Updated October 28, 2024
Exciting news! The deadline for the Governor to sign or veto bills has passed (9/30/2024), and we’re thrilled to share that many Pro-Kid measures successfully made it across the finish line. These new laws take effect on January 1, 2025 and focus on enhancing educational opportunities, supporting early childhood development, expanding healthcare access, and strengthening child welfare protections. If you have any questions about how they will impact you and your community, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at [email protected].
Education
- AB 2458 (Berman): Student parents and public postsecondary education – AB 2458 requires each systemwide office of the California Community Colleges (CCC) and California State University (CSU), and requests the systemwide office of the University of California (UC), by July 31, 2025, to develop and disseminate a model policy to estimate and adjust postsecondary cost of attendance information for student parents. This bill requires each campus of CCC and CSU, and requests each campus of UC, to take various steps to adjust cost of attendance for student parents. This bill has been signed into law by the Governor.
- SB 1244 (Newman): College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP), dual enrollment, and pupil instruction –SB 1244 seeks to provide authority for a community college district to enter into a CCAP partnership with a local educational agency (LEA) within the service area of another community college district (CCD) if that district declines a request or fails to take action within 60 days of a request from an LEA to either enter into a CCAP partnership or to approve another CCD to enter into a CCAP partnership to offer dual enrollment courses. This bill ensures that LEAs can offer their students, particularly students of color or from low-income families, greater access to college-level courses earlier through initiatives such as dual enrollment. The CCAP program has proven to be a successful pathway for high school students to take college courses and earn college credit. However, we recognize there is room for improvement as these programs are still not readily available in economically disadvantaged communities. This bill has been signed into law by the Governor.
Health
- AB 2340 (Bonta): Medi-Cal early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) informational materials – Too few kids in Medi-Cal are getting the preventive care, check-ups, shots, and screenings that are so critical for their health and development. AB 2340 (Bonta) aims to improve rates of preventive care for kids by ensuring that informational materials are regularly updated and are more readily available so that parents, caregivers, and youth understand the benefits and rights available to them through Medi-Cal for Kids and Teens. The bill author notes that “this alone will not address the crisis in children’s preventive care, but it will set the long-term foundation for greater success by ensuring the informational materials are meaningful, culturally concordant, and provided timely, and include materials that speak directly to the needs of youth and encourage them to seek preventive health care and other health care they need.” This bill has been signed into law by the Governor.
- AB 1864 (Connolly & Addis): Notifying and reporting on agricultural pesticide use near school sites – AB 1864 would strengthen existing protections for children from exposure to agricultural pesticides at school. A report by the California Department of Public Health analyzed use of pesticides of public health concern in the 15 highest pesticide-use counties and found that 36% of schools in these counties had pesticide use within a quarter mile, in amounts up to 28,979 pounds. Latine children were 46% more likely than their white peers to attend schools with pesticide use nearby and 91% more likely to attend schools in the highest quartile of use. Exposure to pesticides is linked to acute poisoning and chronic diseases, such as cancer, respiratory disease, and developmental disorders in children. Compared with adults, children are more susceptible to the health effects of pesticides because of their behavior, physiological development, and body size. Click here to find more information about AB 1864 and the California Alliance for Children’s Environmental Health (CACEH) (many members of CACEH support AB 1864). This bill has been signed into law by the Governor.
Child Welfare
- AB 2830 (Rivas): Relative foster care placement approval process – Children removed from their parents’ custody due to abuse or neglect enter foster care, where they are placed with resource families who become responsible for their care. Children and youth in foster care who can live with those they know, such as grandparents or other family members, experience familiarity, comfort, and continuity at a very traumatic time in their lives. Consequently, children and youth in foster care who are placed in the care of family members experience less trauma, greater stability, and better behavioral health outcomes. However, becoming an approved resource family can be an arduous process. AB 2830 seeks to reduce barriers for family members to care for their relatives in foster care through a streamlined approval process for relative caregivers. This will increase the ability of family members to care for their kin in foster care and improve the well-being of children and youth in foster care. This bill has been signed into law by the Governor.
Early Childhood
- AB 1947 (Rivas): Staff training days at California state preschool programs – AB 1947 builds upon the progress made by the national landmark legislation, AB 1363 (Chapter 498, Statutes of 2021) that helps the state achieve the goals of California’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care. The Master Plan stresses the importance of supporting the needs of dual language learner (DLL) children through interactions that acknowledge their cultural and linguistic backgrounds while also promoting the development of both their home language and English. Specifically, the Master Plan recommended that the state require specialized training and development to address dual language development, children with disabilities, and how to eliminate bias and inequitable practices. AB 1947 would expand the number of state training days, from up to two days to six days, for California State Preschool Program (CSPP) agencies and dedicate at least one training day specifically to supporting dual language learners if the agency enrolls at least 25 percent DLLs. This bill has been vetoed by the Governor.
