Quick look: With California’s 2025–26 legislative session complete, a new slate of education laws is set to reshape areas ranging from artificial intelligence and student data privacy to substitute staffing, English learner reclassification and early math assessments.
The deadline has passed for Gov. Gavin Newsom to act on legislation from California’s 2025–26 regular session, bringing a close to a busy year of policymaking in Sacramento.
On Sept. 30, Newsom signed his final bill of the regular session — and likely the final bill as governor — after acting on hundreds of measures covering education, technology, public safety, health care and other issues.
For schools, some of the most notable changes involve artificial intelligence and online safety, while others address teacher staffing, student assessments, parent communication, arts funding and school accountability.
Many of the new laws take effect Jan. 1, though some have later implementation dates or require state agencies to develop guidance before local changes occur.
Here’s a look at several measures educators and families may want to know about.
New guardrails for student data and artificial intelligence
California approved a broad package of legislation this year aimed at children’s online safety and the rapidly expanding use of artificial intelligence. The package included new rules for companion chatbots, social media platforms and student information.
Among them, AB 1159 (Addis) strengthens protections for student data held by education technology companies. Beginning in 2027, covered student information may not be used to train generative AI systems. For schools, the law could prompt closer reviews of vendor agreements and questions from families about what information educational technology tools collect and how it is used.
SB 1119 (Padilla), known as Adam’s Law, establishes protections for minors who use AI companion chatbots, including safety notifications, parental controls, crisis protocols, risk assessments and independent audits.
And AB 2071 (Hoover) directs the California Department of Education to develop a statewide plan for expanding digital wellness education, including age-appropriate resources and guidance on healthy and responsible uses of technology and AI. The plan is due Jan. 1, 2028; the law does not itself require schools to immediately adopt new curriculum.
Alternatives to social media for activity updates
Beginning with the 2027–28 school year, AB 302 (Bauer-Kahan) will prohibit schools from excluding students from extracurricular activities because they do not use an addictive social media feed. Schools also will not be able to make those feeds the only way students or parents receive information about activities.
The law does not prohibit teams, clubs and other programs from using social media. But schools will need to make sure important information — such as schedules, tryouts, cancellations and other updates — is available through another reliable channel as well.
Younger students and take-home devices
Another new law focuses specifically on some of California’s youngest students.
Beginning with the 2027–28 school year, SB 1128 (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.
Schools may still allow students to bring devices home. The CDE is also directed to develop resources on age-appropriate screen time and device use by July 1, 2027.
A new approach to English learner reclassification
One of the more immediate changes involves how California determines when English learners are reclassified as fluent English proficient.
Under AB 2555 (Patel), California is moving away from the previous four-part reclassification process toward a more standardized statewide approach.
Beginning with the 2026–27 school year, students who meet the state-approved threshold on the Summative ELPAC or Alternate ELPAC must be reclassified based on that assessment alone, rather than additional local criteria.
Eligible students based on 2025–26 results must be reclassified by Jan. 31, 2027, with additional automation planned beginning in 2027–28. The law also includes new communication requirements for families, including notification when a student is reclassified and information about the student’s potential opportunity to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy.
Early math assessments coming for K–2
California is also creating a new statewide approach to early mathematics assessments.
SB 1067 (Weber Pierson) establishes a framework for math diagnostic assessments in kindergarten through grade 2, using state-approved criteria and tools intended to identify students who may need additional support.
The State Board of Education must first develop criteria and guidance, due by July 31, 2027. The assessments are intended as early diagnostic tools rather than another high-stakes statewide testing program.
More flexibility for long-term substitutes
Teacher staffing was another focus of the session.
AB 2490 (Valencia) creates another pathway to an emergency career substitute permit and allows qualifying permit holders to remain in one classroom for up to 70 cumulative days, including in special education.
The measure was designed to give schools additional flexibility — the limit used to be 60 days — amid teacher shortages, particularly in positions that can be difficult to fill. It also includes training, mentoring and reporting requirements.
Broader employee misconduct checks
Hiring rules will also change for many noncertificated school employees.
SB 1083 (Pérez) expands existing employment-history checks by broadening the information prior school employers must disclose about credible complaints, investigations or discipline involving egregious misconduct.
The law builds on an existing statewide system and could affect hiring practices for many classified and other noncertificated employees beginning in 2027.
Families gain another option for teacher conferences
A more straightforward change could make parent-teacher meetings easier to attend.
Under SB 1412 (Rubio), parents, guardians and 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.
Newsom signed the measure Sept. 28 as part of a package of laws his office described as intended to make everyday interactions with government and other institutions easier.
Changes to Proposition 28 arts funding
Schools will also have greater clarity and flexibility in administering funding generated by Proposition 28, the voter-approved initiative that provides ongoing state funding for arts and music education.
AB 2440 (Muratsuchi) 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. The law also adds transparency provisions, including public posting of expenditure plans and waivers.
Some school reporting requirements will be streamlined
Finally, AB 2496 (Solache) takes aim at overlapping school accountability reports.
The law removes certain information from the School Accountability Report Card, or SARC, and eliminates the Feb. 28 deadline for presenting the midyear Local Control and Accountability Plan and LCFF Budget Overview update. That information must still be presented annually at a regularly scheduled board meeting.
AB 2496 also directs CDE to report to lawmakers by Aug. 31, 2027, on areas where information in the SARC duplicates data already available through other public sources.
The changes do not eliminate major accountability tools such as the SARC or California School Dashboard, but they could be the beginning of a broader effort to simplify how schools report information to the state and public.