Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, headed by the State Public Health Officer, and sets forth its powers and duties, including the administration of provisions relating to the prevention and control of communicable diseases. Existing law authorizes the department to take necessary measures to ascertain the nature and prevent the spread of communicable diseases. Existing law prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from unconditionally admitting or advancing to the 7th grade level any person as a pupil of any public or private elementary or secondary school, childcare center, day nursery, nursery school, family daycare home, or development center, unless, prior to their admission or advancement to that institution, they have been fully immunized against various communicable diseases, as provided, subject to any specific age criteria. Existing law requires the governing authority of a school or other institution, on at least an annual basis, to file a written report on the immunization status of new entrants to the school or institution under their jurisdiction with the department and the local health department at times and on forms prescribed by the department. This bill, the Informed Parents, Healthy Schools Act, would require the department to establish, and update as needed, levels of immunization rates needed to prevent the spread of specified communicable diseases. The bill would require the department to establish notification procedures designed to annually inform designated parties, including schools, daycare centers, and county departments of public health, when an immunization rate is determined to fall below the rate established by the department, among other things. The bill would require that the notification be translated into any language, in addition to English, that is spoken by 15% or more of enrolled children. The bill would require the department to apply existing data de-identification standards and methodologies to protect individual privacy, consistent with applicable state and federal law, in implementing these provisions. The bill would require a school or institution, as defined, to distribute the above-described notification to parents or guardians of enrolled children within 10 business days of receiving the notification from the department. The bill would authorize the school or institution to determine the manner of distribution for the notification, consistent with specified requirements. The bill would require the governing authority of the school or institution to cooperate with the department in carrying out these provisions. By requiring school districts to comply with these requirements, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including telephone corporations. Existing law requires the commission to develop, implement, and administer a program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates to qualifying schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, community colleges, libraries, hospitals, health clinics, and community organizations. This bill would require that the discounted rates also be provided to qualifying schools, school districts, and county offices of education serving preschools, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, public libraries and public library systems, rather than libraries, and noninstructional facilities operated or contracted by qualifying schools, school districts, county offices of education, community colleges, community college districts, public libraries, and public library systems, including their associated data centers or administrative offices, as provided. Existing law authorizes all customers eligible to receive discounts for telecommunications services under the federal Universal Service E-rate program to also apply for discounts on telecommunications services provided through the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund program. Existing law requires the commission to first apply an E-rate discount if the customer, in the determination of the commission, meets the requirements for an E-rate discount, as provided. This bill would instead require the service provider to first apply an E-rate discount, as determined by the commission, if the customer, in the determination of the commission, meets the requirements for an E-rate discount, except as provided. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be part of the act and a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This measure would proclaim March 2026 as Arts Education Month and urge all residents to become interested in and give full support to quality arts education programs for children and youth.
This bill designates the week of March 2 through March 6, 2026, as "School Breakfast Week." It serves as a ceremonial proclamation to raise awareness about school breakfast programs without changing any laws or funding. The measure directly affects schools and communities by encouraging focus on nutrition initiatives during that specific time period. As a commemorative resolution, it does not alter policy or require new actions from government officials.
Existing law establishes the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The Donahoe Higher Education Act prohibits the campuses of those segments from charging mandatory systemwide tuition or fees to specified students who apply for a waiver, including a child of any veteran of the United States military who has a service-connected disability, has been killed in service, or has died of a service-connected disability, an undergraduate student who is a recipient of a Medal of Honor, or an undergraduate student who is a child of a recipient of a Medal of Honor and who is no more than 27 years of age, if certain requirements are satisfied. This bill would require the California State University and each community college district, and would request the University of California, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, commencing with the 2028–29 academic year, to grant priority for registration for enrollment to (1) a student who receives a fee waiver pursuant to the above-described provisions, and (2) a student who is using any federal GI Bill benefits. By requiring students to receive priority registration at community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law states the policy of the State of California is to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law establishes the Office of Civil Rights, under the administration of the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, and an LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. Existing law requires each of the coordinators be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. This bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Disability Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The bill would change the title of the LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to instead be the LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. The bill would require each of the coordinators, in consultation with the State Department of Education, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, to, among other things, (1) develop, consult on, and provide discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent discrimination, as provided, (2) provide technical assistance, upon specified request, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners, and (3) engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents of discrimination, as specified. This bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Black Racism, a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (Anti-AANHPI) Discrimination, a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Latino Discrimination, and a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Native American Discrimination, and would require these deputy coordinators to report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. The bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to provide resources and training on how to properly assist in cases of discrimination that involve the intersectionality of protected characteristics, as provided.
Existing law appropriates $10,000,000 from the General Fund for the 2021–22 fiscal year to the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer the Dual Language Immersion Grant Program for the purpose of expanding access to quality dual language learning and fostering languages that English learners bring to California's education system. Under that program, the State Department of Education is required to award a minimum of 25 one-time Dual Language Immersion Grants over a period of 3 fiscal years of up to $380,000 per grant to an eligible entity to expand or establish dual language immersion programs. This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department, on or before July 1, 2027, to establish a Dual Language Immersion Coordinator to provide coordination between local educational agencies, as defined, to share resources and knowledge on dual language immersion programs, as defined. The bill would require the Dual Language Immersion Coordinator to (1) act as the point of contact within the department for local educational agencies seeking to, among other things, establish new or expand existing dual language immersion programs, and (2) establish, publish, and maintain on the department's internet website, on or before January 1, 2028, a directory of operative dual language immersion programs, as specified. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies relating to the establishment and maintenance of the directory, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
This measure would declare Monday, April 13, 2026, to Friday, April 24, 2026, inclusive, as High School Voter Education Weeks and would encourage local educational agencies to dedicate at least one of those 2 weeks to educating pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on the electoral process, as provided. The measure would encourage local educational agencies to provide digital and physical resources necessary to provide this information and would encourage the governing boards or bodies of local educational agencies to contract with third-party nonprofit organizations, as provided, to accomplish this endeavor.
Existing law requires school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools to adopt and update a local control and accountability plan (LCAP) using a template adopted by the State Board of Education that requires an LCAP to include certain information, including, among other information, (1) a description of the annual goals to be achieved for specified state priorities, including, among others, pupil achievement and pupil outcomes, (2) a description of the specific actions that the local educational agency will take during each year of the LCAP to achieve these goals, and (3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the specific actions described in the existing LCAP toward achieving the goals, as provided. This bill would, among other things, require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the state board and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, to (1) on or before December 31, 2027, prepare a compilation of best practices to harness the power of technology to support pupil academic success and accelerate pupil academic achievement for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that receive specified federal funding, including a model policy for incorporation of those best practices into their LCAPs, (2) conduct at least 3 informational webinars in 2028 for those local educational agencies to understand how to incorporate the best practices and model policy into their LCAPs, and (3) on or before December 31, 2028, identify ways to (A) encourage local educational agencies to incorporate the compilation of best practices and the model policy into their LCAPs, and (B) showcase local educational agencies that have demonstrated success integrating technology in a manner than has positively impacted pupil achievement.
The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of California's public segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. The California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California are the 3 public segments of postsecondary education in the state. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by appropriate resolution, to make them applicable. This bill would establish the Cal-Bridge Program as a fully intersegmental partnership program between the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California to create a pathway that promotes the advancement of California's diverse undergraduate public postsecondary student population who major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to pursue STEM doctors of philosophy (PhDs) and become members of California's professorate or leaders in California's technology industry. The bill would specify the goals of the Cal-Bridge Program, including, among others, preparing students to apply to PhD programs in STEM disciplines, as specified. The bill would include 5 Cal-Bridge subprograms to provide resources, research opportunities, and financial support to qualifying public postsecondary undergraduate, PhD, and postdoctoral STEM scholars. The bill would also establish the ENLACE Program as an operationally independent program that works in collaboration with the Cal-Bridge Program to create pathways that prepare California's high school and college students for all levels of postsecondary STEM education and the state's STEM workforce, as specified. The bill would require the ENLACE Program to consist of the ENLACE High School and Undergraduate Program to provide support to qualifying students in high school and undergraduate studies across all STEM disciplines at public postsecondary educational institutions, as specified. The bill would authorize funding appropriated for purposes of the Cal-Bridge Program or the ENLACE Program to be used for specified activities. The bill would require the Cal-Bridge Program to submit an annual programmatic progress report to the office of the President of the University of California that includes data on implementation of the Cal-Bridge Program's activities and the allocation of funding for those activities, as specified. The bill would apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make it applicable.
