An act to amend Section 234 of add Section 234.55 to the Education Code, relating to school pupil safety.
Summary
AB 1135 would amend the Safe Place to Learn Act in the Education Code to add a new teen dating violence prevention requirement. By July 1, 2026, the Superintendent of Public Instruction would have to develop and post on the California Department of Education website guidance and a statewide list of resources aimed at preventing teen dating violence. The bill also requires those materials to be posted on the websites of county offices of education, school districts, and charter schools that serve grades 7 through 12 by January 1, 2027.
The bill is framed as a pupil safety measure and fits within existing state policy to reduce discrimination, harassment, violence, intimidation, and bullying in schools. It does not create a new program of direct services, but instead focuses on information-sharing, resource posting, and statewide guidance for schools and families. The measure also includes a reimbursement provision if the Commission on State Mandates determines the new requirements impose reimbursable state-mandated costs.
Impact
AB 1135 would add Section 234.55 to the Education Code and expand the Safe Place to Learn Act by imposing new website-posting duties on the Superintendent of Public Instruction and on local educational agencies serving grades 7-12. It would create a state-mandated local program because school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools would have to post the state-developed guidance and resource list. The bill also preserves the possibility of state reimbursement for mandated costs under existing claims procedures.
Sentiment
The available record suggests generally favorable or at least noncontroversial treatment of the bill, but with limited evidence of debate. There are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the materials provided, and the bill was last actioned by being filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. The bill’s subject matter—teen dating violence prevention and student safety—indicates a public-safety and youth-protection focus that is typically presented as supportive of schools and students.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the mandate on local educational agencies to post state-developed materials, which could impose administrative and website-maintenance costs on districts, county offices, and charter schools serving grades 7-12. That concern is partially addressed by the bill’s reimbursement language, but the measure still creates a state-mandated local program. A secondary issue is that the bill is limited to guidance and resource posting rather than direct intervention or curriculum requirements, which may be seen by some as modest in scope relative to the problem it seeks to address.
An act to amend Sections 44671 and 49600 of, and to add Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 52210) to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.
An act to amend Sections 2301 and 2302 of, and to add Section 2303 to, the Fish and Game Code, to add and repeal Section 515 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to amend Sections 675, 676, and 676.