Bill Text: CA AB2197 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 2197

Introduced

Bill Title: School employees: solicitation: financial services or products.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced) 2026-04-15 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB2197 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB2197-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2197

Introduced by Assembly Member Valencia

February 19, 2026

An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 44120) to Chapter 1 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to school employees.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2197, as introduced, Valencia. School employees: solicitation: financial services or products.

Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, local educational agencies employ personnel to provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, at schoolsites throughout the state.

This bill would prohibit a school district, county office of education, or charter school from permitting solicitation of financial services or products on a schoolsite to school employees unless specified conditions are met, including, among others, requiring the representative to follow security measures and provide evidence of their business and license status, as provided. The bill would prohibit a representative from providing any inducement, as defined, to school employees and would require the representative to provide certain verbal and written disclosures at the beginning and end of each solicitation, as provided. The bill would prohibit a representative or business from using graphics, uniforms, or other items that could reasonably lead an employee to believe the representative is affiliated with a different business or agency. The bill would also require any solicitation conducted through electronic mail to include certain words, as provided.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Article 6 (commencing with Section 44120) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 25 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

Article 6. Solicitation

44120.

For the purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Business” means a provider of goods or services other than any of the following:

(1) The state, a state agency, or a local educational agency.

(2) A business contracted with the state, a state agency, or a local educational agency.

(3) A business or other organization that conducts solicitation activity for the purpose of nonprofit fundraising. For purposes of this paragraph, “nonprofit” means an organization incorporated pursuant to Division 2 (commencing with Section 5000) of Title 1 of the Corporations Code.

(4) An employee, employee representative, or organization affiliated with the local educational agency or schoolsite.

(b) “Employee” means a certificated or classified employee of a local educational agency.

(c) “Financial service or product” means a service or product that is subject to the Financial Code or the Insurance Code.

(d) “Inducement” means the offer or exchange of currency, goods, services, or other in-kind gifts that is intended or likely to lead to the recipient’s change in behavior to the benefit of the representative or business.

(e) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

(f) “Representative” means a natural person acting on behalf of a business for the purposes of solicitation.

(g) “Schoolsite” means the physical location of a school in a local educational agency or of a resource center, meeting space, or other satellite facility operated by a charter school.

(h) “Solicitation” means the act of selling, offering for sale, or advertising for sale a financial service or product.

44121.

(a) A local educational agency shall not permit solicitation by a representative on a schoolsite to an employee or group of employees unless all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The representative follows all security and safety measures required of visitors to the schoolsite.

(2) The representative is not given access to areas of schoolsites in which pupils are regularly present.

(3) Before solicitation, the representative provides verifiable evidence to the local educational agency demonstrating both of the following:

(A) The representative’s status as an employee, agent, or owner of the business offering the financial service or product.

(B) The representative is licensed, if required by law.

(4) Solicitation is done in a location which is not regularly used for breaks by employees.

(5) No resources of the local educational agency, including employee time or physical or electronic means of communication, are used to disseminate information for the solicitation.

(b) A representative shall not provide any inducement to an employee before, or in the course of, solicitation under this section.

(1) If any part of the representative’s total compensation is comprised of anything other than an hourly rate or salary, disclose verbally and in conspicuous writing the method by which the representative is compensated.

(2) Provide written notice for any similar financial service or product that is available to an employee through the state or a public agency. The notice shall include all of the following:

(A) The name of the similar financial service or product and, if applicable, the name of the public agency through which the service or product is available.

(B) A statement conveying that the similar financial service or product may be offered at a total price that is in the employee’s best financial interest.

(C) A statement that the representative and the business are not conducting solicitation on behalf of the state or a public agency.

(d) A representative or business shall not engage in solicitation at a schoolsite while using graphics, colors, uniforms, or other articles of clothing that could reasonably be construed by an employee as representing a business or agency other than the actual business or agency being represented.

(e) Any communication by a representative or business related to a solicitation under this section that is conducted through electronic mail shall include the word “VENDOR” or “SOLICITATION,” in all capital letters, at the beginning of the subject line of the electronic mail message.