AB 1626 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Interscholastic athletics: youth sports: coaches: behavioral and mental health training.

Summary

Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to have general control of, and be responsible for, all aspects of the interscholastic athletic policies, programs, and activities in its school district, as provided, and requires the governing board of a school district to ensure that all interscholastic policies, programs, and activities in the school district are in compliance with state and federal law. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to enter into associations or consortia with other governing boards for purposes of governing regional or statewide interscholastic athletics, as provided. Existing law describes the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) as a voluntary organization that consists of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools and states the intent of the Legislature that the CIF, in consultation with the State Department of Education, implement specified policies relating to interscholastic athletics. Existing law, the 1998 California High School Coaching Education and Training Program, declares the intent of the Legislature to establish a California High School Coaching Education and Training Program, to be administered by school districts with an emphasis on specific components, including, among other components, sports psychology. Existing law requires every high school sports coach to complete, at their own expense, a coaching education program that meets the guidelines established by the California High School Coaching Education and Training Program. This bill would require specified trainings for coaches described in AB 1665 of the 2025–26 Regular Session to cover specified mental-health related topics, including, among other topics, trauma-informed care, as provided, and strategies of creating a positive team culture, as provided. The bill would require the department, on or before September 1, 2027, to identify existing training or develop a model youth athletics behavioral and mental health training, as specified, for persons who serve as coaches in youth sports organizations, both for recreational leagues and competitive or club leagues. The bill would require the department to post the training on its internet website and work with local partners to disseminate the training to appropriate youth athletic leagues, youth coaching entities, and relevant statewide organizations and associations. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 35179.1 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1665 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1665 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would make the operation of its provisions contingent upon the enactment of AB 1665 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.

Issues: ✓ Education ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Jun 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 26, 2026 Last action Aug 27, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

08/21/26 - Amended Senate → AB1626 · 1 edit

MINOR

The legislative text of AB 1626 is essentially unchanged between the Amended Senate version (08/21/26) and the Enrolled version (09/01/26). The bill was passed by the Senate on August 26, 2026 and the Assembly on August 27, 2026, and enrolled on September 1, 2026. The only textual change is a minor drafting correction in Section 1.5 that fixes a redundant phrase ('as well as and' changed to 'and') and tightens 'not necessarily limited to' to 'not limited to.'

TECHNICAL

Section 1.5, component (8): corrected the phrase 'as well as and school regulations, including, but not necessarily limited to' to 'and school regulations, including, but not limited to,' fixing a drafting redundancy.

06/11/26 - Amended Senate → 08/21/26 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Aug 21, 2026

MODERATE

The August 21 Senate amendment to AB 1626 adds a new required component to the California High School Coaching Education and Training Program: mental health training for coaches, effective July 1, 2027, covering topics specified in Section 35179.85 (trauma-informed care, recognizing mental health conditions, positive team culture strategies, etc.). It also adds a new Section 4 making the entire bill contingent on AB 1665 being enacted and effective by January 1, 2027, and introduces a conditional amendment mechanism (Section 1.5) to coordinate overlapping changes to Section 35179.1 between the two bills.

Scope change

The bill's scope is now explicitly contingent on AB 1665 being enacted and effective by January 1, 2027. Without AB 1665 passing, none of AB 1626's provisions take effect. Additionally, the coaching education program now has a new mandatory mental health training component effective July 1, 2027, expanding the scope of required coach training beyond what was previously specified.

REQUIREMENT

A new component (7) was added to the coaching education program in Section 35179.1 requiring age-appropriate mental health training for coaches commencing July 1, 2027. The training must cover all topics specified in Section 35179.85 and may be provided by entities offering free, online, or other types of courses. Former components (7) and (8) were renumbered to (8) and (9).

SCOPE

A new Section 4 was added making the entire act operative only if AB 1665 of the 2025-26 Regular Session is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2027. This makes AB 1626 entirely dependent on a companion bill passing.

The legislative counsel's digest was updated to reflect the new conditional operative provisions and the incorporation of changes proposed by AB 1665, adding a paragraph explaining the coordination mechanism between the two bills.

TECHNICAL

A new Section 1.5 was added as a conditional amendment to Section 35179.1 that incorporates changes proposed by both AB 1626 and AB 1665. It becomes operative only if both bills are enacted and effective on or before January 1, 2027, each amends Section 35179.1, and AB 1626 is enacted after AB 1665 (in which case Section 1 of this bill does not become operative).

04/08/26 - Amended Assembly → 06/11/26 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Jun 11, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment makes two major substantive changes to AB 1626. First, it removes the addition of a 'behavioral and mental health and trauma-informed care' component from the existing 1998 California High School Coaching Education and Training Program (Section 35179.1). Second, and most significantly, it eliminates the bill's standalone training mandate (initial training plus biennial retraining for all CIF-member high school coaches starting in 2027-28) and replaces it with a provision that simply specifies what mental health topics must be covered within trainings already required by a separate bill, AB 1665. This shifts the bill from creating its own independent requirement to adding content specifications to another bill's existing framework.

SCOPE

Removed the addition of 'Behavioral and mental health and trauma-informed care' as a new component (item 7) in Section 35179.1, which is the list of topics the 1998 California High School Coaching Education and Training Program must emphasize. The original 8-component list is restored without the mental health addition.

Because the Senate version ties the mental health content requirements to AB 1665's trainings (Sections 33315.7 and 49032.1) rather than creating a standalone mandate, the scope of who is covered and when training is required now depends on what AB 1665 specifies, rather than being independently defined in this bill.

REQUIREMENT

Section 35179.85 no longer creates an independent training mandate. The Assembly version required all coaches at CIF-member high schools (including private) to complete initial training and retraining every two years starting in the 2027-28 school year as a condition of employment or volunteer service. The Senate version instead states that 'the trainings described in Sections 33315.7 and 49032.1, as added by Assembly Bill 1665' shall cover specified mental health topics. This means the bill now depends on AB 1665's training requirements rather than creating its own.

TECHNICAL

The topic list in Section 35179.85 was reorganized with minor renumbering. The Senate version includes seven topics covering: substantive awareness of mental health challenges specific to pupil athletes, trauma-informed care and recognizing signs/symptoms, awareness of athlete-specific challenges, strategies for positive team culture, communication techniques, referral procedures, and understanding the coach's role and limitations including ethical boundaries.

03/16/26 - Amended Assembly → 04/08/26 - Amended Assembly · 6 edits · Apr 8, 2026

MODERATE

The April 8 amendment to AB 1626 makes three substantive policy changes: it cross-references training requirements from a separate bill (AB 1665) rather than standing alone, gives the State Department of Education the option to identify existing training instead of developing new training for youth sports coaches, and adds language permitting free or online training delivery. The fiscal committee vote also changed from no to yes.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed in one direction and broadened in another. It was narrowed by removing the standalone legislative intent section about future youth sports coach training legislation. It was broadened by cross-referencing AB 1665, which extends the training framework to additional statutory sections (33315.7 and 49032.1), potentially covering more types of coaches or programs than the original standalone language would have.

REQUIREMENT

Section 35179.85 now references 'The trainings described in Sections 33315.7 and 49032.1, as added by Assembly Bill 1665 of the 2025-26 Regular Session' instead of defining all training topics independently. This ties the high school coach training mandate to requirements established in a companion bill.

Section 35179.87 changed from requiring the department to 'develop a model youth athletics behavioral and mental health training' to allowing it to 'identify existing training or develop a model' training. This gives the department flexibility to use already-available programs rather than creating new ones from scratch.

New subdivision (c) added to Section 35179.85 stating that the required training 'may be provided by entities offering free, online, or other types of training courses,' explicitly permitting non-traditional delivery methods.

DEFINITION

The list of required training topics in Section 35179.85 was reorganized and expanded. A new topic on 'substantive awareness of behavioral and mental health challenges specific to pupil athletes' was added, and the trauma-informed care topic was broadened to explicitly include suicide risk and prevention, crisis deescalation, and mental distress.

SCOPE

The final section stating legislative intent to enact future legislation relating to mental health training for youth sports coaches was removed entirely, eliminating the forward-looking directive.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries a state-mandated local program cost finding (though the 'State-mandated local program: no' line remains unchanged in this version).

01/26/26 - Introduced → 03/16/26 - Amended Assembly · 6 edits · Mar 16, 2026

MODERATE

The amendment dramatically expands AB 1626 from a bill that merely stated legislative intent about mental health training for youth sports coaches into a substantive law with enforceable requirements. It now mandates that all CIF member high school coaches (including private schools) complete initial and biennial behavioral and mental health training starting in the 2027-28 school year, and requires the State Department of Education to develop a model training program for youth sports organization coaches by September 1, 2027.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a non-binding statement of legislative intent to enforceable mandates covering two distinct populations: (1) all coaches at CIF member high schools including private schools, and (2) coaches in youth sports organizations broadly. It also shifted from addressing only future legislation to creating immediate statutory requirements with specific compliance deadlines.

SCOPE

The bill now amends Section 35179.1 of the Education Code to add behavioral and mental health and trauma-informed care as a required component of the California High School Coaching Education and Training Program, covering suicide risk and prevention, crisis deescalation, recognizing signs of mental distress, and eating disorder symptoms.

The original bill only expressed legislative intent to enact future legislation on mental health training for youth sports coaches. The amended version creates immediate binding obligations with specific deadlines and applies to both interscholastic (CIF) coaches and youth sports organization coaches.

REQUIREMENT

New Section 35179.85 requires all persons serving as coaches in interscholastic athletic programs at CIF member high schools (including private high schools) to complete initial training and refresher training every two years starting with the 2027-28 school year. Training must cover trauma-informed care, recognizing mental health conditions in adolescents, athlete-specific challenges, positive team culture strategies, communication techniques, referral procedures, and understanding coach role limitations.

New Section 35179.87 requires the State Department of Education to develop a model youth athletics behavioral and mental health training by September 1, 2027, for coaches in youth sports organizations (both recreational and competitive/club leagues), post it on its website, and work with local partners to disseminate it.

DEFINITION

The bill explicitly states that the required training does not permit coaches to provide mental health counseling or therapy or substitute for licensed behavioral and mental health professionals. The purpose is limited to enhancing awareness and connecting athletes with professional resources.

FISCAL

Fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amendment introduces fiscal implications requiring committee analysis.

Floor votes · Senate Jul 2, 2026 · Assembly May 14, 2026

How they voted

37–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 40

Jul 2, 2026

D Democratic30

28 Yea 2

93% Yea

R Republican10

9 Yea 1

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0.).

lower

Aug 26, 2026

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Aug 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0.).

upper

Aug 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

Aug 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Action rescinded whereby the bill was read third time, passed, and to Assembly.

upper

Jul 2, 2026

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Jul 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 0.).

upper

Jun 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.

upper

Jun 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jun 10, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 10).

upper

May 27, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on ED.

upper

May 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 5053.)

lower

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 6).

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on ED.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on ED. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 7).

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on A.,E.,S., & T.

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on A.,E.,S., & T. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 16, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on A.,E.,S., & T. and ED.

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee February 26.

lower

1 primary · 16 co-sponsors