|
| Legislative Bill Tracker 2025-26 |
| 10/1/2025 |
Location: 09/20/2025 - Assembly CHAPTERED
Summary: This text outlines a legal framework designed to protect the privacy and rights of students and their families concerning immigration status and related enforcement in California schools. Existing laws prevent school officials from gathering information about the citizenship or immigration status of students or their families, with exceptions only as mandated by law. School superintendents and principals must report any immigration-related inquiries by law enforcement to their governing board while protecting confidentiality.
The bill extends these laws by prohibiting school officials from allowing immigration enforcement officers to enter nonpublic areas of a school without a valid judicial warrant, subpoena, or court order. Additionally, it restricts school personnel from sharing student records or family information without parental consent or legal obligation.
These regulations are supported by a state-mandated local program, emphasizing protective policies against immigration enforcement in schools, which must be updated in alignment with the new rules by 2026. The bill also addresses fiscal responsibilities, stating that the state must reimburse local agencies for any costs incurred due to these mandates. Furthermore, the bill is designated as an urgency statute, meaning it takes immediate effect.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Location: 09/13/2025 - Senate INACTIVE FILE
Summary: The Child Care and Developmental Services Act and the Early Education Act govern childcare services in California, providing options and funding for children up to age 13. Currently, state-subsidized childcare providers and preschool programs are reimbursed based on maximum hours authorized, with a plan extending this system to 2028. This bill proposes extending additional financial "cost of care plus" rates for childcare providers indefinitely, which initially started in 2024 with increased rates from 2025 to 2026. The bill also suggests a one-time payment for family daycare providers and a stabilization payment for family childcare centers, contingent on the ratification of an agreement with Child Care Providers United - California by September 30, 2025. This payment framework uses appropriated funds and will amount to $157,852,000, plus additional allocations to support a training partnership and retirement trust for childcare providers from 2025 to 2028, as part of an annual budget act, and takes effect immediately to align with the Budget Bill.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Location: 09/23/2025 - Assembly ENROLLED
Summary: The text outlines proposed legislative changes under the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025. The key points include:
1. **Caregiver Authorization**: The bill seeks to broaden the definition of "relative" for the purpose of signing a caregiver’s authorization affidavit, allowing more relatives to enroll minors in school and authorize medical care. It expands who can be charged with perjury, creating a state-mandated program.
2. **Guardianship**: The bill allows courts to appoint joint guardians, including a custodial parent and their nominee, if the parent will be temporarily unavailable due to reasons like immigration actions. It ensures confidentiality of related legal proceedings.
3. **Immigration and Education**: The bill updates requirements for local educational agencies, mandating they provide updated guidance on immigration enforcement following the Attorney General's policies. These agencies must adapt their policies in response to any updates.
4. **Child Daycare Regulation**: Similar to educational facilities, licensed and license-exempt child daycare facilities are prohibited from collecting certain immigration-related information unless legally required. These facilities must report law enforcement requests and follow model policies for immigration enforcement, which must be updated as necessary.
5. **Severability and Legislative Findings**: The bill includes a severability clause, ensuring that if part of the law is invalidated, the rest remains in effect. It also requires legislative findings to justify any restrictions on public meetings or access to public records.
6. **Cost Reimbursement**: The bill stipulates that certain costs mandated by the state do not require reimbursement, following statutory procedures if the Commission on State Mandates identifies additional mandated costs. Additional changes are incorporated in connection with other legislative proposals (AB 49, AB 419), contingent upon their enactment.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Support
Location: 09/24/2025 - Assembly ENROLLED
Summary: The California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, as established by existing law, provides cash assistance and benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. The CalWORKs Home Visiting Program specifically supports the health and well-being of pregnant and parenting families and infants in poverty. Participation in this program is voluntary for both counties and individuals. The law mandates that the program offer high-quality, evidence-based, culturally sensitive services to pregnant people, parents, or caretaker relatives and their children until the child reaches 24 months or two years old, whichever is later. Eligible participants must be part of a CalWORKs assistance unit or meet other specified criteria. If a participant or caretaker exits the program, they can still receive home visiting services until they complete the program. However, a new bill proposes that this service duration should not exceed the specific home visiting program model, with a maximum continuation of service for up to 12 months after leaving the program.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Group: Children Now
Location: 09/22/2025 - Assembly ENROLLED
Summary: The text describes a legislative bill related to childcare and preschool education. This bill allows the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue an assistant teacher permit, enabling holders to assist in early childhood education under supervision. To qualify, applicants need at least six units in relevant studies from an accredited institution. Contracting agencies must keep a copy of the assistant teacher's education plan and can employ assistant teachers in no more than 50% of classrooms, with a maximum of one assistant teacher per classroom. These permits are valid for up to two years and cannot be renewed. The bill mandates implementation by January 30, 2026, and will become inactive one year after the revised child development permit matrix or by January 1, 2029, the later date. The bill allows authorities to require data collection on assistant teacher permit use for program evaluation. It is an urgency statute, set to take effect immediately.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Group: Kidango
Location: 09/16/2025 - Assembly ENROLLED
Summary: The Commission on Teacher Credentialing currently includes 15 voting members: the Superintendent of Public Instruction and 14 others, including 6 practicing public school teachers and 3 public representatives appointed by the Governor with Senate approval. Members serve staggered 4-year terms. A proposed bill would allow the Governor to appoint a teacher with a child development permit from a state-funded preschool or prekindergarten program as one of the 6 teachers. Additionally, when a vacancy for a public representative occurs after January 1, 2026, the bill would reduce the number of public representatives from 3 to 2. Instead, the Governor would appoint an early childhood faculty member who teaches in a baccalaureate program at a California State University or University of California campus, or in an associate degree program at a California Community College.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Group: CCRC, HeadStart CA, PEACH
Location: 05/23/2025 - Assembly 2 YEAR
Summary: The Child Care and Development Services Act, managed by the State Department of Social Services, provides a system for childcare services for children up to 13 years old. It includes resource and referral programs in specific areas, offering information and referrals to licensed daycare facilities. Previously, federal funds were allocated to local childcare resource and referral agencies to aid in COVID-19 relief and to enhance their capacity and data collection. However, a new bill proposes repealing this provision. Instead, it outlines that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, these agencies must assist childcare providers during disasters by assuming specific roles in disaster plans. The bill also mandates that the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network must fulfill its designated responsibilities in these plans. Additionally, it requires the department, with local agencies, to set data collection and reporting standards related to disaster readiness for childcare providers.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Group: R&R Network
Location: 07/17/2025 - Senate 2 YEAR
Summary: The Child Care and Development Services Act, managed by the State Department of Social Services, mandates the implementation of childcare programs for eligible children from infancy to 13 years old. Providers in these programs must submit monthly attendance records under certain circumstances. "Attendance" is defined as the number of children present at a facility, including certain extended absences. This bill seeks to expand the valid reasons for extended absences to include medical and educational appointments for reimbursement purposes. Additionally, it would permit contractors to claim attendance for days when they must reserve a spot for a child if a family is presumed to have abandoned care or is going through an appeal process. The law also requires a fee schedule for these programs based on family income and need, assessed as a single monthly fee. Families receiving child protective services can currently be exempt from fees for up to 12 months; this bill proposes extending that exemption to 24 months.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Location: 05/23/2025 - Senate 2 YEAR
Summary: The California Child Day Care Facilities Act mandates the licensing and regulation of various child daycare facilities, like daycare centers and family daycare homes. Violating these provisions is considered a crime. Some entities are exempt, such as community care facilities and certain programs by the Department of Corrections. A proposed bill introduces a new exemption for family childcare homes certified by the U.S. Armed Forces that cater exclusively to children of eligible federal personnel and surviving spouses. However, these military-certified homes must meet specific requirements, like maintaining a list of exempt facilities, reporting any serious incidents, and posting notices about their exempt status. They must also comply with state health and safety regulations without needing a license. The Department of Social Services is empowered to inspect these exempt homes and will establish a policy by July 1, 2026, addressing health, safety, and enforcement issues. This policy will be published online and updated as needed. Additionally, priority for annual inspections will be given to facilities, licensed or exempt, participating in certain quality improvement programs administered by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Location: 09/17/2025 - Senate CHAPTERED
Summary: The proposed bill modifies existing childcare and education law in several ways:
1. **Reimbursement Extension**: The bill extends the reimbursement period for state-subsidized childcare and preschool providers based on the maximum authorized or certified hours of care from the current end date to July 1, 2028. This rule applies to both licensed providers and license-exempt providers.
2. **Monthly Payment Continuation**: Existing law provides a supplemental monthly payment to childcare providers and centers known as the "cost of care plus rate," which is scheduled to increase between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. The bill proposes to extend these payments—including their increases—indefinitely beyond 2026.
3. **One-time Payments**: It introduces a one-time payment plan to compensate for increases in cost of care, with execution contingent upon the ratification of a tentative agreement between the State and the Child Care Providers United - California (CCPU) by September 30, 2025. Providers will receive additional stabilization payments per child, also set to be distributed by January 1, 2026, following the agreement ratification.
4. **Funding Appropriation**: The bill allocates $157,852,000 from the General Fund for these one-time stabilization payments. It also supports the continual funding of childcare provider training, health care, and retirement funds as per the existing law and agreement from July 2025 through July 2028.
5. **Immediate Effect**: This bill stipulates it will take effect immediately, as it involves budget-related appropriations.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Location: 09/22/2025 - Senate ENROLLED
Summary: The bill amends existing laws governing the licensing and regulation of health facilities, such as skilled nursing facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), by the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Social Services. It mandates annual reviews of external disaster plans for skilled nursing facilities and suggests RCFEs provide their emergency plans to local health coordinators. The bill addresses facilities rendered nonoperational due to emergencies by allowing them to request inactive license status if they aim to rebuild or reopen. Entities must notify the department within 90 days of a disaster declaration to request inactive status, and licensing fees may be waived. Additionally, the bill allows certain drug recovery or treatment facilities to request inactive certification under specific conditions. It outlines coordination requirements among state departments for facilities that hold multiple licenses. New provisions also include requirements for Medi-Cal managed care plans and childcare attendance waivers during emergencies. From January 1, 2028, facilities can request inactive status for other periods of inactivity. This bill extends current crime scope, thereby establishing a state-mandated local program but specifies that no reimbursement is required by the act.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Watch
Location: 09/17/2025 - Senate ENROLLED
Summary: Under the existing Child Care and Development Services Act, the State Department of Social Services manages childcare programs, including those for migrant workers. Currently, a "migrant agricultural worker family" is defined as one earning at least 50% of its gross income from agriculture-related work in the past year. Eligible children from these families are prioritized for enrollment in development programs based on specific criteria. The new bill proposes to change this definition to include families where at least one person earns at least 40% of their income from such work. Additionally, it would require income self-certification for enrollment to align with other childcare programs under the same act.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Support
Group: MAOF
Location: 09/22/2025 - Senate ENROLLED
Summary: The Child Care and Development Services Act, managed by California's State Department of Social Services, provides various childcare services for children up to 13 years old, including CalWORKs Stage 2 and 3, migrant childcare, and services for children with special needs. To qualify for these services, families must have an income at or below 85% of the state median income, adjusted for family size. However, for the third stage of CalWORKs childcare services, eligibility has been adjusted so that the income level also matches this 85% threshold. Families utilizing these services pay a monthly fee based on their income and needs, but those involved in child protective services can be exempted from fees for up to 24 months, an extension from 12 months. Providers need to submit monthly attendance, and attendance policies now include absences for medical and educational appointments. Contractors can claim reimbursement for holding a childcare space during family appeal processes or when care is assumed abandoned.
Organization: EveryChild California
Position: Support
Total Measures: 13
Total Tracking Forms: 13