Pair of bills aims to keep kids safe from gun violence while at school.

The Governor signed two bills that raise awareness of gun safety protocols and compel reporting of certain threats. AB 452 by Assembly Member Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) requires districts, county offices of education (COEs), and charter schools to provide to the parents or guardians of every enrolled pupil a notice on California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to the safe storage of firearms. The notice must be provided at the beginning of each school year, and be based on model language that will be developed and updated by the California Department of Education (CDE) in consultation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) by July 1, 2023. The language will be updated as necessary each year thereafter, and be distributed to LEAs so that the notice can be provided by the start of the school year. The bill provides that one notice per household is sufficient, regardless of the number of enrolled students living at that address.

SB 906 by Senator Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), beginning in the 2023-24 school year, requires school officials at any school district, COE or charter school who regularly interact with any student in grade 6 through 12 to immediately report any observed, reported, or perceived threat to law enforcement. The bill defines school official to mean any certificated or classified employee of a local educational agency or member of the school district governing board, county board of education, or governing body of a charter school whose official duties bring the individual in contact with pupils in any of grades 6 to 12 on a regular basis. Threat or perceived threat means any writing or action of a pupil that creates a reasonable suspicion that the pupil is preparing to commit a homicidal act related to school or a school activity. This may include possession, use, or depictions of firearms, ammunition, shootings, or targets in association with infliction of physical harm, destruction, or death in a social media post, journal, class note, or other media associated with the pupil. It may also include a warning by a parent, pupil, or other individual. The bill requires law enforcement, with support from the LEA, to conduct an immediate investigation and assessment of the threat or perceived threat, which, in some cases, may include a search of the schoolsite.

The initial version of SB 906 would have required a district or charter school to collect information about firearms stored at enrolled pupils’ homes, but that section was dropped due to strong criticism.

The Governor signed the following school safety bills:

Child Abuse

• AB 2274 (Rubio, Blanca) – Mandated reporters: statute of limitations.
  Under existing law, a case involving the failure to report an incident known or reasonably suspected by the mandated reporter to be sexual assault may be filed at any time within 5 years from the date of occurrence of the offense. This bill allows a case involving the failure to report an incident known or reasonably suspected by the mandated reporter to be child abuse or severe neglect, as defined, to be filed within one year of the discovery of the offense, but in no case later than 4 years after the commission of the offense.
  Chapter 587, Statutes of 2022

Guns

• AB 452 (Friedman) – Pupil safety: parental notification: firearm safety laws.
  AB 452 requires school districts, COEs, and charter schools 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. By imposing additional duties on school districts, COEs, and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill requires the CDE, on or before July 1, 2023, to develop and subsequently update, in consultation with the DOJ, and provide to school districts, COEs, 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. The bill makes school districts, COEs, charter schools, private schools, and the department immune from civil liability for any damages relating to the notice.
  Chapter 199, Statutes of 2022
• AB 2870 (Santiago) – Firearms: gun violence restraining orders.
  The bill expands the family members who can file a petition for a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) to include any person related by consanguinity or affinity within the 4th degree who has had substantial and regular interactions with the subject for at least one year.
  Chapter 974, Statutes of 2022
• SB 906 (Portantino) – School safety: homicide threats.
  This bill requires, commencing with the 2023–24 school year, local educational agencies (LEAs) maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12 to, informed by the model content, include information related to the safe storage of firearms in an annual notification provided to the parents or guardians of pupils. The bill requires a school official whose duties involve regular contact with pupils in any of grades 6 to 12, as part of a middle school or high school, and who is alerted to or observes any threat or perceived threat to immediately report the threat or perceived threat to law enforcement. The bill requires, with the support of the LEA, the local law enforcement agency or schoolsite police, to immediately conduct an investigation and threat assessment. The bill requires the investigation and threat assessment to include a review of the firearm registry of the DOJ and, if justified by a reasonable suspicion that it would produce evidence related to the threat or perceived threat, a schoolsite search. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
  Chapter 144, Statutes of 2022

School Safety

• AB 1406 (Lackey) – Law enforcement agency policies: carrying of equipment.
  This bill requires a law enforcement agency that authorizes peace officers to carry an electroshock device, such as a taser or stun gun that is held and operated in a manner similar to a pistol, to require that device to be holstered or otherwise carried on the lateral side of the body opposite to the side that that officer’s primary firearm is holstered.
  Chapter 945, Statutes of 2022
• AB 2571 (Bauer-Kahan) – Firearms: advertising to minors.
  AB 2571 prohibits a firearm industry member from advertising or marketing any firearm-related product in a manner that is designed, intended, or reasonably appears to be attractive to minors. The bill also prohibits a firearm industry member from using, disclosing, or compiling a minor’s personal information if it is intended to market or advertise a firearm to that minor. The bill imposes a civil penalty of up to $25,000 for each violation of these provisions, and authorizes a person harmed by a violation to bring suit to recover any damages suffered.
  Chapter 77, Statutes of 2022
• AB 2644 (Holden) – Custodial interrogation.
  Commencing January 1, 2024, AB 2644 prohibits law enforcement officers from employing threats, physical harm, deception, or psychologically manipulative interrogation tactics, during a custodial interrogation of a person 17 years of age or younger.
  Chapter 289, Statutes of 2022
• AB 2879 (Low) – Online content: cyberbullying.
  This bill requires a social media platform, subject to specified exceptions, to disclose all cyberbullying reporting procedures in the social media platform’s terms of service, and requires a social media platform to establish a mechanism within its internet-based service that allows an individual, whether or not that individual has a profile on the internet-based service, to report cyberbullying or any content that violates the existing terms of service.
  Chapter 700, Statutes of 2022
• AB 2959 (Committee on Judiciary) – Childhood sexual assault: claims.
  Current law, the Government Claims Act, generally requires the presentation to a public entity of a written claim for money or damages against the entity before the commencement of an action. The Government Claims Act excludes from this requirement a claim brought against a local public entity for the recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault. AB 2959 further expands this exclusion to provide that a claim for damages is not required to be presented to any government entity prior to the commencement of an action.
  Chapter 444, Statutes of 2022
• ACR 166 (Calderon) – Child Abuse Prevention Month.
  ACR 166 acknowledged April 2022 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and encouraged Californians to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools.
  Chapter 66, Statutes of 2022
• SB 855 (Newman) – Childhood Drowning Data Collection Pilot Program.
  This bill requires the State Department of Public Health (CDPH) to establish, on or before January 1, 2024, and administer the Childhood Drowning Data Collection Pilot Program, which will collect detailed data on childhood fatal and nonfatal drownings in California. The bill requires CDPH to submit various reports to the appropriate legislative policy committees and, based on those reports, to develop a California Water Safety Action Plan for Children and a standardized form for counties to use in reporting drownings statistics. The bill repeals these provisions on January 1, 2029.
  Chapter 817, Statutes of 2022

Capitol Advisors Group has produced a set of comprehensive client briefs detailing new education laws that were passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2022. Each brief is organized by subject area and includes an executive summary highlighting major changes we think you should know about. Bills signed by the Governor take effect on January 1, 2023, unless the bill specifically states otherwise.