California public schools face a batch of new requirements after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several education bills in September. Some changes apply now, while others phase in over the next two school years.
Math screening for the youngest students
Senate Bill 1067, by Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson and signed Sept. 27, requires schools to check the math skills of every student in kindergarten, first grade and second grade. The State Board of Education must approve guidelines by July 31, 2027, the Department of Education must pick approved screening tools by Jan. 31, 2028, and districts begin using them in fall 2028, EdSource reported.
Children whose home language is not English are to be assessed in that language "wherever feasible," the law says.
A faster exit from English learner status
Assembly Bill 2555 was passed as an urgency measure, so it took effect when the governor signed it Sept. 27. Under the bill text, an English learner who reaches the state board's reclassification score on the state English proficiency test in 2025-26 or 2026-27 is reclassified as proficient.
Students who met that score last year but were not reclassified must be moved by Jan. 31, 2027. EdSource reported the change drops the teacher evaluation, parent consultation and basic skills comparison that had also been required, and that the bill drew wide support from English learner advocates and researchers.
Arts money, substitutes and conferences
- AB 2440 lets districts spend Proposition 28 arts funds on curriculum, teaching materials and staff training, and lets districts combine their allocations. EdSource reported it also ends annual audits of how those funds are used.
- AB 2490 gives college graduates a new route to an emergency career substitute permit: an orientation, a mentor and five hours of training, in place of 90 days of prior substitute work. Substitutes who qualify this way may spend as many as 70 total days in a single classroom, and districts must notify affected parents.
- SB 1412 gives parents the right to meet a teacher by phone or a school-approved video platform when they cannot attend in person. Those meetings may not be recorded or transcribed.
Social media and community colleges
Assembly Bill 1709, signed Sept. 10, bars covered platforms from giving users under 16 any "addictive feature" and requires them to delete under-16 accounts unless the account is kept free of those features. Enforcement is limited to lawsuits by the attorney general or local prosecutors, and fines can reach $50,000 for each affected child when a violation is knowing, or $25,000 when it is negligent.
The bill also creates an e-Safety Advisory Commission inside the state Department of Justice.
