Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks and the adoption of instructional materials to the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the commission to consider incorporating the Model Library Standards into the next revision of the English language arts/English language development (ELA/ELD) curriculum framework after January 1, 2024, and to also consider incorporating media literacy content at each grade level. Existing law also requires the commission to consider incorporating media literacy content into the mathematics, science, and history-social science curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised after January 1, 2024. Existing law defines media literacy, for that purpose, as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and use media and information and encompasses the foundational skills that lead to digital citizenship. This bill would require the commission to consider including the Model Library Standards, including media literacy content, in its criteria for evaluating instructional materials when the state board next adopts ELA/ELD instructional materials, as provided. The bill would require the commission to consider including media literacy content in its criteria for evaluating instructional materials when the state board next adopts mathematics, science, and history-social science instructional materials, as provided. The bill would also require the commission to consider incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy content into the mathematics, science, and history-social science curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised after January 1, 2025, and would require the commission to consider including AI literacy in its criteria for evaluating instructional materials when the state board next adopts mathematics, science, and history-social science instructional materials, as provided. The bill would define "AI literacy" for these purposes as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with how artificial intelligence works, including its principles, concepts, and applications, as well as how to use artificial intelligence, including its limitations, implications, and ethical considerations.
Existing law authorizes a landlord or their agent, when they receive a request to rent a residential property, to charge an application screening fee to cover the cost of obtaining information about the applicant. Existing law also prohibits a landlord or their agent from charging an applicant an application screening fee when they know or should have known that no rental unit is available at that time or will be available within a reasonable period of time, unless the applicant agrees in writing. Existing law also requires a landlord or their agent, if an applicant that has paid an application screening fee makes a request, to provide a copy of the consumer credit report to the applicant who is the subject of that report. This bill would instead authorize a landlord or their agent to charge an application screening fee only if the landlord or their agent, at the time the application screening fee is collected, offers an application screening process, as specified. This bill would also prohibit a landlord or their agent from charging an applicant an application screening fee when they know or should have known that no rental unit is available at that time or will be available within a reasonable period of time. The bill would remove the requirement that an applicant request a copy of the consumer credit report in order to obtain a copy, and would, instead, require the landlord or their agent to provide a copy of the report within 7 days of the landlord or their agent receiving the report, as provided. Existing law authorizes a landlord to elect to accept reusable tenant screening reports, as specified, and prohibits a landlord who accepts a reusable tenant screening report from charging a fee to access the report or an application screening fee. This bill would provide that the bill's provisions do not prevent a landlord from accepting a reusable tenant screening report.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons. Existing law requires medical school graduates to obtain a physician's and surgeon's postgraduate training license, and, for purposes of obtaining that license, to submit an application form and required primary source documents to the board. Existing law requires applicants for a physician's and surgeon's certificate to include specified information in their application, including other information concerning the professional instruction and preliminary education of the applicant as the board may require. This bill would prohibit the board from requiring an applicant for a physician's and surgeon's license or a physician's and surgeon's postgraduate training license to disclose specified information, including a condition or disorder that does not impair the applicant's ability to practice medicine safely. The bill would provide that its provisions do not prohibit the board from requiring an applicant to disclose participation in a mental health or substance use disorder treatment program, as specified. If an applicant discloses that they currently have a condition or disorder that impairs their ability to practice medicine safely, the bill would require the board to provide the applicant with information on the availability of a probationary or limited practice license. Existing law authorizes the board to prepare and provide electronically or mail to every licensed physician at the time of license renewal a questionnaire containing any questions as are necessary to establish that the physician currently has no disorder that would impair the physician's ability to practice medicine safely. Existing law requires each licensed physician to complete, sign, and return the questionnaire to the board as a condition of renewing their license. This bill would require each licensed physician to complete, sign, and return the questionnaire either electronically or by mail. The bill would prohibit the questionnaire from requiring the disclosure of any prohibited information, as described above.
Existing law requires that a person arrested without a warrant be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. Existing law also provides certain circumstances under which a person arrested without a warrant may be released from custody before being taken before a magistrate, including, among others, when the arresting officer believes that insufficient grounds exist to make a criminal complaint against the person arrested or when the person is arrested for intoxication only and no further proceedings are desirable. Existing law requires the record of arrest of a person released pursuant to specified circumstances to include a record of release and that the arrest be deemed a detention. This bill would authorize an arresting officer to release an arrested person from custody without bringing the person before a magistrate if the person is, subsequent to being arrested, delivered or referred to a public health or social service organization that provides services including, but not limited to, housing, medical care, treatment for alcohol or substance use disorders, psychological counseling, or employment training and education, the organization agrees to accept the delivery or referral, and no further proceedings are desirable. The bill would require that the arrest under this provision be deemed a detention.
Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination, which includes sexual harassment, under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, declares, among other things, that it is the policy of the state to afford all persons, regardless of disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified basis, including immigration status, equal rights and opportunities in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state. Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by resolution, to make them applicable. This bill would require, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, the governing board of each community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the Board of Governors of the College of the Law, San Francisco, to adopt a policy permitting a student to be assisted by an adviser if the student receives a notification of an alleged violation of a public postsecondary educational institution's student code of conduct, as defined. The bill would require the initial allegation letter that is received by the student to include a clause informing the student of their right to select an adviser of their choice or to request the public postsecondary educational institution to provide an adviser to the student. The bill would authorize a public postsecondary educational institution to use a confidential respondent services coordinator, an agreement with a student-based peer support program, or an agreement with an alumni-based support program to fulfill its obligation to provide an adviser to the student. The bill would require an adviser selected by the student or provided by the public postsecondary educational institution to be trained by the institution on its adjudication procedures for the alleged violation, as provided. The bill would also require an adviser, with written permission from the student, to receive updates along with the student during the adjudication process and to participate in the process as an advocate for the student or in the role of adviser as authorized by specified state law and Title IX. By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
Existing law requires a consumer credit reporting agency to place a security freeze for a protected consumer if it receives a request from a protected consumer's representative for the placement of a security freeze, as specified, and the protected consumer's representative submits the request to the consumer credit reporting agency in accordance with certain requirements. For purposes of these provisions, a "protected consumer" includes an individual who is under the jurisdiction of a county welfare department or county probation department, has been placed in a foster care setting, and is under 16 years of age at the time a request for placement of a security freeze is made. Existing law authorizes a consumer credit reporting agency to remove a security freeze for a protected consumer, or to delete a record of a protected consumer if the security freeze was placed or the record was created based upon a material misrepresentation of fact by the protected consumer or the protected consumer's representative. Existing law requires a county welfare department, county probation department, or the State Department of Social Services to inquire of each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies as to whether a child in foster care placement who reaches their 14th birthday has any consumer credit history, as specified. Existing law, with respect to a nonminor dependent, requires the county welfare department or county probation department to assist the young adult, on a yearly basis while the nonminor dependent is under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, with requesting the consumer credit report from each of the 3 major credit reporting agencies, as specified. Existing law requires the county social worker or county probation officer to ensure that the child or nonminor dependent receives assistance with interpreting the consumer credit report and resolving any inaccuracies, including, but not limited to, referring the youth to a governmental or nonprofit agency that provides consumer credit. This bill would deem certain requirements for the placement or removal of a security freeze for a protected consumer to be met if the request is from the county welfare department or county probation department appearing on the most recent list provided or made available to the consumer credit reporting agency by the State Department of Social Services, and the requesting entity provides sufficient proof of identification under a specified federal law. The bill would restrict a county welfare department or county probation department from requesting a security freeze for a protected consumer placed in foster care that continues beyond the protected consumer's 18th birthday, as specified. If the child placed in a foster care setting has a consumer credit history, the bill would require any information that appears on the protected consumer's credit report to be promptly blocked and not reported, in the same manner as if the credit reporting agency had received a police report pursuant to a specified provision relating to identity theft. The bill also would require the credit reporting to comply with additional requirements relating to the blocking and unblocking of credit history information that is subject to investigation by the police or the Department of Motor Vehicles. The bill would authorize the freeze to be removed by the representative of the protected consumer or by the protected consumer if they are 16 years of age or older, under certain circumstances, including upon the protected consumer's removal from foster care.
Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, and authorizes the commission to take specified actions, including advising the Governor or the Legislature regarding actions the state may take to improve care and services for people with mental illness. Existing law authorizes the State Department of Public Health to, among other things, enforce its regulations and protect and preserve the public health. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the commission, to report to specified policy committees of the Legislature, on or before December 31, 2026, a statewide strategy to understand, communicate, and mitigate mental health risks associated with the use of social media by children and youth. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, (1) the degree to which the mental health of children and youth is positively, negatively, or neutrally impacted by use of social media and (2) recommendations to strengthen children and youth resiliency strategies and California's use of mental health services related to social media use. The bill would require the department to explore, among other things, the child and youth populations that use social media, including disproportionate rates and impacts among specific groups, and the negative behavioral health risks, as specified, associated with social media use and misuse among children and youth. The bill would require the department to additionally consult with certain communities in preparing the report, and prior to publication. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in the State Department of Social Services, to, among other things, (1) develop and disseminate information to all school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools, and their school personnel in California, regarding the detection and reporting of child abuse, (2) establish best practices for school personnel to prevent abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, as provided, and (3) develop appropriate means of instructing school personnel in the detection of child abuse and neglect and the proper action that school personnel should take in suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, including, but not limited to, an online training module to be provided by the State Department of Social Services. This bill would revise and recast these provisions by, among other things, requiring the department to (1) additionally develop and disseminate information to all school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools, and their school personnel in California, regarding the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, and (2) additionally develop appropriate means of instructing school personnel in the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, as provided. The bill would delete the above-described requirement that the State Department of Education establish best practices for school personnel to prevent abuse, and would, commencing July 1, 2025, delete the existing requirement that the department develop appropriate means of instructing school personnel in the detection of child abuse and neglect and the proper action that school personnel should take in suspected cases of child abuse and neglect, as provided. Existing law requires school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools to provide annual training, using the online training module provided by the State Department of Social Services or an alternative training, to their employees and persons working on their behalf who are mandated reporters, as defined, on the mandated reporting requirements related to child abuse, as provided. Existing law also requires those entities to develop a process for all persons required to receive that training to provide proof of completing the training within the first 6 weeks of each school year or within the first 6 weeks of that person's employment. Existing law encourages those entities to participate in training on the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, and also encourages those entities to provide all school employees with that training at least once every 3 years. Commencing July 1, 2025, this bill would additionally require school districts, county offices of education, state special schools and diagnostic centers operated by the State Department of Education, and charter schools to, among other things, provide annual training to their employees on the prevention of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children on school grounds, by school personnel, or in school-sponsored programs, as provided, and would apply the above-described proof of training requirements to this training. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
(1) Existing law, the Milk and Milk Products Act of 1947, regulates milk and milk products and establishes standards for the manufacturing, handling, processing, and marketing of milk and milk products. Existing law requires that there appear on the package or container of market milk, market cream, and other milk products made from market milk or any component or derivative of market milk the date established by the processor as the date on which, in order to ensure consumer quality, the product is normally removed from the shelf or similar location from which the milk product is offered for sale to the consumer. This bill would instead require that there appear on the package or container of those milk products the date established by the processor as the date by which the milk product should normally be used to ensure consumer quality. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, to publish information to encourage food manufacturers, processors, and retailers responsible for the labeling of food products to voluntarily use specified uniform terms on food product labels to communicate quality dates, as defined, and safety dates, as defined. Existing law also requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to encourage food distributors and retailers to develop alternatives to consumer-facing "sell by" dates, defined to mean a date on a label affixed to the packaging or container of food that is intended to communicate primarily to a distributor or retailer for purposes of stock rotation and that is not a quality date or a safety date. The Food and Agricultural Code provides that, unless a different penalty is expressly provided, a violation of any provision of that code is a misdemeanor. This bill would instead require, on and after July 1, 2026, a food manufacturer, processor, or retailer responsible for the labeling of food items for human consumption that chooses, or is otherwise required by law, to display a date label to communicate a quality or safety date on a food item manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, to use specified uniform terms on the date label, as provided. The bill would prohibit a person from selling or offering for sale in the state a food item for human consumption manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, that displays a quality or safety date label that is not labeled in accordance with that requirement or that is labeled with the phrase "sell by," as specified. The bill would specify that, unless otherwise required by law, these provisions do not require the use or display of a date label on a food item for human consumption unless the food item displays a date label, and would provide that these provisions do not prohibit a label that allows consumers to view online information about a food item for human consumption. The bill would authorize a grocery store, on and after July 1, 2026, to display a label with the phrase "packed on" on a prepared food item and to sell or offer for sale in the state the prepared food item with that label, if the prepared food item also displays a quality or safety date label in accordance with the above-described requirement. The bill would provide that these provisions do not prohibit a person from displaying on wine, a distilled spirit, or a wine- or distilled spirit-based product bottled or packaged on and after July 1, 2026, a label with a statement that communicates the date on which the wine, distilled spirit, or wine- or distilled spirit-based product was produced, manufactured, bottled, or packaged, or from selling or offering for sale in the state the wine, distilled spirit, or wine- or distilled spirit-based product with that label. The bill's above-described provisions would not apply to infant formula, eggs, pasteurized in-shell eggs, or beer and other malt beverages. By creating new requirements regarding the labeling of food items, the violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law, the California Retail Food Code establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities for regulation by the State Department of Public Health, and requires local enforcement agencies to enforce those provisions. The California Retail Food Code, requires a food facility that packages food using a reduced-oxygen packaging method and Clostridium botulinum to have an approved plan, as specified, that, among other things, limits the refrigerated shelf life to no more than 30 calendar days from packaging to consumption, except the time the product is maintained frozen, or the original manufacturer's "sell by" or "use by" date, whichever occurs first. This bill would retain that requirement before July 1, 2026, and, on and after July 1, 2026, would limit the refrigerated shelf life to no more than 30 calendar days from packaging to consumption, except the time the product is maintained frozen, or the original safety date, as specified, whichever occurs first. A violation of the California Retail Food Code is generally a misdemeanor. By revising the standards that are enforced by local health agencies and by expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the State Department of Social Services to work together with specified stakeholders to develop a proposed statewide process for using data collected for purposes of the CalFresh program, Medi-Cal, free and reduced-price school meals programs, and the electronic benefits transfer system in order to increase enrollment in the CalFresh program, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the State Department of Social Services, under CalFresh provisions, to administer outreach programs and adopt rules and regulations requiring counties to conduct outreach programs to the extent permitted by federal law and eligible for federal financial participation. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with various stakeholders, on or before July 1, 2025, to develop a methodology for estimating the CalFresh participation rate and identifying characteristics of Californians who are eligible for, but not receiving, CalFresh benefits. The bill would require the department to utilize the data and metrics to develop informed and targeted outreach strategies and to maximize federal funding for CalFresh outreach to reach Californians who are eligible for CalFresh benefits. The bill would also authorize the department to identify data-sharing opportunities with other state and local public entities, and any other unit of state government, for the purposes of improving the administration of CalFresh, increasing CalFresh participation, measuring the impact of CalFresh, and increasing access to critical public health and poverty-alleviating services and other services and benefits available to low-income individuals.
Existing federal law establishes the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law establishes a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system, administered by the State Department of Social Services, for the purpose of providing financial and food assistance benefits, including CalFresh benefits. Existing law establishes the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project and requires the department, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture and specified stakeholders, to include within the EBT system a supplemental benefits mechanism that allows an authorized retailer to deliver and redeem supplemental benefits. Existing law requires the department to submit a report to the Legislature, including the results of an evaluation of the pilot projects, as specified, 9 months after the department has received sufficient data to evaluate the pilot projects, but not later than September 1, 2025. Existing law requires the department to submit a report to the Legislature by March 1, 2026, regarding the transition of the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project to a supplemental benefits program that is fully state managed, without grantee intermediaries, as specified. Existing law specifies that the pilot project is to remain in effect until January 1, 2027, and is repealed as of that date. This bill would instead require the department to submit a single report to the Legislature regarding the transition of the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project to a supplemental benefits program that is fully state managed, without grantee intermediaries, and including the results of an evaluation of the pilot projects, by July 1, 2025.
(1) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post, and annually update, on the State Department of Education's internet website and provide to each school district a list of statewide resources, including community-based organizations, that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, including school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, or perceived religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity. This bill would instead (A) require the Superintendent to additionally post, and annually update, on the department's internet website and notify local educational agencies of the availability of the above-described list of resources that provide support for youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, (B) add the basis of neurodiversity or perceived neurodiversity to that list of resources, and (C) require those resources related to the basis of neurodiversity or perceived neurodiversity to include those developed by the University of California and California State University Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning. (2) Existing law requires, commencing with the 2020–21 academic year, each local educational agency, as defined, to ensure that specified information related to pupil safety 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. This bill would require, commencing with the 2025–26 academic year, each local educational agency to additionally 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. To the extent the bill imposes additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the department to develop and post on its internet website an online training module to assist all school staff, school administrators, parents, pupils, and community members in increasing their knowledge of the dynamics of bullying and cyberbullying. This bill would require the online training module to include information about how to support pupils who are bullied for being or being perceived as neurodivergent and include links to the resources related to neurodiversity developed by the University of California and California State University Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning. (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.
