AB 1721

AB1721:v97#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1721

An act to add Section 32282.3 to the Education Code, relating to pupil safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1721, as amended, Muratsuchi. Pupil safety: comprehensive school safety plans.

Under existing law, each school district and county office of education is responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in cooperation with certain local entities. Existing law requires that the plan include identification of appropriate strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and address the school’s procedures for complying with existing laws related to school safety.

This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the State Board of Education, to, on or before July 1, 2027, convene a statewide stakeholder workgroup, as provided, to review existing comprehensive school safety plans and make recommendations on the development and approval process and the required elements of a comprehensive school safety plan, as provided. The bill would require the Superintendent to, on or before July 1, 2028, submit a report on the recommendations of the workgroup to the Department of Finance and appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would authorize the State Department of Education to enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts, as provided, with nongovernmental entities to implement these provisions.

Digest Key

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

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

Section 32282.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:

32282.3.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The California Constitution guarantees California children the right to attend public schools that are safe, secure, and peaceful.

(2) The state, school districts, county offices of education, and schools, and their personnel, are responsible for creating learning environments that are safe and secure. First responders, community partners, and families also play essential roles.

(3) Schools must be prepared to respond to emergencies, including natural and man-made hazards, and strive to prevent violence and behaviors that undermine safety and security.

(4) Comprehensive school safety plans include strategies aimed at the prevention of, and education about, potential crime and violence on a school campus and strategies aimed at ensuring social, emotional, and physical safety for both youth and adults.

(5) Since 2002, a school has been required to adopt and, on or before March 1 of each year, update the school’s comprehensive school safety plan.

(6) Schools have been increasingly affected by safety issues that were not addressed when safety plans were first adopted, such as increased incidences of active school shooters, the opioid crisis, and wildfires and other natural disasters.

(7) The Legislature has responded to emerging safety issues by requiring schools to be prepared to respond. These new requirements, while critical, have been imposed without a formal review of the best way to ensure comprehensive school safety plans retain their focus.

(8) Following the addition of these new requirements for a comprehensive school safety plan over the last few years, there is a need to have experts review all the requirements for comprehensive school safety plans, conduct a thorough assessment, and make recommendations to policymakers on how to improve and update the plans while maintaining all critical elements.

(b) (1) The Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall, on or before July 1, 2027, appoint and convene a statewide stakeholder workgroup on school safety. The workgroup shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(A) Two current schoolsite administrators.

(B) Two certificated public school teachers.

(C) Two representatives of a local school employee organization.

(D) One representative of a parent organization.

(E) One current high school pupil.

(F) Two representatives of local law enforcement agencies, at least one of whom shall be a peace officer as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code.

(G) Two representatives of local fire agencies.

(H) One member of a local educational agency with specific expertise in school safety.

(I) Two representatives of school districts holding a pupil personnel services credential or a services credential with a specialization in health for a school nurse.

(J) One member of either the governing board of a school district or a county board of education.(K) One member of the governing body of a charter school.

(2) The Superintendent shall, to the greatest extent possible, ensure both of the following:

(A) The educators in the workgroup include those employed in both elementary and secondary schools, and that at least one educator has experience in working with pupils with exceptional needs.

(B) The overall composition of the workgroup represents the geographic diversity of the state and has a balance of educators and first responders from both urban and rural areas.

(c) The workgroup may consult with outside experts in school safety issues. The workgroup shall review existing comprehensive school safety plans and make recommendations on the development and approval process for and the required elements of a comprehensive school safety plan. This review shall include all of the following:

(1) Defining the goals and purposes of a comprehensive school safety plan.

(2) Reviewing the required elements of a plan and assessing the elements’ alignment with the goals and purposes of a plan.

(3) Reviewing the development and adoption process of a plan, including the process for future updates to a plan.

(4) Making recommendations for all of the following:

(A) Improvements to the structure, organization, and layout of a plan to ensure it captures critical elements and is accessible and useful for schoolsite staff and the community, including parents and law enforcement.

(B) Improvements to the local development and approval process to ensure that it is transparent and includes sufficient opportunity for input from stakeholders.

(C) Procedures for the addition or deletion of elements of a plan to ensure continued cohesion and accessibility.

(d) The Superintendent shall, on or before July 1, 2028, submit a report on the recommendations of the workgroup to the Department of Finance and appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(e) The meetings of the workgroup shall be open to the public pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(f) For purposes of this section, the department may enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts with nongovernmental entities on a bid or negotiated basis. A contract entered into or amended pursuant to this section shall be exempt from Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14825) of Part 5.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, Section 19130 of the Government Code, and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, and shall be exempt from the review or approval of any division of the Department of General Services.

(g) Notwithstanding any other law, a contracted nongovernmental entity described in subdivision (f) may subcontract as necessary in the performance of its duties, subject to approval of the Superintendent.