By Stephanie Nguyen
On Sept. 20, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 49 and Senate Bill 98 into law, which were brought forward by State Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi (and others) and State Senator Sasha Pérez (and others). Though separate from each other, both bills expanded existing legislation concerning school safety, due to the increasing number of requests to enter school grounds from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Assembly Bill 49 (AB 49) states that district and school officials can’t give ICE officers permission to enter “a nonpublic area of a schoolsite” without presenting evidence of an order by a court of law. Previous legislation already established mandatory notifications from school officials to their respective governing board of any communication made by immigration authorities. Furthermore, schools can’t seek information regarding the immigration status of any pupil or their family, unless required for certain federal programs. However, they weren’t prohibited from allowing ICE onto the site after said notification, or from giving information about students and/or members of their family to the authorities, should they have any.
Under AB 49, a school or district governing body can’t accept immigration enforcement requests without an order, even if they wanted to. And no school personnel can reveal records of a student and/or family members without a guardian’s consent. They can only be disclosed to ICE and other immigration authorities if they are presented with an order. In addition, staff members and faculty have to request identification of immigration officers and employees.
Senate Bill 98 (SB 98) expands on existing school policies concerning school safety. Although K-12 public and charter schools are expected to have safety plans in place already, they must notify parents and relatives whenever ICE is on school grounds. The law doesn’t specify the exact means of notification, but it will likely be through an online medium. In an email sent to Baron Banner, Ian Hanigan, a Chief Communications officer from the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE), said in an overview of the bill that notifications are required to have noted the time and location of the incident, as well as a link to additional resources.
As for universities, such notifications aren’t required. But the California State University (CSU) system and many California community colleges have to notify a higher governing body or personnel if ICE shows up on the campus, and “requests” that the University of California (UC) system do the same. This is to continue until Jan. 1, 2031, and in effect the day it was signed.
It will be applicable to charter cities and general law cities alike. “AB 49 and SB 98 apply to all public schools,” Michelle Hatfield from the communications team at the California Department of Education said. “The pieces of legislation don’t apply to cities, so a city’s charter status is irrelevant.” In the same email, she said she is not aware of any funding from the state. OCDE replied in the affirmative. “To our knowledge, there is no specific state funding attached to either bill,” Hanigan said. “This means school districts will likely be responsible for any costs related to implementation, such as staff training, policy updates and communications.”
Currently, the OCDE has not notified districts yet.
“We are reviewing the new laws to help inform the 28 school districts we serve,” Hanigan said. “Our role includes interpreting key requirements, helping share information and supporting communications efforts at the local level.” He added that it was the Legal Services team tasked with the assignment, and that there had been some discussion surrounding the topic.
The signing of the legislation was celebrated in a press release on the California Department of Education’s website.
“I am proud to have sponsored and supported the passage of AB 49 and SB 98 to keep ICE and immigration enforcement away from our school campuses without a judge’s authorization,” State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said in the announcement. “The reckless actions of the Trump administration have sown fear and trauma throughout California school communities. As the son and grandson of immigrants, I am proud to stand with our immigrant communities to ensure school campuses are safe and accessible to all families.“
Thurmond also created a toolkit of posters and office counter cards intended to “communicate reassurance” that the school will uphold its commitment to maintaining a safe and educational environment. One of the posters contains information about the recent legislation, as well as a QR code to legal information concerning the rights of immigrants and their families Additionally, it provides legal tips for navigating around various issues, such as housing and immigration scams.
To see other laws that were passed concerning immigration by the state of California, visit the link.
