Assembly Bill (AB) 1369 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 26, 2025. The bill strengthens and clarifies students’ existing right to wear traditional tribal regalia or recognized objects of religious or cultural significance during graduation ceremonies and related school events.
On October 11, 2025, the Governor signed an additional bill, SB 158, that made further changes to CEQA, including cleaning up parts of the provisions added by AB 130 and SB 131, and appropriating $2,106,000 from the General Fund to the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to support implementation of SB 131.
On October 7, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 715 and Senate Bill (SB) 48, which together broaden antidiscrimination provisions in the Education Code to further address antisemitism, impose new obligations for local educational agencies (LEAs) to investigate and respond to allegations of discrimination, and create the California Office of Civil Rights to support and monitor LEAs in
AB 361 Authorizes “Best Value” Procurement for School District Construction Projects Over $1 Million
Assembly Bill (AB) 361 allows school districts to use a “best value” procurement method for construction projects exceeding $1 million.
On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 130, one of the “budget trailer bills” implementing the State’s 2025-26 budget, into law.
In response to the rescission of federal agency policies limiting immigration enforcement on school grounds (see Lozano Smith’s 2025 Client News Brief Number 9), Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 49 and Senate Bill (SB) 98, both of which to
In Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. v. Alberto Carvalho, et al. (9th Cir. July 31, 2025), Case No. 22-55908, __ F.4th __ , the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccination requirement for employees did not violate constitutional law because it was rationally related to protecting the health and s
The Ninth Circuit recently issued an amended opinion in Adams v. County of Sacramento (9th Cir. 2005) 143 F.4th 1027, a case involving a former Sacramento County sheriff’s captain, and former Assistant Chief of Police for the City of Rancho Cordova, Kate Adams (Adams) who alleged she was forced to resign after allegations surfaced that she forwarded racist images via text message.
In two separate back-to-back recent decisions, California courts have given important wins to public employers in defending against employee whistleblower lawsuits under Labor Code section 1102.5.