2025 brings new school laws in California

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New California school laws

Shelby Doyle, from the National School Choice Awareness Foundation talks California Healthy Homework Act and Teaching Native American history.

With the new calendar year comes some new laws for school districts across California, from banning book bans, to regulating homework - and adding topics like and the dangers of fentanyl to high school courses. 

Here are some new requirements school districts, charter schools and county education offices have to comply with: 

Fentanyl education

All California high school students have to take a health education class to graduate. A new law now requires fentanyl education to be included in those courses. That means teachers have to explain what fentanyl is, the risks of using it and maybe most importantly, how to detect when a drugs may be laced with fentanyl through the use of test strips, how to spot signs of an overdose, and how to administer Naloxone to reverse an overdose.

Schools have the next year to incorporate those lessons into their existing health courses.

Bettye Lusk, president of the California School Boards Association, called the new requirement critical.

"Our children are in crisis," Lusk said. "Knowledge is the key to improving the response to it." Schools have a year to plan how to incorporate these lessons into health classes.

Regulating homework 

The Healthy Homework Act, or AB 2999, authored by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clara) was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in the fall, which calls for school districts, charter schools or even county education offices to set rules and guidelines about how many hours of homework to give students per day - and even how homework is graded, or whether it should be optional.

School districts and county education offices are encouraged to follow homework guidelines set by the state, which is supposed to come up with them by January of next year.

Parents had mixed reactions to the law, with some expressing concerns about lowered academic standards.

"They have to do homework," said Cynthia Sanchez of Pleasant Hill. "If they don’t have any, it’s going to get worse."

Others welcomed the change. "There are numerous studies that show homework isn’t really that helpful," said Laura Marvel, also of Pleasant Hill. "I would love a regulation so my kid doesn’t have two hours of homework after she gets home."

Ban on book bans

The California Freedom to Read Act, or AB 1825, authored by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, (D-Torrance) applies to all libraries in California that receive public funding including school libraries. It prohibits the entities overseeing those libraries, whether a district, or school board, from banning books because of the views or themes in them. It would also prohibit the firing of any librarian who refuses to remove a book because of its content. 

Schools can't ‘out’ LGBTQ students

AB 1955, prevents schools from requiring staff to notify parents if a student identifies as LGBTQ, and was authored by Assemblyman Chris Ward (D-San Diego.) The law is in response to some districts requiring staff to notify parents when students identify as a gender other than what’s in their official files.

Native American history

A new law requires California students to learn Native American history in a way that includes the mistreatment and perspectives of tribal members, which will be most relevant to fourth-graders when they study California history. Assemblyman James Ramos, the first Native American state lawmaker, authored the bill. 

Ethnic studies

The law was passed in 2021, but high schools must begin offering ethnic studies classes in the 2025-26 school year. Former assemblywoman Wendy Carillo wrote the law, AB 12555.  The class of 2030 will be the first group required to complete the course to graduate high school.

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