California's 2025–26 legislative session has concluded, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing a new package of education laws that will impact schools, students, and families across the state, including Orange County. These measures cover areas from artificial intelligence (AI) and student data privacy to teacher staffing and early math assessments. Many of the new laws are scheduled to take effect on January 1, while others have later implementation dates or require state agencies to develop further guidance.
A significant portion of the new legislation focuses on children's online safety and the expanding use of AI. Assembly Bill (AB) 1159, authored by Assemblymember Addis, aims to strengthen protections for student data held by education technology companies. Beginning in 2027, this law prohibits the use of covered student information to train generative AI systems. For schools, this could necessitate closer reviews of vendor agreements and lead to questions from families regarding the data collected by educational technology tools and its utilization. Senate Bill (SB) 1119, known as Adam's Law and authored by Senator Padilla, establishes protections for minors interacting with AI companion chatbots, mandating safety notifications, parental controls, crisis protocols, risk assessments, and independent audits. Separately, AB 2071, from Assemblymember Hoover, directs the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a statewide plan for expanding digital wellness education, including age-appropriate resources and guidance on healthy technology use. This plan is due by January 1, 2028.
Another measure, AB 302 by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, will prohibit schools from excluding students from extracurricular activities because they do not use an addictive social media feed. Starting with the 2027–28 school year, this law also prevents schools from making social media feeds the only method for students or parents to receive information about activities. While the law permits the continued use of social media by teams and clubs, schools must ensure important updates, such as schedules and cancellations, are available through an alternative reliable channel.
For California’s youngest students, SB 1128, authored by Senator Stern, generally prohibits districts, charter schools, and county offices of education from requiring transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students to take school-issued electronic devices home. This prohibition begins with the 2027–28 school year, though schools may still allow students to bring devices home. The CDE is also directed to develop resources on age-appropriate screen time by July 1, 2027.
Changes are also coming to how English learners are reclassified as fluent English proficient. Under AB 2555, from Assemblymember Patel, California will transition from a previous four-part reclassification process to a more standardized statewide approach. Beginning with the 2026–27 school year, students meeting the state-approved threshold on the Summative ELPAC or Alternate ELPAC assessments must be reclassified solely based on that assessment, eliminating additional local criteria. The law also includes new communication requirements for families, such as notification upon reclassification and information about potential opportunities for the State Seal of Biliteracy.
In early mathematics education, SB 1067, authored by Senator Weber Pierson, establishes a new statewide framework for math diagnostic assessments in kindergarten through second grade. These assessments are intended to identify students needing additional support and are not designed as another high-stakes statewide testing program. The State Board of Education is tasked with developing criteria and guidance by July 31, 2027.
Teacher staffing was another area addressed by the legislature. AB 2490, from Assemblymember Valencia, creates an additional pathway for an emergency career substitute permit. It also allows qualifying permit holders to remain in one classroom for up to 70 cumulative days, including in special education, a change from the previous 60-day limit. This measure was designed to offer schools greater flexibility amid ongoing teacher shortages, particularly in hard-to-fill positions, though it also includes training, mentoring, and reporting requirements. Separately, SB 1083, authored by Senator Pérez, expands existing employment-history checks for noncertificated school employees. This law broadens the information prior school employers must disclose regarding credible complaints, investigations, or discipline involving egregious misconduct, potentially affecting hiring practices for many classified employees beginning in 2027.
To enhance parent engagement, SB 1412, from Senator Rubio, will make parent-teacher meetings more accessible. Under this law, parents, guardians, or other educational rights holders who cannot attend an individual meeting in person may request to participate by phone or through a school-approved video conferencing platform. Governor Newsom signed this measure on September 28.
Furthermore, AB 2440, authored by Assemblymember Muratsuchi, provides greater clarity and flexibility for schools in administering funding generated by Proposition 28, the voter-approved initiative for arts and music education. This law clarifies when Arts and Music in Schools funding from multiple school sites may be pooled, which expenditures qualify, and how certain supplement-not-supplant requirements apply. It also adds transparency provisions, including public posting of expenditure plans.
Finally, AB 2496, from Assemblymember Solache, addresses overlapping school accountability reports. This law removes certain information from the School Accountability Report Card (SARC) and eliminates the specific February 28 deadline for presenting the midyear Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and LCFF Budget Overview update. While this information must still be presented annually at a regularly scheduled board meeting, the CDE is directed to report to lawmakers by August 31, 2027, on areas where SARC information duplicates data already available through other public sources. These changes are described as a potential beginning to simplify how schools report information to the state and public.
