Hamas war.

Marisol Garcia, the president of the Arizona Education Association, spoke against the bill at a committee hearing earlier this year.

“I can imagine as a new teacher I would be afraid to bring up many issues in my classroom, historically based, on fact with fear that it may be taken out of context with a student and taken home that I could potentially be sued," Garcia said.

The measure awaits a final vote in the Senate.