SB 389 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Pupil health: individuals with exceptional needs: respiratory services: licensed vocational nurses.

Summary

(1) Existing law, the Respiratory Care Practice Act, establishes the Respiratory Care Board of California to license and regulate the practice of respiratory care. The act authorizes, among other things, a licensed vocational nurse who is employed by a home health agency to perform respiratory tasks and services identified by the board, as specified. This bill would also authorize the performance of suctioning and other basic respiratory tasks and services by a licensed vocational nurse under the supervision of a credentialed school nurse. (2) Existing law authorizes an individual with exceptional needs who requires specialized physical health care services, as defined, during the regular schoolday, to be assisted by individuals meeting specified requirements. This bill would also authorize an individual with exceptional needs who requires specialized physical health care services to be assisted by a licensed vocational nurse under the supervision of a credentialed school nurse for the above-described basic respiratory services.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Aug 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

Assembly Passage

Aug 2025

Signed into Law

Oct 2025

Introduced Feb 14, 2025 Signed Oct 10, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

02/14/25 - Introduced → 04/24/25 - Amended Senate · 3 edits · Apr 24, 2025

MINOR

The amended version significantly expands the bill's legal footprint by adding a new section amending the Respiratory Care Practice Act (Business and Professions Code Section 3765) to explicitly authorize licensed vocational nurses to perform suctioning and basic respiratory tasks under school nurse supervision. At the same time, it narrows the Education Code provision so that LVNs in schools are limited specifically to 'basic respiratory services' rather than the broader 'specialized physical health care services' allowed in the introduced version. The net effect is a more precise legal framework: LVNs gain a clear statutory basis for performing basic respiratory care in schools, but their scope of practice there is narrower than originally proposed.

SCOPE

New Section 1 amends Business and Professions Code Section 3765 (Respiratory Care Practice Act) to add subdivision (l), explicitly authorizing licensed vocational nurses under the supervision of a credentialed school nurse to perform suctioning and other basic respiratory tasks and services in schools.

The bill now amends two separate codes (Business and Professions Code and Education Code) instead of only the Education Code, creating a cross-referencing legal structure where the Education Code provision depends on the specific authorization in the Respiratory Care Practice Act.

ELIGIBILITY

In Education Code Section 49423.5, the LVN authorization was narrowed from allowing them to provide all 'specialized physical health care services' (as introduced) to being limited specifically to 'basic respiratory services authorized by subdivision (l) of Section 3765 of the Business and Professions Code.'

Floor votes · Senate May 15, 2025 · Assembly Aug 28, 2025

How they voted

34–0

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 40

May 15, 2025

D Democratic30

26 Yea 4

86% Yea

R Republican10

8 Yea 2

80% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Oct 10, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor.

legislature

Aug 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

upper

Aug 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 2775.) Ordered to the Senate.

lower

Aug 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 20).

lower

Jul 8, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (July 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Jul 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on B. & P. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (July 2). Re-referred to Com. on B. & P.

lower

May 29, 2025

Committee

Referred to Coms. on ED. and B. & P.

lower

May 15, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 34. Noes 0. Page 1091.) Ordered to the Assembly.

upper

May 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to consent calendar.

upper

Apr 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 917.) (April 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Apr 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on B. P. & E.D. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 566.) (March 26). Re-referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.

upper

Feb 26, 2025

Committee

Referred to Coms. on ED. and B. P. & E.D.

upper

Feb 14, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor