State Superintendent Tony Thurmond celebrated the signing of Assembly Bill 49 (Muratsuchi) and Senate Bill 98 (Perez) into law October 13, by Governor Newsom, two bills co-sponsored by Superintendent Thurmond that seek to keep immigration enforcement off school campuses and ensure appropriate family notification if immigration agents are present at a school site.
Since spring 2025, impacts of immigration enforcement on California schools have included incidents in which federal agents set off flashbang grenades within earshot of schoolyards, urinated on a playground in broad daylight, asked for direct contact with young children without a warrant or parent permission, and used school drop-off as an opportunity to detain parents.
“I am proud to have sponsored and supported the passage of AB 49 and SB 98 to keep ICE and immigration enforcement away from our school campuses without a judge’s authorization,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “The reckless actions of the Trump administration have sown fear and trauma throughout California school communities. As the son and grandson of immigrants, I am proud to stand with our immigrant communities to ensure school campuses are safe and accessible to all families.”
AB 49 prohibits Local Educational Agency employees from allowing immigration authorities to enter a nonpublic area of a school site without being presented with a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena or a court order, or unless required by state or federal law. SB 98 requires communication to pupils, families, faculty, staff, and other school community members if an immigration enforcement agent is present on a school site.
To support the immediate implementation of these new laws, the California Department of Education (CDE) has published “Our Schools: Resources for Including Immigrant Families,” a new toolkit of family-facing posters and informational cards that communicate assurance of all schools’ obligation to provide every child with access to education and a safe learning environment, regardless of immigration status, as protected by law.
As a result of the new legislation, all local educational agencies (LEAs) are also now required to make local policies regarding immigration enforcement available to the CDE. LEAs must make policies available to CDE by March 1, 2026, which is the deadline when LEAs are required to have updated local policies in alignment with guidance from the Attorney General.
According to the Urban Institute, one in two children in California have at least one parent who is an immigrant, one in five children in California have parents whose immigration statuses differ from each other, and 93 percent of the children in mixed-status families are United States citizens.
For more information about resources to include immigrant families and their students in California schools, visit the CDE web page on Including Immigrant Families.
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