§ 234.7. — 234.7. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 664, Sec. 3.3.)

(a)
Except as required by state or federal law or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, school officials and employees of a local educational agency shall not do either of the following:
(1)
Collect information or documents regarding citizenship or immigration status of pupils or their family members.
(2)
Allow an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement to enter a nonpublic area of a schoolsite for any purpose without being presented with a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena, or a court order. Any school official or employee of a local educational agency shall, to the extent practicable, request a valid identification from an
officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement seeking to enter a nonpublic area of a schoolsite. This subdivision shall not be construed to limit a local educational agency’s or school official’s right to consult with counsel or challenge the validity of a warrant, subpoena, or court order in a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b)
A local educational agency and its personnel, to the extent practicable, shall not disclose or provide in writing, verbally, or in any other manner, the education records of or any information about a pupil or a pupil’s family and household without the pupil’s parents’ or guardians’ written consent, a school employee, or a teacher, including, but not limited to, personal information as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1798.3 of the Civil Code, information about a pupil’s home, and information about a pupil’s travel schedule, to an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration
enforcement absent a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena, or court order directing the local educational agency or its personnel to do so. Any disclosure of a pupil’s education records pursuant to a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena, or court order shall be in accordance with the parent notification requirements set forth in Section 99.31(a)(9)(ii) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(c)
The superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of a county office of education, and the principal of a charter school, as applicable, shall report to the respective governing board or body of the local educational agency in a timely manner any requests for information or access to a schoolsite by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information.
(d)
If an employee of a school is aware that a pupil’s parent or guardian is not available to care for the pupil, the school shall first exhaust any parental instruction relating to the pupil’s care in the emergency contact information it has for the pupil to arrange for the pupil’s care. A school is encouraged to work with parents or guardians to update their emergency contact information and not to contact a child protective services agency to arrange for the pupil’s care unless the school is unable to arrange for care through the use of emergency contact information or other information or instructions provided by the parent or guardian.
(e)
The governing board or body of a local educational agency shall do all of the following:
(1)
(A)
Provide information to parents and guardians, as
appropriate, regarding their child’s right to a free public education, regardless of immigration status or religious beliefs. This information shall include information relating to both of the following:
(i)
The Immigration-Enforcement Actions at California Schools Guide for Students and Families, also known as “Know Your Educational Rights,” developed by the Attorney General.
(ii)
“Promoting a Safe and Secure Learning Environment for All: Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s K–12 Schools in Responding to Immigration Issues” issued by the Attorney General on January 6, 2025, including, but not limited to, information related to plans for family safety, the caregiver’s authorization affidavit in Section 6552 of the Family Code, and the importance of providing the school with, and regularly updating, emergency contact information, including secondary and additional
contact information. The provided information shall be revised as necessary to be consistent with any revisions or updates to the guidance issued by the Attorney General.
(B)
The information may be provided in the annual notification to parents and guardians pursuant to Section 48980 or any other cost-effective means determined by the local educational agency.
(C)
The guide specified in clause (i) subparagraph (A) shall be posted in the administrative buildings and on the internet websites of the local educational agency and each of its schoolsites. The guide shall be posted in every language that the Attorney General provides and shall be updated the school year following any updates published by the Attorney General.
(2)
Educate pupils about the negative impact of bullying other pupils based on their actual or
perceived immigration status or their religious beliefs and customs.
(f)
This section does not prohibit the governing board or body of a local educational agency from establishing stronger standards and protections.
(g)
(1)
The Attorney General, by April 1, 2018, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, shall publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement at public schools, to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law, and ensuring that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status. The Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider all of the following issues when developing the model policies:
(A)
Procedures related to requests for access to school grounds for purposes related
to immigration enforcement.
(B)
Procedures for local educational agency employees to notify the superintendent of the school district or the superintendent’s designee, the superintendent of the county office of education or the superintendent’s designee, or the principal of the charter school or the principal’s designee, as applicable, if an individual requests or gains access to school grounds for purposes related to immigration enforcement.
(C)
Procedures for responding to requests for personal information about pupils or their family members for purposes of immigration enforcement.
(2)
The Attorney General shall, no later than December 1, 2025, update the model policies described in paragraph (1) to ensure that these policies align with the prohibition applicable to school officials and employees of local
educational agencies as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), and the requirements for local educational agencies, as described in this section.
(3)
Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the Department of Justice may implement, interpret, or make specific this section without taking any regulatory action.
(h)
All local educational agencies shall do all of the following:
(1)
Adopt the model policies developed pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (g), or equivalent policies, by July 1, 2018.
(2)
Revise their model policies as necessary to be consistent with any revisions or updates to the model
policies developed by the Attorney General, including “Promoting a Safe and Secure Learning Environment for All: Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s K–12 Schools in Responding to Immigration Issues” issued by the Attorney General on January 6, 2025, including, but not limited to, information related to plans for family safety, the caregiver’s authorization affidavit in Section 6552 of the Family Code, and the importance of providing the school with, and regularly updating, emergency contact information, including secondary and additional contact information.
(3)
Update their model policies to align with this section, including paragraph (2) of subdivision (g), by March 1, 2026.
(i)
This section does not prohibit or restrict any governmental entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, federal immigration authorities, information regarding the citizenship
or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an individual, or from requesting from federal immigration authorities immigration status information, lawful or unlawful, of any individual, or maintaining or exchanging that information with any other federal, state, or local governmental entity, pursuant to Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the United States Code.
(j)
A local educational agency shall maintain its policy adopted pursuant to subdivision (h) and make the policy available to the department upon request.
(k)
Local educational agencies may be subject to monitoring and auditing by the department to ensure compliance with the requirements of subdivisions (h) and (j).
(l)
For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1)
“Immigration enforcement” includes any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal civil immigration law, and any and all efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal criminal immigration law that penalizes a person’s presence in, entry, or reentry to, or employment in, the United States.
(2)
“Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(3) “Schoolsite” means an individual school campus of a school district, county office of education, or charter school, an area where a local educational agency’s school-sponsored activity is currently being held, or a schoolbus or other transportation provided by a local educational agency.

Legislative History

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 664, Sec. 3.3. (AB 495) Effective January 1, 2026.