AB 1943

AB1943:v97#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1943

An act to amend Sections 234.6, 32289.6, 48986, and 49604 of, and to repeal Sections 49391 and 49392 of, the Education Code, relating to pupil safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1943, as amended, Gipson. Pupil safety: notifications: firearms.

(1) Existing law requires a school district, county office of education, and charter school to annually inform parents and guardians of pupils at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term of California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to the safe storage of firearms, as specified. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, on or before July 1, 2023, to develop, and subsequently update as provided, in consultation with the Department of Justice, and provide to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, and, upon request, to provide to private schools, model language for the notice regarding those child access prevention and safe storage of firearms laws.

This bill would revise and recast those requirements by, among other things, (A) instead requiring those local educational agencies to inform parents or guardians of each enrolled pupil of the importance of practicing secure firearm storage for all homes in which firearms are present through a notice entitled “Secure Firearm Storage Notification“ that contains, among other things, a description of the risks of children accessing unsecured firearms in the home and California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to the safe storage of firearms, (B) for all local educational agencies that maintain a website, requiring the notice to be additionally be posted, and annually updated, on the local educational agency’s department, commencing July 1, 2027, to post the model language for notice on its internet website, as specified, (C) requiring the department, on or before July 1, 2027, to provide formatting and content options for local educational agencies to post the notice on their respective internet websites and for posting other relevant information and resources about secure firearm storage using other internet-based communication options, and (D) requiring the department to encourage each local educational agency to adopt a policy and practice of providing the notice to parents, guardians, and caregivers when otherwise providing notice to parents, guardians, or caregivers of disciplinary actions or supports given related to threats against other pupils or threats of self-harm. The bill would make conforming changes. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law requires the department, on or before June 15, 2025, to curate and post on its internet website best practices pertaining to school shooter or other armed assailant drills for use by school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, as provided. Existing law encourages a school district, county office of education, or charter school to comply with those best practices.

This bill would require those best practices to also include a recommendation to distribute distributing the Secure Firearm Storage Notice published by the department when providing a specified drill-related notice to parents and guardians of pupils. pupils and a recommendation to post the notice on the local educational agency’s internet website.

(3) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to send a notice to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each school counselor at least one time while employed as a counselor, provides information on the availability of the suicide prevention training curriculum developed by the department, and informs schools about the suicide prevention training provided by the department and describes how a school might retain those services.

This bill would require that notice to also include the Secure Firearm Storage Notification model content published by the department as an example of information about reducing access to lethal means that can be given by a school counselor to a pupil’s family, as provided.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.Section 234.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:

234.6.

(a)For purposes of this article, “local educational agency” means a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school.

(b)Commencing with the 2020–21 academic year, each local educational agency shall ensure that all of the following information is readily accessible in a prominent location on the local educational agency’s existing internet website in a manner that is easily accessible to parents or guardians and pupils:

(1)The local educational agency’s policy on pupil suicide prevention in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, adopted pursuant to Section 215.

(2)The local educational agency’s policy on pupil suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, adopted pursuant to Section 215, including reference to the age appropriateness of that policy.

(3)The definition of discrimination and harassment based on sex as described in Section 230. This shall include the rights set forth in Section 221.8.

(4)The Title IX information included on a local educational agency’s internet website pursuant to Section 221.61.

(5)A link to the Title IX information included on the department’s internet website pursuant to Section 221.6.

(6)The local educational agency’s written policy on sexual harassment, as it pertains to pupils, prepared pursuant to Section 231.5.

(7)The local educational agency’s policy, if it exists, on preventing and responding to hate violence as described in Section 233.

(8)The local educational agency’s anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, anti-intimidation, and anti-bullying policies as described in Section 234.1.

(9)The local educational agency’s anti-cyberbullying procedures adopted pursuant to Section 234.4.

(10)A section on social media bullying that includes all of the following references to possible forums for social media bullying:

(A)Internet websites with free registration and ease of registration.

(B)Internet websites offering peer-to-peer instant messaging.

(C)Internet websites offering comment forums or sections.

(D)Internet websites offering image or video posting platforms.

(11)A link to statewide resources, including community-based organizations, compiled by the department pursuant to Section 234.5.

(12)Commencing with the 2027–28 academic year, the Secure Firearm Storage Notification developed pursuant to Section 49896.

(13)Any additional information a local educational agency deems important for preventing bullying and harassment.

(c)Commencing with the 2025–26 academic year, each local educational agency shall ensure that the resources related to neurodiversity developed by the University of California and California State University Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning are readily accessible in a prominent location on the local educational agency’s internet website in a manner that is easily accessible to parents or guardians and pupils.

SEC. 2.SECTION 1.

Section 32289.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:

32289.6.

(a) (1) On or before June 15, 2025, the department shall curate and post on its internet website best practices pertaining to school shooter or other armed assailant drills, including, but not limited to, guidance for age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate drills, including age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate language, and staff training tools pertaining to school shooter or other armed assailant drills, for use by school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools providing instructional services to pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(2) On or before July 1, 2027, the best practices curated and posted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall also include a recommendation to distribute distributing the Secure Firearm Storage Notice published by the department pursuant to Section 49896 when providing advanced notice of a drill to parents and guardians of pupils pursuant to Section 32282 or 47606.3. 47606.3 and a recommendation to post the notice on the local educational agency’s internet website.

(b) A school district, county office of education, and charter school is encouraged to comply with all the best practices established by the department pursuant subdivision (a).

SEC. 3.SEC. 2.

Section 48986 of the Education Code is amended to read:

48986.

(a) (1) A local educational agency shall inform, through a notice in the manner prescribed in this section, the parents or guardians of each enrolled pupil of the importance of practicing secure firearm storage in all homes in which firearms are present. The notice shall be titled “Secure Firearm Storage Notification” and shall contain all of the following information:

(A) A description of the risks of children accessing unsecured firearms in the home.

(B) Information and resources about the importance of secure firearm storage for preventing youth firearm suicide and preventing children and teens from accessing guns and bringing them to school.

(C) A plain language summary of California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to the secure storage of firearms, including, but not limited to, Division 4 (commencing with Section 25000) of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code. The summary of the laws shall begin with the preventative requirement in subdivision (a) of Section 25145 of the Penal Code.

(D) The internet website address for the Department of Justice’s Roster of Firearm Safety Devices Certified for Sale.

(2) The notice shall be provided annually in writing at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term.

(3) The notice shall be informed by the most updated model language developed pursuant to subdivision (c).

(b) (1) The notice described in subdivision (a) shall be made using any of the methods described in Section 48981 that apply and may be provided as a single notice for multiple pupils living in the same household.

(2) A school district shall provide the notice as part of the annual notification required pursuant to Section 48980.

(3)For all local educational agencies that maintain a website, the notice shall additionally be posted, and annually updated, on the local educational agency’s internet website.

(4)

(3) Local educational agencies are encouraged to share the information contained within the notice with school communities through multiple easily accessible mediums, including internet-based communications, including, but not limited to, the local educational agency’s internet website, any social media accounts used by the local educational agency, and through other digital and nondigital communications.

(c) (1) On or before July 1, 2027, the department shall develop, in consultation with the Department of Justice, model language for the notice described in subdivision (a).

(2) On or before July 1, 2028, and each July 1 thereafter, the department shall update as necessary for any change in the law, law or Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), in consultation with the Department of Justice, the model language developed for the notice described in subdivision (a) pursuant to paragraph (1).

(3) Commencing July 1, 2027, the department shall post the model language for the notice developed and updated pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) on its internet website.

(3)

(4) The department shall share the model language developed and updated pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) in both of the following manners:

(A) Annually with all local educational agencies for the purposes described in subdivision (a).

(B) Upon request, with any private school for distribution or potential distribution by the private school.

(4)

(5) On or before July 1, 2027, the department shall also provide formatting and content options for local educational agencies to post the notice described in subdivision (a) on their respective internet websites and for posting other relevant information and resources about secure firearm storage using other internet-based communication options, including, but not limited to, social media.

(d) A local educational agency, a private school, and the department are immune from civil liability for any damages allegedly caused by, arising out of, or relating to the notice if the entity provided the notice using the model language provided to it by the department.

(e) The department shall encourage each local educational agency to adopt a policy and practice of providing the Secure Firearm Storage Notification to parents, guardians, and caregivers when otherwise providing notice to parents, guardians, or caregivers of disciplinary actions or supports given related to threats against other pupils or threats of self-harm.

(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

(2) “Private school” means a person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation offering or conducting private school instruction in the state.

(3) “Private school instruction” means instruction at the elementary or high school level for one or more pupils who are 6 to 18 years of age, inclusive. Private school instruction includes, but is not limited to, instruction by conventional or traditional private schools, private school satellite programs, private online or virtual schools, and certified nonpublic nonsectarian schools.

SEC. 4.SEC. 3.

Section 49391 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 5.SEC. 4.

Section 49392 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 6.SEC. 5.

Section 49604 of the Education Code is amended to read:

49604.

(a) The Superintendent shall send a notice to each middle school, junior high school, and high school that encourages each school to provide suicide prevention training to each school counselor at least one time while employed as a counselor, provides information on the availability of the suicide prevention training curriculum developed by the department, and informs schools about the suicide prevention training provided by the department and describes how a school might retain those services.

(b) The notice pursuant to subdivision (a) shall also include the Secure Firearm Storage Notification model language developed and updated by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 48986 as an example of information about reducing access to lethal means that can be given by a school counselor to a pupil’s family in a suicide prevention parent consultation or when reporting information to parents pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 49602.

SEC. 7.SEC. 6.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.