Bill Text: CA AB2298 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 2298

Bill Title: Pupil instruction: computer science: content standards.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2026-09-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 188, Statutes of 2026. [AB2298 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB2298-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 2298

CHAPTER 188

An act to amend Section 33548 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

[ Approved by Governor September 10, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State September 10, 2026. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2298, Irwin. Pupil instruction: computer science: content standards.

Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, advise and recommend to the State Board of Education the policies and activities that are needed to implement the state’s academic content standards. Existing law requires the commission, on or before July 31, 2019, to consider developing and recommending to the state board computer science content standards for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, pursuant to recommendations developed by a group of computer science experts, as specified.

This bill would require the commission, when the computer science content standards are next revised after January 1, 2027, to consider incorporating cybersecurity skills, as defined, into those standards.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 33548 of the Education Code is amended to read:

33548.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy” means the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with how artificial intelligence works, including its principles, concepts, and applications, and how to use artificial intelligence, including its limitations, implications, and ethical considerations.

(2) “Cybersecurity skills” means techniques to protect information and devices by preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks by threat actors.

(3) “Digital citizenship” means a diverse set of skills related to current technology and social media, including the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior.

(4) “Media literacy” means the ability to access, evaluate, analyze, and use media and information and encompasses the foundational skills that lead to digital citizenship.

(b) When the English language arts/English language development (ELA/ELD) curriculum framework is next revised after January 1, 2024, the commission shall consider incorporating the Model Library Standards developed pursuant to Section 18101. The commission shall also consider incorporating media literacy content at each grade level.

(c) (1) The commission shall 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.

(2) When ELA/ELD instructional materials are next adopted by the state board after January 1, 2025, the commission shall consider including the Model Library Standards, developed pursuant to Section 18101, including media literacy content, in its criteria for evaluating instructional materials.

(3) When mathematics, science, and history-social science instructional materials are next adopted by the state board after January 1, 2025, the commission shall consider including media literacy content in its criteria for evaluating instructional materials.

(d) (1) The commission shall consider incorporating AI literacy content into the mathematics, science, and history-social science curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised after January 1, 2025.

(2) When mathematics, science, and history-social science instructional materials are next adopted by the state board after January 1, 2025, the commission shall consider including AI literacy in its criteria for evaluating instructional materials.

(e) When the computer science content standards are next revised after January 1, 2027, the commission shall consider incorporating cybersecurity skills content into those standards.