Education

Existing law requires each educational institution in the state to have a written policy on sexual harassment and to display that policy in a prominent location, as defined, in the main administrative building or other area of the educational institution's campus or schoolsite. Existing law requires each schoolsite in a school district, county office of education, or charter school, serving pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to create a poster that notifies pupils of that policy and to prominently and conspicuously display the poster in each bathroom and locker room at the schoolsite, as specified. This bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school maintaining any combination of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, on or before the start of the 2027–28 school year, to display, at each schoolsite, as defined, in at least one men's restroom, one women's restroom, and one all-gender restroom used by pupils a legible poster printed in both English and a primary language other than English spoken by at least 15% of pupils enrolled at the schoolsite, that contains specified information relating to sextortion, including, among other information, an age-appropriate description of sextortion, as defined, and contact information for local, state, and federal law enforcement for purposes of reporting or seeking assistance relating to sextortion. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2027, to develop and post on its internet website a model template of the poster for use by those local educational agencies. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, 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 proclaim April 10, 2026, as Dolores Huerta Day in California and would encourage all public schools and educational institutions to conduct exercises remembering her, recognizing her accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with her contributions to California.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Education under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and assigns to the department numerous responsibilities relating to the governance of the public elementary and secondary schools in the state. This bill would require the department to conduct a study on nonconsensual artificial intimate images involving pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and would require the study to include, among other things, a summary of the resources for schools regarding nonconsensual artificial intimate images and the effects of nonconsensual artificial intimate images on pupils. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to complete and submit the study to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032.

The Personal Income Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income. Existing law, known as the Golden State Scholarshare Trust Act, establishes the Golden State Scholarshare College Savings Trust (Scholarshare trust) , under the administration of the Scholarshare Investment Board, to provide financial aid for postsecondary education costs of participating students. Existing state and federal law generally includes in gross income distributions from a qualified tuition program, as defined to include the Scholarshare trust, except as provided. Existing federal law, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, excludes from gross income, for federal income tax purposes, distributions from a qualified tuition program that are made after December 31, 2023, and are paid in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to a Roth IRA, as described. The Personal Income Tax Law generally conforms to federal income tax law relating to qualified state tuition programs, except as specified. Among those exceptions, existing state law does not conform to the above-described exclusion for distributions from a qualified tuition program. This bill would instead conform to that federal exclusion for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031. The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions from gross income in calculating adjusted gross income. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, and before January 1, 2032, would allow a deduction in determining adjusted gross income for contributions to a Scholarshare account by a qualified taxpayer, as specified. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

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 sets forth the Legislature's intent regarding the CIF's implementation of certain policies. This bill would require the CIF to establish a 5-year pilot program, operating from the 2027–28 academic year through the 2031–32 academic year, that sanctions flag football as an authorized sport for high school boys who are enrolled in the California Interscholastic Federation's member schools in the Counties of Orange and Riverside. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Orange and Riverside.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and existing law establishes courses of study for those pupils. This bill would encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to integrate outdoor learning into standards-aligned instruction across all grades and subject areas, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Department of Education under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and assigns the department numerous duties relating to the governance and funding of local educational agencies. This bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2028, to curate and maintain on its internet website resources for educators on outdoor learning. The bill would also encourage the department, in carrying out these provisions, to consult with county offices of education, classroom educators, tribal partners, mental and physical health professionals and researchers, environmental literacy experts, and community organizations with experience in outdoor learning. The bill would authorize the department to provide resources to address the particular needs of each local educational agency. The bill would authorize the department to accept voluntary contributions to be deposited into the Outdoor Learning and Environmental Literacy Account, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the costs of these provisions.

This bill designates May 13, 2026, as the official California Day of the Teacher to honor educators in the state. It establishes this specific date as a commemorative observance without creating new laws, funding, or penalties. The measure serves as a symbolic recognition of the teaching profession rather than a change in policy or procedure.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, when adopting instructional materials for use in school, to include relevant technology-based materials, defined for these purposes to mean basic or supplemental instructional materials that are designed for use by pupils and teachers as learning resources and that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource, and including the electronic equipment required to make use of those materials used by pupils and teachers as a learning resource, including, but not limited to, laptop computers and devices that provide internet access. Existing law prohibits a school official from requiring a pupil to purchase any instructional materials for the pupil's use in the school, except as provided. Commencing with the 2027–28 school year, this bill would prohibit, unless necessary under a specified circumstance, a school district, county office of education, or charter school from requiring a pupil in kindergarten, including a pupil in transitional kindergarten, to take home a school-issued electronic device, as defined, except that a local educational agency may authorize those pupils to take home a school-issued electronic device. The bill would encourage local educational agencies to regularly review and update their policies related to pupils' screen time and, in conducting that review, to solicit input from, among others, currently employed teachers and school administrators. This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before July 1, 2027, to (1) curate and maintain on its internet website resources for age-appropriate screen time and electronic device use in schools and guidance on how to transition take-home school-issued electronic devices into dedicated classroom-based electronic devices and how to participate in e-waste recycling or buy-back programs, and (2) take into consideration when curating the resources and guidance, among other things, developmentally appropriate screen exposure time at each grade level.

Existing law requires the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2027, to adopt a common course numbering system for all general education requirement courses and transfer pathway courses, and requires each community college campus, on or before July 1, 2027, to incorporate common course numbers from the adopted system into its course catalog. The Budget Act of 2021 allocated $10,000,000 to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a workgroup to support the development of that system. That workgroup recommended, among other things, the development of a common course numbering template for each course subject to the requirement described above. This bill would require the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2027, to establish an agreement for implementing streamlined system-level articulation by using the common course numbering templates, rather than individual course review, as provided. If the intersegmental committee has not established an agreement on or before July 1, 2027, the bill would require the respective administrative bodies of the segments, on or before December 31, 2027, to establish an agreement for implementing streamlined system-level articulation by using the common course numbering templates, rather than individual course review, as provided. This bill would require, commencing with the fall term of the 2028–29 academic year, the streamlined system-level articulation agreement to be the only articulation agreement used for community college courses subject to the common course numbering system described above. This bill would require, on or before June 1 of each year, the respective administrative bodies of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request the University of California, to publicly post on their respective internet websites a report on the results of the streamlined systemwide articulation agreement, as provided. This bill would require each campus of the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and request each campus of the University of California, to publicly post, on or before June 1 of each year, the name and contact information of the articulation lead or individual responsible for managing the course articulation process at the campus. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in consultation with the administrative bodies of the California State University and the University of California, to identify a limited-term funding plan that would provide funding to the California State University and the University of California to support the intersegmental implementation of the common course numbering system, as provided. 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 recognize and commend the California Association of Future Farmers of America for its nearly 100 years of service to students, educators, and the agricultural industry and would honor members, advisors, alumni, and supporters of the association for their dedication to developing future leaders and sustaining California's agricultural legacy.