AB 1572California Assembly·2025-2026 Regular Session
California Interscholastic Federation: officials: registration, certification, and eligibility verification.
Summary
Existing law describes the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) as a voluntary organization that consists of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools, and sets forth the Legislature's intent regarding the CIF's implementation of certain policies. Existing law requires the CIF, on or before January 1, 2023, and on or before January 1 every 7 years thereafter, to report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor on its evaluation and accountability activities undertaken pursuant to specified provisions. Existing law requires the report to include the goals and objectives of the CIF with regard to, and the status of, among other things, the quality of coaching and officiating, as provided. Existing law requires all noncertificated candidates, prior to assuming a paid or volunteer position to work with pupils in a pupil activity program sponsored by a school district, including an interscholastic program, to obtain an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Existing law requires the commission, upon verification of a candidate's personal identification and verification that the candidate meets specified requirements, to initially issue an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate to the candidate for a 5-year period and authorizes the certificate to be renewed, as provided. This bill would require the CIF to verify the eligibility of its officials to officiate CIF contests by requiring those officials to annually register through a platform, as provided. The bill would require the platform to consist of (1) , until July 1, 2028, a statewide and standardized background screening, (2) , commencing July 1, 2028, a record of a valid Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate issued by the commission, including the applicable expiration date, (3) a record of rules tests, online training modules, sport-specific annual certification, and continuing education requirements, and (4) a record of liability insurance coverage. The bill would require the CIF to verify, as specified, that all components of the platform are complete before an official is deemed and marked as eligible to receive an assignment to officiate. The bill would require the CIF to ensure that its participating member schools, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools can access the platform to verify the eligibility of an official, as specified. The bill, commencing July 1, 2028, would require the commission to regularly publish a list on its internet website of Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate holders who have their certificate suspended or revoked by the commission and would require the CIF to ensure that the platform selected by the CIF regularly reviews the list published by the commission in order to update the eligibility of the officials whose Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate has been suspended or revoked.
The Senate amendment to AB 1572 made three substantive changes: it added Senator Gonzalez as a coauthor, changed the fiscal committee vote from 'no' to 'yes' (indicating a favorable fiscal recommendation), and removed the word 'annually' from the general verification requirement in subdivision (b)(1)(A). The removal of 'annually' softens the frequency language for post-2028 verification, though the annual requirement is preserved for the pre-July 2028 transition period in subparagraph (B)(i).
REQUIREMENT
Removed the word 'annually' from subdivision (b)(1)(A), which governs how the CIF verifies that all platform components are complete before an official is deemed eligible. The Assembly version required the CIF to 'annually verify' completeness; the Senate version requires only that the CIF 'verify' completeness. The annual frequency is still explicitly required for the pre-July 2028 period in subparagraph (B)(i), but post-2028 the frequency is governed by the 'regularly reviews' language in (B)(ii) rather than a fixed annual cycle.
SCOPE
Senator Gonzalez was added as a coauthor alongside Senator Umberg, expanding the bill's sponsorship base in the Senate.
FISCAL
The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill received a favorable fiscal committee recommendation, which is typically necessary for passage through the legislature.
08/13/26 - Amended Senate→AB1572·1 edit
MINOR
No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions. The diff reflects a change in document formatting from a traditional legislative print layout (with line numbers and page headers) to a web-based rendering of the same bill text. All legal provisions of Section 33356 remain identical.
TECHNICAL
The document was reformatted from a printed legislative document style (with line numbers, page breaks, and centered headers) to a web page layout with navigation menus, search tools, and bill information panels. No changes to the actual legal text of Section 33356 were made.
The amendment replaces the bill's single background screening requirement with a phased approach: until July 1, 2028, officials must pass a statewide standardized background screening; starting July 1, 2028, they must instead hold a valid Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The amendment also adds a new provision stating the CIF is not an employer of its officials, requires the commission to publish a list of suspended or revoked certificate holders, and mandates that the CIF platform regularly check that list.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded to include a new regulatory role for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (publishing a list of suspended/revoked certificate holders) and added a clarifying provision about the CIF's non-employer status. The core mechanism shifted from a one-time background screening model to a credential-based model tied to an existing state licensing system, with a two-year transition period.
REQUIREMENT
The background screening component (subdivision (a)(1)) was split into two phases: until July 1, 2028, a statewide and standardized background screening is required; commencing July 1, 2028, officials must instead have a record of a valid Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, including its expiration date.
Starting July 1, 2028, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing must regularly publish a list on its website of Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate holders whose certificates have been suspended or revoked (new subdivision (c)).
ENFORCEMENT
Starting July 1, 2028, the CIF platform must regularly review the commission's published list of suspended or revoked certificate holders to update the eligibility status of affected officials.
DEFINITION
New subdivision (d) states that the California Interscholastic Federation shall not be considered an employer of its officials, clarifying the legal relationship between the CIF and its referees and umpires.
FISCAL
The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now triggers a fiscal impact review, likely due to the new obligations placed on the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
SCOPE
Senator Umberg was added as a coauthor, signaling Senate alignment with the bill and broadening its legislative support base.
Floor votes · Senate Aug 27, 2026 · Assembly May 21, 2026
How they voted
40–0
Passed
Total votes 40
Aug 27, 2026
D
Democratic30
30 Yea
100% Yea
R
Republican10
10 Yea
100% Yea
Your representatives
Vote distribution
All YeaAll NayMixedNo data
71–0
Passed · 8 other
Total votes 79
May 21, 2026
D
Democratic59
53 Yea6
89% Yea
R
Republican20
18 Yea2
90% Yea
Your representatives
Vote distribution
All YeaAll NayMixedNo data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
26
Key actions
10
Committee
10
Amendments
6
Aug 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling.
lower
Aug 27, 2026
Introduced
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
lower
Aug 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.).
upper
Aug 25, 2026
Other
Ordered to special consent calendar.
upper
Aug 17, 2026
Reading-1
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
upper
Aug 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
upper
Aug 13, 2026
Introduced
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).
upper
Aug 3, 2026
Committee
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
upper
Jul 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
upper
Jun 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 17). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
upper
Jun 3, 2026
Committee
Referred to Coms. on ED. and PUB. S.
upper
May 21, 2026
Reading-1
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
upper
May 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 72. Noes 0. Page 5186.)
lower
May 18, 2026
Reading-1
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
lower
May 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
lower
May 14, 2026
Other
Coauthors revised.
lower
May 6, 2026
Committee
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
lower
Apr 6, 2026
Committee
Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Joint Rule 10.5.
lower
Apr 6, 2026
Reading-1
Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.
lower
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
lower
Mar 25, 2026
Introduced
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 25).
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on ED. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 17). Re-referred to Com. on ED.
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Other
Coauthors revised.
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred to Coms. on A.,E.,S., & T. and ED.
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
From printer. May be heard in committee February 12.