The Governor has acted on all bills that reached his desk from the 2025 Legislative Session.  As a reminder, the legislature adjourned for the year on Saturday, September 13, 2025, and sent 917 of the 2,833 bills introduced this session to Governor Gavin Newsom. Of the 917 bills sent to Governor Gavin Newsom, 794 were signed into law, and 123 were vetoed.

Below is the list of bills CASBO took positions on that were signed into law plus details on all bills CASBO took positions on that were not signed into law. This year, CASBO had positions on a total of 41 bills.

Watch the webinar held on Thursday, October 16 at 11 am and learn how the outcomes of the 2025 legislative session will impact school business.

Bills Signed into Law

AB 361 Best value procurement: school districts. 

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: Permanently authorizes the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to use the best value procurement method and establishes a pilot program authorizing all other school districts and county offices of education (COEs) to use best value procurement for construction projects over $1 million until December 31, 2030.

AB 503 School facilities: Civic Center Act: direct costs.

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: Permanently restores provisions of the Civic Center Act that expired on January 1, 2025, allowing school districts to continue recovering direct costs for the use of non-classroom school facilities and grounds.
  • Other key facts: This bill contained an urgency clause, meaning it went into effect immediately.

AB 606 Certificated employees: professional services credential: out-of-state applicants.

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: Creates a preliminary PPS credential so that out-of-state applicants with an out-of-state credential based on a preparation program could be hired in California schools while they complete any remaining requirements for a clear credential.

AB 629 (Ward) School districts: equipment inventory. 

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: Increases the equipment threshold for school district inventory systems from $500 to $1,500 and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to adjust the amount biennially for inflation and post the updated figure on the California Department of Education’s website.
  • Other key facts: Riverside County Office of Education and San Diego Unified School District co-sponsored this bill. 

AB 962 Pupil safety: comprehensive school safety plans: use of smartphones. 

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: Authorizes prohibition on smartphone use of a student in the case of emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger, if that circumstance is explicitly addressed in a comprehensive school safety plan.
  • Other key facts: This is a follow up to AB 3216 (Chapter 500, Statutes of 2024) which allowed local educational agencies to adopt policies to limit or prohibit the use of smartphones by students while at school.

SB 374 Local Educational Agencies: Annual Reporting Requirements: IDEA Addendum 

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: This law repeals the IDEA Addendum, an additional component of the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) that was set to be implemented in the 2027-28 school year.  The reporting requirements that were part of the IDEA Addendum are no longer necessary due to recent statutory changes to the LCAP that encompass similar requirements.
  • Other key facts: This bill was sponsored by the California School Boards Association and advances the work of SB 1315 (Chapter 468, Statutes of 2024) to examine the growing reporting burden, consuming resources that could otherwise support students and classrooms.

SB 848 Pupil safety: school employee misconduct: child abuse prevention. 

  • CASBO position: Support
  • What does this law do?: Establishes new requirements to improve pupil safety by addressing school employee misconduct, clarifying professional boundaries, enhancing comprehensive school safety plans, expanding child abuse prevention training requirements, requiring instructional programming on abuse prevention, and creating a statewide system for tracking employee misconduct investigations.
  • Other key facts: SB 848 moved the prevention recommendations from the FCMAT report, Childhood Sexual Assault: Fiscal Implications for California Public Agencies, forward. CASBO was an early supporter of the recommendations from FCMAT and SB 848 and was proud to stand with Senator Pérez in calling for the bill’s passage during the final days of session.

Bills opposed by CASBO that were not signed into law or amended to address our concerns

Bill Number  What Happened?  What was CASBO’s role?
AB 942 Net energy metering: eligible customer-generators: tariffs. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff met with the author to highlight concerns about the bill. We also joined a coalition, vocalized opposition, and submitted a letter of opposition.

Due to strong and unified opposition, Assemblymember Calderon amended the bill drastically from its original form to remove our opposition.
AB 778 Local Agency Public Construction Act: internet website posting. Failed passage of the Assembly policy deadline AB 778 stalled shortly after CASBO took a position.
AB 84 School accountability: Office of the Education Inspector General: school financial and performance audits: charter school authorization, oversight, funding, operations, networks, and contracting: data systems: local educational agency contractor background checks.  Ordered to inactive file CASBO took an oppose position alongside California County Superintendents in early July. In addition, CASBO joined a concern letter with other organizations representing authorizers. The CASBO Governmental Relations staff represented that authorizer coalition in negotiations on AB 84 and SB 414.  Those negotiations did not lead to the coalition’s concerns being addressed and CASBO ultimately continued to oppose AB 84 before it was placed on the inactive file.
AB 1060 Local government: legal fee disclosures. Failed passage of the Assembly policy deadline AB 1060 stalled shortly after CASBO took a position.
AB 1401 Pupil records: parental access. Failed passage of the Assembly policy deadline The CASBO Governmental Relations staff testified in opposition to the bill in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 614 Claims against public entities. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee AB 614 stalled shortly after CASBO took a position.
AB 810 Local government: internet websites and email addresses. Hearing postponed

 

 The CASBO Governmental Relations staff met with the author, joined a coalition in opposition with other educational organizations, shared opposition in hearings, and submitted letters of opposition.
AB 862 California School Dashboard: local control and accountability plans: college and career pathway data. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff testified in the Assembly Education Committee and submitted a letter of opposition.
AB 1053 Educational technology: evaluation and selection. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff testified in the Assembly Education Committee alongside colleagues from California County Superintendents and submitted letters of opposition.
AB 1198 Public works: prevailing wages. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff provided support to the opposition coalition.
AB 1247 Classified employees: school districts and community college districts: contracting out: training requirements. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff shared concerns with the author, joined the opposition coalition with other educational organizations, shared opposition in hearings, and submitted letters of opposition.
SB 399 School districts: interdistrict transfers. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff testified in the Senate Education Committee and submitted letters of opposition.
AB 65 School and community college employees: paid disability and parental leave. Hearing cancelled at the request of the author The CASBO Governmental Relations staff testified in the Assembly education and higher education committees, collected data from CASBO members about the cost of the bill, engaged with the author, and submitted letters of opposition.
AB 917 County offices of education: school districts: average daily attendance of less than 250 pupils: permanent status. Failed passage out of the Senate Policy Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff shared opposition at hearings, joined the opposition coalition with other educational organizations, and signed onto the coalition’s letters of opposition.
AB 340 Employer-employee relations: confidential communications. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee CASBO joined the coalition opposing the bill, shared opposition at committee hearings, and signed onto the coalition’s letters of opposition.
AB 477 Fair Pay for Educators Act: local control funding formula: base grants: funding targets. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff testified at the Senate education committee, and submitted letters of opposition.
AB 1371 Occupational safety and health: employee refusal to perform hazardous tasks. Failed passage of the Assembly policy deadline AB 1371 stalled shortly after CASBO took a position.
AB 1109 Evidentiary privileges: union agent-represented worker privilege. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff shared opposition during committee hearings, joined a large statewide coalition raising concerns, and signed onto the coalition’s opposition letters.
SB 472 Pupil instruction: Holocaust and genocide education: notice, survey, and grant program. This bill was signed by the Governor but was amended to remove a duplicative reporting requirement. The CASBO Governmental Relations staff met with the Senate Education Committee to address concerns about the reporting component of the bill. Senator Stern heard our concerns and amended the bill, removing our opposition.
AB 1331 Workplace surveillance. Ordered to inactive file The CASBO Governmental Relations staff met with the author, shared opposition with other legislative offices, joined the oppose coalition, shared opposition in committee hearings, and signed onto letters of opposition.
SB 743 Education finance: Education Equalization Act: Equalization Reserve Account. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff met with the author’s office, shared opposition in hearings and submitted letters of opposition.
SB 494 Classified school and community college employees: disciplinary hearings: appeals: contracted administrative law judges. Ordered to the inactive file The CASBO Governmental Relations staff collected data from CASBO members about the cost of this bill, engaged with policy and fiscal committees, joined the opposition coalition with other educational organizations, and signed onto letters of opposition.
AB 374 K–14 classified employees: payment of wages: itemized statements. Vetoed by the Governor The CASBO Governmental Relations staff collected data from CASBO members about the cost of this bill, engaged with the sponsors and author’s office, engaged with policy and fiscal committees, joined the opposition coalition with other educational organizations, and submitted letters of opposition.
SB 414 School accountability: Office of the Education Inspector General: school financial and performance audits: charter school authorization, oversight, funding, operations, and networks: flex-based instruction: local educational agency contracting. Vetoed by the Governor CASBO joined a concern letter with other organizations representing authorizers. The CASBO Governmental Relations staff represented that authorizer coalition in negotiations on AB 84 and SB 414.  Those negotiations did not lead to the coalition’s concerns being addressed and CASBO ultimately continued to oppose SB 414.

Bills supported by CASBO that were not signed into law

AB 948 School facilities: task-order procurement contracting. Failed passage out of the Senate policy Committee AB 948 stalled shortly after CASBO took a position.
AB 964 Commission on State Mandates: state mandates. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee CASBO Governmental Relations staff submitted a letter of support.

 
AB 1111 Pupil transportation: schoolbuses: zero-emission vehicles: scrapping. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff engaged with the sponsors, shared support in hearings, and submitted letters of support.
AB 998 Household hazardous waste: vape pens. Failed passage out of the Senate Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations staff signed onto letters of support.
AB1233 Noncertificated employees: applicants: previous employment: California School Information Services. Failed passage out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee The CASBO Governmental Relations team met with the sponsors of the bill, joined the support coalition, shared support in hearings, and submitted letters of support.
SB 832 State government. Hearing cancelled at the request of the author The CASBO Governmental Relations staff submitted letter of support with CSBA.
SB 494 (as gutted and amended 9/9/2025) Charter schools: establishment prohibition and renewal procedures. Ordered to inactive file The CASBO Governmental Relations staff joined support coalition and submitted a floor-alert in support.
SB 577 State Government. Ordered to inactive file The CASBO Governmental Relations staff worked with Senator Laird’s office to strengthen this bill and provided support if amended testimony in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. In addition, CASBO joined two coalitions of public agencies to share stories about the effects of AB 218 (Chapter 861, Statutes of 2019) on the fiscal health of public agencies.
AB 699 Elections: Local Tax Measures. Vetoed by the Governor The CASBO Governmental Relations staff met with the sponsors of the bill, joined support coalition, shared support in hearings, and submitted letters of support.
AB 1224 Teacher credentialing: substitute teachers: days of service. Vetoed by the Governor CASBO co-sponsored this bill with ACSA, CSBA, and California County Superintendents. The coalition worked closely with the legislative committees to strengthen the bill and address opposition’s concerns. The co-sponsors met with over 90 legislative offices, sharing the need for the bill and answering any questions or concerns they had. We shared our support by gathering practitioners as witnesses for the committee hearings. In addition, we submitted letters of support to the legislative committees and the Governor’s office.

What’s next? 

2026 will be the second year of the 2025-26 legislative session, and some bills that stalled in 2025 will come back for consideration when the legislature returns next year.  Here is the list of bills we will be watching closely:

  • AB 1204 (Avarez) Local control funding formula: school districts and charter schools: pupils experiencing homelessness: supplemental and concentration grants: regional adjustment factors: grade-span adequacy adjustments.
  • AB 65 (Aguiar-Curry) School and community college employees: paid disability and parental leave.
  • AB 810 (Irwin) Local government: internet websites and email addresses.
  • AB 1331 (Elhawary) Workplace surveillance.

Legislative Wrap Up Webinar

Learn how the outcomes of the 2025 legislative session will impact school business during CASBO Advocacy’s Legislative Wrap Up Webinar.
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