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2026 Advocacy

State Legislative Advocacy 2026

ACOE engages in state-level legislative advocacy for education policies that support its students and stakeholders.

ACOE has also taken advocacy positions on other bills introduced this legislative session consistent with the Policy Platform developed by ACOE's Policy Committee.

Enhance Learning Supports

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would require CDE to create a registry where LEAs would be authorized, but not required, to list CTE equipment they are selling for purchase by other LEAs.
     
    Link to Bill  

     

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would allow LEAs to deem a student who successfully completes a course or series of courses in an apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship program to have fulfilled the visual/performing arts, world language, or CTE course requirement if the program meets specified requirements.
     
    Link to Bill  

     

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would create and coordinate apprenticeships for in- and out-of-school (opportunity) youth (16-24), identify a process for approving industry pathways for pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeship programs for students in high school, college, and adult education programs, provide paid training opportunities and support services to opportunity youth, establish a streamlined youth apprenticeship data system, and identify county and regional intermediaries, including COEs, to provide implementation support to LEAs and employers.
     
    Link to Bill  

Human Resources

Improve Fiscal Health and Governance

Increase Child, Youth, Educator, and Staff Wellness

  •  

    POSITION: OPPOSE 
     
    This bill would have required a rural school district or charter school to have at least one armed school resource officer, who would be authorized to carry a loaded firearm, to be present at each school of the school district or charter school during regular school hours.
     
    Link to Bill      Letter (Assembly Education Committee)   

     

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would strengthen privacy protections for students by addressing gaps in existing laws including the K-12 Pupil Online Personal Information Protection Act (KOPIPA), Early Learning Personal Information Protection Act (ELPIPA), and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Specifically, this bill would prohibit education technology (EdTech) operators from using student data to train artificial intelligence systems; prohibit the collection, use, or disclosure of especially sensitive student information (reproductive/sexual health, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity) to protect vulnerable students; and implement data minimization requirements and limiting retention to what is “reasonably necessary” for the specific purpose for which the information was collected.
     
    Link to Bill  

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would establish the Unaccompanied Youth Transitional Housing Program which would provide funding for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to partner with local nonprofits, as defined, and to offer 5-year grants to fund transitional housing projects for unaccompanied homeless youth (16-17). This bill is sponsored by the SPI. 
     
    Link to Bill  

     

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would strengthen newly instated protections for minors interacting with companion bots with a focus on preventing bots from producing or facilitating exchange of sexually explicit material.
     
    Link to Bill  

     

  •  

    POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill will require a school district or charter school to hire or contract with at least one armed school resource officer, as defined, authorized to carry a loaded firearm to be present at each school of the school district or charter school during regular school hours and any other time when pupils are present on campus, phased in by certain grade spans, as provided. By imposing an additional requirement on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
     
    Link to Bill      Letter (Senate Education Committee)    Letter (Senate Health Committee)  Letter (Senate Appropriations)

     

  •  

    POSITION: OPPOSE 
     
    This bill would reduce the safety of students and personnel in schools and daycares near metal shredders by significantly altering the regulatory framework surrounding metal shredding facilities and reclassifying the hazardous waste they produce as non hazardous material, removing hazardous-waste specific safety requirements.
     
    Link to Bill      Letter (Senate Environmental Quality Committee)   

     

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would require the Instructional Quality Commission to consider including info on signs and symptoms of heat illness during the next revision of the publication “Health Framework for California Public Schools”
     
    Link to Bill  

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would require existing SROs to carry and be trained to use an opioid overdose reversal medications like Naloxone and CalRx.
     
    Link to Bill  

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would require all state and local agency officials to complete at least one hour of anti-hate speech training within the first 6 months of taking office and once every 4 years.
     
    Link to Bill  

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would require a business providing test proctoring services to a school district, county office of education, or charter school for classroom- or course-based exams to use end-to-end encryption.
     
    Link to Bill  

  • POSITION: SUPPORT 
     
    This bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to enable call transfers between 988 centers and subnetwork of LGBTQ suicide prevention providers, routing youth to a suicide prevention specialist by dialing 988 and pressing “3” or by text/chat. The bill would also create the Protecting Suicide Prevention Resources for LGBTQ Youth Fund and appropriate $5 million from the General Fund for suicide prevention grants to qualified entities, including LEAs.
     
    Link to Bill  

Strengthen Education Workforce

Other Advocacy

State Budget Advocacy

 

State Administrative Advocacy

Federal Advocacy

Miscellaneous Advocacy