In an unorthodox end to the two-year 2025–26 legislative session, the Legislature extended the session past midnight on Aug. 31 and conducted business Sept. 1. The end of the legislative session typically runs for two weeks and consists of daily convenings of the Assembly and Senate. The convenings are referred to as “floor sessions,” and are where the respective houses consider and vote on measures that have made it this far in the legislative process.
During the last two weeks of August, the Legislature debated and voted on approximately 900 active measures. A large majority of these bills passed the Legislature and are on their way to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his consideration.
Here is where bills stand after the conclusion of this legislative session.
CSBA’s 2026 sponsored legislation
SOS for Student Achievement: Close the State Accountability Gap legislation
Assembly Bill 2225 (Patel, D-San Diego) – State plan to close the achievement gap
- Now requires the newly established education commissioner to report on the state’s progress in bringing its public education governance system into alignment with the overall goal of helping to improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps
- Status: Passed the Legislature and is on the Governor’s desk
Report on reports legislative package
AB 2008 (Patel) – Local educational agencies: planning and reporting requirements: template: repealer
- Would require state mandated local educational agency (LEA) reporting requirements be repealed four years after their establishment and requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to create a standardized template for LEAs when completing programmatic or expenditure reports for state grants. The bill takes effect on Jan.1, 2027 and requires the CDE to develop and make the template available by Oct. 1, 2027. The bill does not mandate that LEAs use the template, just that the CDE makes it available for uniformity and ease of use. 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) – Local educational agencies: reports: school accountability report card: California School Dashboard: local control accountability plan: local control funding formula budget overview
- Requires the CDE to submit a report to the Legislature identifying duplication between the School Accountability Report Card and the California School Dashboard and makes the mid-year Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) update flexible. Co-sponsored with the CASBO and ACSA
Other CSBA-sponsored legislation
AB 2490 (Valencia, D-Anaheim) – Teacher credentialing: emergency career substitute teaching permit: alternative qualifications
- A re-introduction of AB 1224 from last year, which was vetoed by the Governor, would expand the amount of time an authorized substitute teacher could serve in a single general, special or career technical education classroom from 30 days to 70 days. Co-sponsored with ACSA, the California County Superintendents and CASBO.
Other notable bills heading to the Governor
Budget
AB 2467 (Committee on Education) Elementary and secondary education: omnibus.
- Makes 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
Curriculum and instruction
AB 2555 (Patel) – English learners: reclassification
- Makes 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
Senate Bill 1067 (Weber-Pierson, D-San Diego) – Math Screenings
- Requires 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. Would require an LEA to assess each pupil in kindergarten, first and second grades.
- CSBA position: Oppose
SB 1128 (Stern, D-Sherman Oaks) – Pupils: technology-based materials: school-issued electronic devices
- Would prohibit an LEA from requiring a student in kindergarten to take home a school-issued electronic device. Would also require the CDE to provide resources and guidance for the age-appropriate use of school-issued electronic devices in schools.
- CSBA position: Tracking
School funding
AB 2440 (Muratsuchi, D-Los Angeles) – Arts and Music in Schools—Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act: allowable uses: pooled funding: funding certifications.
- This bill makes various changes to the Arts and Music in Schools Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act (Proposition 28) by 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
School facilities
AB 1642 (Harabedian, D-San Bernardino) – Wildfires: contamination standards
- Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the California Air Resources Board to develop regulations and guidance for testing, remediation and restoration of wildfire smoke contamination, as specified, and DTSC to develop advisory guidance for schools to support LEAs after a wildfire.
- CSBA position: Neutral
SB 1107 (Stern) (Stern, D-Ventura) – School Facilities: design-build: shade structures
- Authorizes a school district to procure multiple design-build contacts for analogous shade structure projects with a single solicitation if the total value of all projects combined exceeds $1,000,000 without exceeding $10,000,000 and are awarded to the lowest or best value bid.
- CSBA position: Support
Public education governance
AB 1721 (Muratsuchi) – Pupil safety: comprehensive school safety plans.
- Requires 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
SB 934 (Wiener, D-San Francisco) – Sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts
- This bill would ban a licensed mental health provider from engaging in sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts under any circumstances and was referenced in the recent Supreme Court ruling that protected a therapist’s right to “conversion therapy” on the grounds that it is protected under the First Amendment. Recent amendments removed the provision that would have held school districts liable for damages.
- CSBA Position: Neutral
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. This bill 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
Special education
AB 2468 (Patel) – School accountability: pupils with disabilities: inclusion.
- This bill establishes and expands 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
AB 2526 (Muratsuchi) – Special education local plan areas: apportionments: alternate assessments.
- Expands 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
SB 685 (Cortese, D-Santa Clara) – Special Education: nonpublic schools and agencies
- This bill would exceed a ruling issued by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by expanding the CDE’s authority to certify qualified religious nonpublic schools and agencies to provide special education services to students with disabilities.
- CSBA position: Disapprove
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.
- This bill would allow 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
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
AB 2142 (Garcia, D-San Bernardino) – Classified staff: temporary employees
- Would make it more difficult for an LEA to hire temporary classified staff by mandating the LEA to make temporary staff permanent if they work up to 75 percent of a school year, even if the employee quits or is terminated and is then rehired at a later date, no matter how much time passes between employment.
- CSBA position: Oppose
SB 1083 (Pérez, D-Pasadena) – Classified staff: egregious misconduct
- A follow-up measure to SB 848 from last year, it makes various changes relating 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 requirements.
- CSBA position: Neutral
Artificial intelligence
SB 947 (McNerney, D-Stockton) – Employment: automated decision systems
- This bill would place limitations on how automated decision systems may be used to make disciplinary or termination decisions and would prohibit certain technologies with particular functions.
- CSBA position: Oppose
AB 1883 (Bryan, D-Los Angeles): Workplace surveillance tools
- Prohibits an employer from using workplace surveillance tools that use artificial intelligence to collect an individual’s emotional state.
- CSBA position: Oppose
Elections
AB 2573 by (Sharp-Collins, D-San Diego): Voter registration information: elected officials and candidates.
- Modifies an existing program protecting an elected official’s 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
SB 1164 (Cervantes, D-Riverside) – Elections
- This bill seeks to replace the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 to prohibit a political subdivision or state agency from implementing, imposing or enforcing any election or practice the results in or could likely result in voter suppression.
- CSBA position: Oppose Unless Amended
