A group of Jewish parents and teachers from Los Angeles Unified School District sued over an allegedly anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic ethnic studies model curriculum being informally used in two classrooms. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs' original complaint was insufficient, but allowed them to refile their lawsuit with more concrete allegations. The key number mentioned is 100,000, referring to the total number of high school students in the district where the curriculum is allegedly being taught. The article does not contain a direct opinion or first-person account, but rather reports on a court decision and its implications for the plaintiffs' case.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A group of 19 Jewish parents and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) have been granted permission to refile a lawsuit against the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, an advocacy group that developed a high school curriculum. The plaintiffs claim that the curriculum, which has not been officially adopted by LAUSD, promotes anti-Zionist and antisemitic ideals and is being informally used in some schools by teachers. They also allege that the consortium, along with the LAUSD public school teachers' union and individual affiliates, have undue influence over district-wide curriculum decisions. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs can refile their lawsuit after it was initially dismissed by a lower court.
Written for “California Education Lawsuit” on 2026-09-08,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score +0.35 for article 7033 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-09-08
This case arises from an ethnic studies model curriculum for high school classrooms developed and championed by the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium (the Consortium), an advocacy group.
asserted
case → arise → Consortium
The proposed curriculum has not been formally proposed to nor adopted by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
asserted
curriculum → propose → District
But the plaintiffs—who are Jewish parents with children enrolled in LAUSD and teachers within that district—claim that at least two teachers are informally using the curriculum, which allegedly promotes anti-Zionist and antisemitic ideals.
uncertain
which → enrol → ideals
The plaintiffs also allege that the Consortium, along with the LAUSD public school teachers' union and individuals affiliated with these organizations, wield informal influence over district-wide curricular offerings.
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Consortium → allege → offerings
The plaintiffs sued, asserting civil rights claims under federal and state law.
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plaintiffs → sue → law
The district court dismissed with prejudice for insufficiency of the pleadings….
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court → dismiss → pleadings
The court agreed that the plaintiffs lacked standing:
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plaintiffs → agree → standing
Absent more concrete allegations, the plaintiffs have not shown that they personally suffered the harm of religious or racial discrimination.
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they → show → discrimination
The complaint does not allege that the curriculum—despite being used in two classrooms—is being taught at any classroom or even school where the plaintiffs' children attend or plaintiff-teachers work.
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teachers → allege → classroom
The alleged harm—the mere knowledge that the curriculum is being taught at two classrooms at LAUSD, which has over 100,000 high school students across dozens of schools—is too remote and speculative to constitute an injury-in-fact.
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which → allege → fact
Our circuit's standing precedent does not require the plaintiffs to allege that they or their children were directly exposed to antisemitic elements of the curriculum.
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they → require → curriculum
But they must at least allege having personally suffered some harm plausibly attributable to the curriculum's spread within the district or the plaintiffs' schools—for example, that the plaintiffs have suffered an independent act of antisemitism causally linked to the curriculum's use within LAUSD or the school….
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plaintiffs → allege → LAUSD
[Nor do they] offer … facts that would suggest inevitable or likely exposure to the curriculum (or its harmful effects)….
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that → offer → curriculum
But the court concluded that plaintiffs should have been given leave to file an amended Complaint:
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plaintiffs → conclude → Complaint
In briefing and during argument, the plaintiffs offered several proposed amendments that could potentially cure the standing deficiencies.
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that → offer → deficiencies
These include, for example, that the challenged curriculum has proliferated in the two-plus years that have passed since the lawsuit was filed, and that the plaintiffs' children have suffered related antisemitic acts at school (such as bullying)….
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children → include → bullying
The court expressly declined to consider the merits of the case, and faulted the district court for considering the merits ("Because the district court concluded that plaintiffs lacked standing, it should not have reached the merits of the plaintiffs' claims").
And the court concluded that, because plaintiffs should be able to file an amended complaint, the district court shouldn't have awarded defendants attorney fees under the California anti-SLAPP statute:
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court → decline → statute
"[O]ur circuit has held that in federal court, a defendant may only prevail on an anti-SLAPP motion once it is clear the complaint cannot be saved by amendment.
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complaint → hold → amendment
You can also see the November 2024 post quoting the district court decision.
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You → see → decision
