Gov. Gavin Newsom’s final legislative signing period came to an end on Sept. 30, 2026, before being termed out of office. In total, 1,160 legislative measures reached the Governor’s desk. Of that number, the Governor vetoed 120 bills, or approximately 10 percent. All four of CSBA’s sponsored bills on the Governor’s desk were signed into law.
They include:
CSBA’s SOS for Student Achievement: Close the State Accountability Gap legislation
Assembly Bill 2225 (Patel, D-San Diego) – State plan to close the achievement gap
- Requires California’s newly established education commissioner to report on the state’s progress in aligning its public education governance system with the goal of improving student outcomes and closing achievement gaps. The measure complements the broader governance restructuring enacted through AB 181 earlier this year.
Report on reports legislative package
AB 2008 (Patel, D-San Diego) – Local educational agencies: planning and reporting requirements: template: repealer
- Addresses the growth of state-mandated LEA reporting requirements by establishing a four-year sunset for specified new reporting mandates unless the Legislature determines they should continue. It also directs the state to develop a standardized template that LEAs may use for programmatic and expenditure reporting associated with state grants. The measure is part of CSBA’s continuing campaign to reduce overlapping and unnecessarily burdensome reporting requirements.
- Co-sponsored with the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and the Small School Districts Association.
AB 2496 (Solache, Jr., D-Lynwood) – LEAs: reports: school accountability report card: California School Dashboard: local control accountability plan: local control funding formula budget overview
- Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), by Aug. 31, 2027, to report to the Legislature on duplication between information contained in the School Accountability Report Card and data already publicly available through sources such as the California School Dashboard, DataQuest and other state systems. The legislation specifically directs CDE to examine whether information being requested of districts is already available elsewhere and to identify unnecessary duplication.
- It also eliminates several duplicative reporting requirements and provides greater flexibility for the midyear Local Control and Accountability Plan process by removing the existing Feb. 28 deadline for presenting the annual update and Local Control Funding Formula budget overview report.
- Co-sponsored with CASBO and ACSA.
Addressing the state’s education workforce shortages
AB 2490 (Valencia, D-Anaheim) – 70-day substitute
- Responds to California’s persistent education workforce shortages by allowing qualifying holders of an emergency career substitute teaching permit to remain in a single classroom for up to 70 cumulative days under specified circumstances.
- Co-sponsored with ACSA, the California County Superintendents and CASBO.
These four measures address myriad issues with one shared principle: California should give LEAs the tools, flexibility and state-level support they need to serve students effectively while eliminating unnecessary administrative obstacles.
The following is a breakdown of many significant public education-related bills acted upon by the Governor this session.
Curriculum and instruction
AB 2555 (Patel, D-San Diego) – English learners: reclassification
- Will make various changes to the system for reclassifying English learners as English proficient, including the creation of a standardized reclassification process based on demonstrated English language proficiency, and limiting the reclassification criteria to the assessment of English language development.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor. Will take effect immediately
Senate Bill 1067 (Weber-Pierson, D-San Diego) – Math screenings
- Will require the State Board of Education to adopt a list of approved screening instruments for identifying math difficulties and requires LEAs to use one of these instruments to screen students in kindergarten through second grade. Will require an LEA to assess each pupil in kindergarten, first and second grades.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
SB 1128 (Stern, D-Sherman Oaks) – Pupils: technology-based materials: school-issued electronic devices
- Will prohibit an LEA from requiring a student in kindergarten to take home a school-issued electronic device. Will also require the CDE to provide resources and guidance for the age-appropriate use of school-issued electronic devices in schools.
- CSBA position: Tracking
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
School funding
AB 1590 (Ransom, D-San Joaquin) – California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program: revised allocation formula
- Will require the CDE to determine a revised formula for the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program to ensure the proper appropriation of funds.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 2440 (Muratsuchi, D-Los Angeles) – Arts and Music in Schools – Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act: allowable uses: pooled funding: funding certifications
- Will make various changes to the Arts and Music in Schools Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act (Proposition 28) by allowing LEAs to pool allocated funds across school sites; establishing a statutory methodology for demonstrating compliance with the supplement-not-supplant requirement; expanding reporting, certification and transparency requirements; and revising the definition of arts education programs and allowable expenditures.
- CSBA position: Neutral
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
School facilities
AB 1642 (Harabedian, D-San Bernardino) – Wildfires: contamination standards
- Will require the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the CDE to develop advisory guidance for schools to support LEAs after a wildfire.
- CSBA position: Neutral
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
SB 1107 (Stern) (Stern, D-Ventura) – School facilities: design-build: shade structures
- Authorizes a school district to bundle multiple design-build contacts for similar shade structure projects with a single solicitation, dependent on certain cost parameters. The bundle may be awarded to either the low bid or best value.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
Public education governance
AB 1721 (Muratsuchi, D-Los Angeles) – Pupil safety: comprehensive school safety plans
- Will require the state superintendent of public instruction to convene a work group to review and make recommendations on existing Comprehensive School Safety Plans.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 1821 (Pacheco, D-Sacramento) – California Public Records Act: agency response time
- This bill extends the required response time for public record requests from 10 working days to 14 calendar days for state and local agencies.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 2467 (Committee on Education) – Elementary and secondary education: omnibus
- Will make several changes to existing statute relevant to chartering authority including a requirement that charter schools identify and provide written and timely notification of any material concern arising out of their ongoing oversight and monitoring activities during the previous year.
- CSBA position: Tracking
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor. Will take effect immediately
SB 577 (Laird, D-Santa Cruz) – Public entities
- Makes several changes to relevant law to mitigate the fiscal impact of childhood sexual assault claims against public entities and quell the prevalence of this abuse.
- CSBA position: Oppose Unless Amended
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
SB 934 (Wiener, D-San Francisco) – Sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts
- Further clarifies what is considered “sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts” in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Chiles v. Salazar. Amendments secured by CSBA and others removed the provision that would have held school districts liable for damages.
- CSBA Position: Neutral
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
SB 959 (Grayson, D-Alameda) – Average daily attendance: emergencies: major safety hazard
- Authorizes a local fire agency to determine the imminence of a major safety hazard to hold an LEA’s average daily attendance irresponsible for fiscal purposes.
- CSBA Position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor. Will take effect immediately
SB 998 (Gonzalez, D-Los Angeles) – Educational equity: discrimination prevention coordinators
- A follow-up bill to SB 48 (Gonzalez, 2025), which established discrimination prevention coordinators in the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) within the Government Operations Agency, SB 998 further defines the roles and responsibilities of each coordinator and adds a disability discrimination prevention coordinator. Additionally, the bill adds deputy coordinators reporting to the race and ethnicity discrimination prevention coordinator within the OCR.
- CSBA Position: Support if Amended
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
Special education
AB 2468 (Patel, D-San Diego) – School accountability: pupils with disabilities: inclusion
- Will establish and expand the Supporting Inclusive Practices Project in statute, which has helped LEAs implement evidence-based strategies that increase access to general education settings and improve outcomes for students with disabilities.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 2526 (Muratsuchi, D-Los Angeles) – Special education local plan areas: apportionments: alternate assessments
- Would have expanded eligibility for the state’s low-incidence disability special education funding program by allowing funding to be generated by pupils who are eligible to take California’s alternate assessments due to significant cognitive disabilities.
- CSBA position: Disapprove
- Status: Vetoed
SB 685 (Cortese, D-Santa Clara) – Special education: nonpublic schools and agencies
- Complies with the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Loffman v. California Department of Education by expanding the department’s authority to certify qualified religious nonpublic schools and agencies to provide special education services to students with disabilities.
- CSBA position: Disapprove
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
Labor and human relations
AB 917 (Farías, D-Contra Costa) – County offices of education: school districts: average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils: permanent status
- Would have allowed certificated employees to attain permanent status within two years rather than three years in school districts with an average daily attendance below 250 pupils.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Vetoed
AB 1809 (Fong, D-Los Angeles) – Public contracts: school and community college districts.
- Will extend the authority for both school districts and community college districts to use job order contracting on public work projects until Jan. 1, 2037.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 1331 (Elhawary, D-Los Angeles) – Workplace surveillance
- Uses a broad definition of “workplace surveillance” and would prohibit an employer from using a workplace surveillance tool in specified circumstances to monitor or surveil employees in the workplace.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 1961 (Ahrens, D-Santa Clara) – Civil actions: protective orders: workplace violence
- Will allow employers to seek a temporary restraining order in response to harassment, unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence directed at the employer’s workplace or a location where a group of employees perform their primary job duties.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 2142 (Garcia, D-San Bernardino) – Classified staff: temporary employees
- Would have made it difficult for LEAs to hire temporary classified staff by mandating them to make temporary employees permanent if they work up to 75 percent of a school year, even if they leave and are rehired at a later date, no matter how much time passes between employment.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Vetoed
SB 1083 (Pérez, D-Pasadena) – Classified staff: egregious misconduct
- A follow-up measure to SB 848 from last year, it makes changes to the investigation, reporting and disclosure of egregious misconduct by classified staff, expands background checks and screening requirements for classified staff candidates, and makes related changes to mandated reporter training.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
Artificial intelligence
SB 947 (McNerney, D-Stockton) – Employment: automated decision systems
- Will place limitations on how automated decision systems may be used to make disciplinary or termination decisions and would prohibit certain technologies.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 1883 (Bryan, D-Los Angeles) – Workplace surveillance tools
- Will prohibit an employer from using workplace surveillance tools that use artificial intelligence to collect an individual’s emotional state.
- CSBA position: Oppose
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
SB 1159 (Cabaldon, D-Sacramento) – Artificial intelligence: transparency and governance
- Will disqualify artificial intelligence systems from engaging with government agencies under the Bagley-Keene Act, Brown Act, California Environmental Quality Act and Coastal Act of 1976.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
Elections
AB 2573 by (Sharp-Collins, D-San Diego) – Voter registration information: elected officials and candidates
- Will modify an existing program protecting an elected official or candidates’ residence address, telephone number and email address from individuals’ affidavit of registration, and adds a “Safe Harbor” provision for LEAs that have opted to voluntarily transition.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
AB 2691 (Addis, D-Morro Bay) – Elections: elective office: felony conviction
- Prohibits anyone convicted of a felony involving sexual assault or human trafficking from running for state or local office.
- CSBA position: Support
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
SB 1164 (Cervantes, D-Riverside) – Elections
- Will replace the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 and prohibits political subdivisions and state agencies from implementing, imposing or enforcing any election or practice that results in or could likely result in voter suppression.
- CSBA position: Oppose Unless Amended
- Status: Signed into law by the Governor
What’s next?
Statutes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, unless they have an urgency clause which means they would take effect immediately following their signature.
With the end of the 2025–26 Legislative Session, the Legislature is now on its final interim recess before it formally adjourns and closes the session “sine die” at midnight on Nov. 30. The 2027–28 Legislative Session will convene on Dec. 7.
