California State PTA believes that all children deserve a quality education regardless of the community in which they live, the color of their skin, their language, their gender identity, or their immigration status.
But too many California students from underserved communities are deprived of an equal opportunity to learn. This year we created an equity agenda to address the needs of all of our children. The bills the California State PTA supports are listed below by category.
Poverty, Income, and Racial Inequality
PTA seeks legislation to address poverty, and the income and racial inequities that affect millions of California families.
- AB 27 (Rivas, Luz D) Homeless children and youths and unaccompanied youths: reporting.
- AB 57 (Gabriel D) Law enforcement: hate crimes.
- AB 367 (Garcia, Cristina D) Menstrual products.
- AB 408 (Quirk-Silva D) Homeless children and youths: reporting.
- AB 742 (Calderon D) Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: School Supplies for Homeless Children Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund.
- AB 1006 (Rubio, Blanca D) Foster care: social worker turnover workgroup.
- SB 17 (Pan D) Office of Racial Equity.
- SB 100 (Hurtado D) Extended foster care program working group.
- AB 14 (Aguiar-Curry D) Communications: broadband services: California Advanced Services Fund.
- AB 775 (Berman D) Public postsecondary education: basic needs of students.
- SB 4 (Gonzalez D) Communications: California Advanced Services Fund: deaf and disabled telecommunications program: surcharges.
- SB 532 (Caballero D) Pupil instruction: high school coursework and graduation requirements: exemptions.
- SB 682 (Rubio D) Childhood chronic health conditions: racial disparities.
- AB 37 (Berman D) Elections: vote by mail ballots.
- AB 546 (Maienschein D) Dependent children: documents: housing.
- AB 656 (Carrillo D) Child welfare system: racial disparities.
- SB 274 (Wieckowski D) Local government meetings: agenda and documents.
- AB 34 Muratsuchi D Broadband for All Act of 2022.
- AB 256 Kalra D Criminal procedure: discrimination.
- SB 79 Bradford D State parks: state beaches: County of Los Angeles: Manhattan State Beach: deed restrictions.
Early Learning
PTA supports quality childcare, pre-school and early learning for all children.
- AB 22 (McCarty D) Childcare: preschool programs and transitional kindergarten: enrollment: funding.
- AB 92 (Reyes D) Preschool and childcare and development services: family fees.
- AB 321 (Valladares R) Childcare services: eligibility.
- AB 393 (Reyes D) Early Childhood Development Act of 2020.
- AB 1361 (Rubio, Blanca D) Childcare and developmental services: preschool: expulsion and suspension: mental health services: reimbursement rates.
- SB 50 (Limón D) Early learning and care.
- SB 725 (Ochoa Bogh R) Early childhood education: parent participation preschool programs.
Health and Welfare
Physical, social, emotional, and mental health needs must be met before students can thrive.
- AB 452 (Friedman D) Pupil safety: parental notification: firearm safety laws.
- SB 260 (Wiener D) Climate Corporate Accountability Act.
- SB 699 (Eggman D) School climate: statewide school climate indicator: surveys.
- AB 285 (Holden D) State Department of Education: state school nurse consultant.
- AB 967 (Frazier D) Special education: COVID-19 Special Education Fund.
- SB 224 (Portantino D) Pupil instruction: mental health education.
- SB 237 (Portantino D) Special education: dyslexia risk screening.
- SB 722 (Melendez R) Interscholastic athletics: adult supervisors: cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.
- AB 234 (Ramos D) Office of Suicide Prevention.
- AB 270 (Ramos D) Core Behavioral Health Crisis Services System.
- AB 309 (Gabriel D) Pupil mental health: model referral protocols.
- AB 586 (O’Donnell D) Pupil health: health and mental health services: School Health Demonstration Project.
- AB 988 (Bauer-Kahan D) Mental health: mobile crisis support teams: 988 crisis hotline.
- AB 1117 (Wicks D) Pupil support services: Healthy Start: Toxic Stress and Trauma Resiliency for Children Program.
- AB 1165 (Gipson D) Juvenile facilities: storage and use of chemical agents and facility staffing.
- AB 1197 (Quirk-Silva D) School meals: nutritional requirements.
- SB 14 (Portantino D) Pupil health: school employee and pupil training: excused absences: youth mental and behavioral health.
- SB 21 (Glazer D) Specialized license plates: mental health awareness.
- SB 217 (Dahle R) Comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education.
- SB 364 (Skinner D) Pupil meals: Free School Meals For All Act of 2021.
- AB 48 (Gonzalez, Lorena D) Law enforcement: kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents.
Education Funding
California’s school finance system must provide stable, sustainable, equitable, and adequate funding to meet the diverse needs of all our students, including before and after-school programs, summer school, and distance learning.
- AB 99 (Irwin D) Statewide longitudinal data system: California Cradle-to-Career Data System: governance and support.
- AB 1112 (Carrillo D) Before and after school programs: maximum grant amounts.
- SB 737 (Limón D) California Student Opportunity and Access Program.
- AB 75 (O’Donnell D) Education finance – School facilities: Kindergarten-Community Colleges Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2022.
- SB 22 (Glazer D) Education finance- School facilities: Public Preschool, K–12, and College Health and Safety.
Teaching
PTA supports the recruitment and development of an educator workforce that is reflective of the student population, and that all students have qualified and effective teachers delivering a full curriculum.
- AB 312 (Seyarto R) Teacher credentialing: basic skills proficiency test: exemption.
- AB 437 (Kalra D) Teacher credentialing: subject matter competence.
- AB 520 (Gipson D) Teacher retention: California Diversifying the Teacher Workforce Grant Program.
- SB 237 (Portantino D) Special education: dyslexia risk screening.
Curriculum
Instruction should be personalized, culturally relevant, and responsive. Coursework must address racism and bias to counteract the institutional and structural biases and related traumas that often drive inequitable outcomes for students.
- AB 101 (Medina D) Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: ethnic studies.
- AB 104 (Gonzalez, Lorena D) Pupil instruction: retention, grade changes, and exemptions.
- AB 299 (Villapudua D) Career technical education: California Apprenticeship Grant Program.
- AB 839 (O’Donnell D) Career technical education: California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program.
- ACR 49 (Choi R) Arts Education Month.
- SB 545 (Wilk R) Pupil retention: COVID-19 impact.
- SB 628 (Allen D) California Creative Workforce Act of 2021.
- SB 723 (Rubio D) Pupil instruction: tutoring program: learning loss mitigation.
- SB 70 (Rubio D) Elementary education: kindergarten.
- AB 366 (Rubio, Blanca D) Foster youth.
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