Bill Text: CA SB98 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education: immigration enforcement: notification.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-05 - Referred to Coms. on ED. and JUD. [SB98 Detail]
Download: California-2025-SB98-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 98
| Introduced by Senator Pérez |
January 23, 2025 |
An act to amend Sections 234.7 and 66093.3 of the Education Code, relating to education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 98, as introduced, Pérez.
Elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education: immigration enforcement: notification.
(1) Existing law prohibits, except as required by state or federal law or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, school officials and employees of a school district, county office of education, or charter school from collecting information or documents regarding citizenship or immigration status of pupils or their family members. Existing law requires the superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of a county office of education, and the principal of a charter school, as applicable, to report to the respective governing board or body of the local educational agency in a timely manner any requests for information or access to a schoolsite by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially
identifying information. Existing law requires the Attorney General, by April 1, 2018, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, to publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement at public schools, to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law, and ensuring that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status, and requires the Attorney General, at a minimum, to consider certain issues when developing the model policies, including, among others, procedures for local educational agency employees to notify the specified officials if an individual requests or gains access to school grounds for purposes related to immigration enforcement.
This bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school to immediately notify all pupils, parents, faculty, staff, and other school community members of the presence of immigration
officers, as defined, on the schoolsite. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on school districts, county office of education, or charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education as 4 segments of postsecondary education in the state.
Existing law requires the Trustees of the California State University, the governing boards of community college districts, and independent institutions of higher education that are qualifying institutions for purposes of the Cal
Grant Program, and requests the Regents of the University of California, to the fullest extent consistent with state and federal law, to implement various precautionary measures when federal immigration enforcement activities are undertaken on campuses of those segments, as specified, including, among others, that those postsecondary entities advise all students, faculty, and staff to notify the office of the chancellor or president, or their designee, as soon as possible, if they are advised that an immigration officer is expected to enter, will enter, or has entered the campus to execute a federal immigration order.
This bill would require those postsecondary educational entities to immediately notify all students, faculty, staff, and other campus community members of the presence of immigration officers on campus, as specified. To the extent that the bill would impose 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.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 234.7 of the Education Code is amended to read:234.7.
(a) Except as required by state or federal(b) The superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of a county office of education, and the principal of a charter school, as applicable, shall report to the respective governing board or body of the local educational agency in a timely manner any
requests for information or access to a schoolsite by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information.
(c) If an employee of a school is aware that a pupil’s parent or guardian is not available to care for the pupil, the school shall first exhaust any parental instruction relating to the pupil’s care in the emergency contact information it has for the pupil to arrange for the pupil’s care. A school is encouraged to work with parents or guardians to update the emergency contact information and not to contact Child Protective Services to arrange for the pupil’s care unless the school is unable to arrange for care through the use of emergency contact information or other information or instructions provided by the parent or guardian.
(d) The governing board or body of a local educational agency shall do both all of the following:
(1) Provide information to parents and guardians, as appropriate, regarding their children’s right to a free public education, regardless of immigration status or religious beliefs. This information shall include information relating to “know your rights” immigration enforcement established by the Attorney General and may be provided in the annual notification to parents and guardians pursuant to Section 48980 or any other cost-effective means determined by the local educational agency.
(2) Educate pupils about the negative impact of bullying other pupils based on their actual or
perceived immigration status or their religious beliefs and customs.
(3) Immediately notify all pupils, parents, faculty, staff, and other school community members of the presence of immigration officers on the schoolsite.
(e)Nothing in this
(e) This section prohibits
does not prohibit the governing board or body of a local educational agency from establishing stronger standards and protections.
(f) (1) The Attorney General, by April 1, 2018, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, shall publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement at public schools, to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law, and ensuring that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status. The Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider all of the following issues when developing the model policies:
(A) Procedures related to requests for access to school grounds for purposes related to immigration enforcement.
(B) Procedures for
local educational agency employees to notify the superintendent of the school district or his or her
their designee, the superintendent of the county office of education or his or her their designee, or the principal of the charter school or his or her their designee, as applicable, if an individual requests or gains access to school grounds for purposes related to immigration enforcement.
(C) Procedures for responding to requests for personal information about pupils or their family members for purposes of immigration enforcement.
(2) Notwithstanding the
rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the Department of Justice may implement, interpret, or make specific this section without taking any regulatory action.
(g) All local educational agencies shall adopt the model policies developed pursuant to subdivision (f), or equivalent policies, by July 1, 2018.
(h) For purposes of this section, “local the following definitions apply:
(1) “Immigration officer” means any state, local, or federal law enforcement officer who is seeking to enforce immigration law, including, but not limited to, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and United States Customs and Border Protection officers.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
SEC. 2.
Section 66093.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:66093.3.
(a) The Trustees of the California State University, the governing board of each community college district in the state, and each independent institution of higher education that is a qualifying institution as defined in subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7, shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested to, do all of the following to the fullest extent consistent with state and federal law:(a)
(1) Refrain from disclosing personal information about students, faculty, and staff except: (1) (A) with the consent of the person identified, or if the person is under 18 years of age, with the consent of the parent or guardian of the person identified; (2) (B) as may legally be disclosed under state and federal privacy laws; (3)
(C) for the programmatic purpose for which the information was obtained; (4) (D) as part of a directory that does not include residence addresses or individual persons’ course schedules and that the person has not elected to opt out of; or (5) (E) in response to a judicial warrant, court order, or subpoena.
(b)
(2) Advise all students, faculty, and staff to notify the office of the chancellor or president, or his or her their designee, as soon as possible, if he or she is they are advised that an immigration officer is expected to enter, will enter, or has entered the campus to execute a federal immigration order.
(3) Immediately notify all students, faculty, staff, and other campus community members of the presence of immigration officers on campus.
(c)
(4) If there is reason to suspect that a student, faculty, or staff person has been taken into custody as a result of an immigration enforcement action, the college or university, as soon as possible, shall notify the person’s emergency contact that the person has been taken into custody.
(d)
(5) Comply with a request from an immigration officer for access to nonpublic areas of the campus only upon presentation of a judicial warrant. This subdivision
paragraph shall not apply to an immigration officer’s request for access or information related to the operation of international student, staff, or faculty programs, employment verification efforts, or other nonenforcement activities.
(e)
(6) Advise all students, faculty, and staff responding to or having contact with a an immigration officer executing a federal immigration order, to refer the entity or individual to the office of the chancellor or president, or his or her
their designee, for purposes of verifying the legality of any warrant, court order, or subpoena.
(f)
(7) Designate a staff person to serve as a point of contact for any student, faculty, or staff person who may or could be subject to an immigration order or inquiry on campus. Unless the disclosure is permitted by state and federal education privacy law, faculty and staff persons shall be prohibited from discussing the personal information, including immigration status information, of any student, faculty, or staff person with anyone, or revealing that personal information to anyone. Nothing in this subdivision
This paragraph shall not be construed to require as requiring a college or university to hire staff to fulfill the requirements of this subdivision. paragraph.
(g)
(8) Maintain a contact list of legal services providers who provide legal immigration representation, and provide it free of charge to any and all students who request it. The list shall include, but not necessarily
be limited to, the organization’s name and contact number, email address, and office address.
(h)
(9) Adopt and implement, by March 1, 2019, the model policy developed by the Attorney General or an equivalent policy pursuant to the California Values Act (Chapter 17.25 (commencing with Section 7284) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code), limiting assistance with immigration enforcement to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law.
(i)(1)
(10) (A) Post on its Internet Web site
internet website in a conspicuous location, and provide via email quarterly or each semester to all students, faculty, and staff:
(A)
(i) A copy of the policy adopted pursuant to subdivision (h). paragraph (9).
(B)
(ii) Guidance informing them of their rights under state and federal immigration laws and how to respond to a federal immigration action or order.
(2)
(B) Update the information posted on its Internet Web site internet website pursuant to paragraph (1)
subparagraph (A) as often as is necessary to reflect any changes to federal and state immigration laws and university or college policies and procedures.
(j)
(11) In the event that an undocumented student is subject to a federal immigration order, ensure that both all of the following occur:
(1)
(A) In the event that an undocumented student is detained, deported, or is unable to attend to his or her the student’s academic requirements due to the actions of an immigration officer in relation to a federal immigration order, the college or university shall make all reasonable efforts to assist the student in retaining any eligibility for financial aid, fellowship stipends, exemption from nonresident tuition fees, funding for research or other educational projects, housing stipends or services, or other benefits he or she
the student has been awarded or received, and permit the student to be reenrolled if and when the student is able to return to the college or university. It is the intent of the Legislature that, in implementing this paragraph, California colleges and universities make reasonable and good-faith good faith efforts to provide for a seamless transition in a student’s reenrollment and reacquisition of campus services and supports.
(2)
(B) That staff is
available to assist, in a sensitive manner, undocumented students, and other students, faculty, and staff who may be subject to a federal immigration order or inquiry, or who may face similar issues, and whose education or employment is at risk because of federal immigration actions.
(C) All students, faculty, staff, and campus community members are immediately notified of the presence of immigration officers on campus.
(b) For purposes of this article, “immigration officer” means any state, local, or federal law enforcement officer who is seeking to enforce immigration law.
law, including, but not limited to, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and United States Customs and Border Protection officers.
