Informed Parents, Healthy Schools Act.

Section 48986.5 of the Education Code was removed entirely. Previously this section required the governing authority of a school or institution to distribute notifications within 10 business days. This obligation is now handled solely under Section 120141.1 of the Health and Safety Code.

The department's annual notification under Section 120141(b) now goes directly to each school or institution and the county public health department, in addition to the local health officer. Previously it went to the 'governing authority' of each school or institution and the local health officer.

Section 120141.1(a) now allows the school or institution to determine the manner in which it distributes the notification to parents, rather than requiring distribution in the manner prescribed by the department. This gives schools flexibility in how they communicate with families.

The notification content requirement in Section 120141(b)(2)(C) now explicitly lists all three categories of children excluded from the immunization rate calculation (medical exemptions, independent study students without classroom instruction, and conditionally admitted children), making the exclusion criteria more transparent to parents.

A new exemption category was added to Section 120141(d): children enrolled in an independent study program who do not receive classroom-based instruction are now explicitly excluded from immunization rate calculations, in addition to children with medical exemptions and conditionally admitted children.

A new subdivision (c) was added to Section 120141.1 defining 'school or institution' as a private or public elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family day care home, or development center.

New Section 120141.1 added to the Health and Safety Code requiring schools to distribute notifications within 10 business days and to cooperate with the department in carrying out the requirements.

The department's notification now goes not only to the governing authority of each school or institution but also to the local health officer, expanding who is informed when immunization rates fall below thresholds.

A new requirement that the notification be distributed in the same school year in which the low-rate determination is made, preventing delays into the following year.

Notifications must now include immunization rates for both the current and prior school years, not just the current year, giving parents more context about trends.

A new required statement in notifications: no immunization changes are legally required if the rate would be at or above the threshold once children with exemptions are excluded from the calculation. This directly addresses a common concern among exemption-holding families.

New subsection (e) defines what counts as an 'exemption' for the immunization-rate calculation: permanent or temporary medical exemptions under Sections 120370 or 120372, and conditional admissions under Section 120340.

Throughout the bill, the term 'pupils' is replaced with 'children' in several provisions, potentially broadening the population covered beyond those formally enrolled as pupils.

New subsection (d) exempts children in home-based private schools and children enrolled in independent study programs who do not receive classroom-based instruction from the notification requirements of this section.

Data de-identification changed from permissive ('may apply') to mandatory ('shall apply'), requiring the department to use existing privacy protections when reporting rates for low-enrollment schools.

Schools must now distribute parent notifications within 10 business days of receiving notice from the department. Previously no specific deadline was set.

The department's notification procedures are now required to annually inform governing authorities when immunization rates fall below thresholds, rather than simply informing them at an unspecified time.

The department must now 'establish, and update as needed' immunization rates, adding an ongoing obligation to keep the rates current rather than setting them only once.

A new required element in parent notifications: the specific immunization rate at the school for each disease that fell below the threshold, listed by grade level and including the approximate time period the rate applies to.

A new required element in parent notifications: a link or QR code to the 'Shots for School' webpage maintained by the department (or successor page) and any additional webpages with immunization resources for parents and guardians.

Data de-identification standards changed from optional ('may apply') to mandatory ('shall apply'), making privacy protections a requirement rather than a discretionary choice for the department.

Notifications to parents must now include evidence-based explanations about why maintaining immunization rates matters and the increased risk of outbreaks when rates fall below established levels.

Notifications must now include information on accessible locations where families can obtain required immunizations, including local health department contact information and relevant websites.

Notifications must be translated into any language, in addition to English, that is spoken by 15 percent or more of enrolled pupils at the school or institution.

The State Department of Public Health is authorized to apply existing data de-identification standards and methodologies to protect individual privacy, particularly when reporting rates for low-enrollment schools where identification of individual pupils could be reasonably risked. All actions must comply with applicable state and federal privacy laws.

Coauthors were added: Assembly Members Addis, Ahrens, Arambula, Garcia, Harabedian, Lowenthal, Ortega, Michelle Rodriguez, Sharp-Collins, and Wilson.