2023 California Code › Education Code - EDC › TITLE 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION CODE PROVISIONS › DIVISION 1 - GENERAL EDUCATION CODE PROVISIONS › PART 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › CHAPTER 2 - Educational Equity › ARTICLE 5.7 - Pupil Protections Relating to Immigration and Citizenship Status › Section 234.7.

234.7. (a) Except as required by state or federal law or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, school officials and employees of a local educational agency shall not collect information or documents regarding citizenship or immigration status of pupils or their family members.
(b) The superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of a county office of education, and the principal of a charter school, as applicable, shall report to the respective governing board or body of the local educational agency in a timely manner any requests for information or access to a schoolsite by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information.
(c) If an employee of a school is aware that a pupil’s parent or guardian is not available to care for the pupil, the school shall first exhaust any parental instruction relating to the pupil’s care in the emergency contact information it has for the pupil to arrange for the pupil’s care. A school is encouraged to work with parents or guardians to update the emergency contact information and not to contact Child Protective Services to arrange for the pupil’s care unless the school is unable to arrange for care through the use of emergency contact information or other information or instructions provided by the parent or guardian.
(d) The governing board or body of a local educational agency shall do both of the following:
(1) Provide information to parents and guardians, as appropriate, regarding their children’s right to a free public education, regardless of immigration status or religious beliefs. This information shall include information relating to “know your rights” immigration enforcement established by the Attorney General and may be provided in the annual notification to parents and guardians pursuant to Section 48980 or any other cost-effective means determined by the local educational agency.
(2) Educate pupils about the negative impact of bullying other pupils based on their actual or perceived immigration status or their religious beliefs and customs.
(e) Nothing in this section prohibits the governing board or body of a local educational agency from establishing stronger standards and protections.
(f) (1) The Attorney General, by April 1, 2018, in consultation with the appropriate stakeholders, shall publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement at public schools, to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law, and ensuring that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status. The Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider all of the following issues when developing the model policies:
(A) Procedures related to requests for access to school grounds for purposes related to immigration enforcement.
(B) Procedures for local educational agency employees to notify the superintendent of the school district or his or her designee, the superintendent of the county office of education or his or her designee, or the principal of the charter school or his or her designee, as applicable, if an individual requests or gains access to school grounds for purposes related to immigration enforcement.
(C) Procedures for responding to requests for personal information about pupils or their family members for purposes of immigration enforcement.
(2) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the Department of Justice may implement, interpret, or make specific this section without taking any regulatory action.
(g) All local educational agencies shall adopt the model policies developed pursuant to subdivision (f), or equivalent policies, by July 1, 2018.
(h) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 493, Sec. 5. (AB 699) Effective January 1, 2018.)