Editor's note: On October 12, Governor Gavin Newsom signed A.B. 495 as amended. Though we did not support its passing, we are grateful that because of your advocacy, the California Legislature removed some of the most dangerous provisions to the bill prior to it being signed into law. Governor Newsom also included some good language about parental rights and the context of the bill in his signing statement.
HSLDA is dedicated to ensuring that this bill never threatens members of HSLDA or homeschool freedom in California. Watch a video update from Will Estrada here.
A bill that undermines parental rights—one of the legal foundations for homeschool freedom—has passed the California legislature and is awaiting action by Governor Gavin Newsom. This is one of many attacks on homeschool freedom we’ve seen across the country this year.
Assembly Bill 495—the “Family Preparedness Plan Act”—is being sold as a way to help families when parents are detained or deported. But it’s not limited to those cases. As written, these changes could invite overreach by hostile relatives, confusion, and misuse by courts or agencies.
This bill could potentially allow relatives or other people in a child’s life to make critical medical and educational decisions without the consent of the parents or even a judge’s approval. The pending bill builds on an existing law that was passed more than two decades ago.
HSLDA joined state homeschool leaders and homeschooling families in opposing the bill while it was under consideration by various Senate committees in August. Before passing the bill on September 10, the Senate responded by making significant changes to the bill, which addressed some of its most egregious provisions. However, major problems remain.
“The amendments indicate that the California legislature had heard at least some of the concerns raised by millions of Californians,” noted HSLDA Senior Counsel Will Estrada.
He added that HSLDA is encouraging homeschooling parents in California to review the changes and make their voices heard as Governor Newsom considers whether to sign A.B. 495 into law. (If you live in the state of California, you can contact Newsom here.
Here’s the backstory.
The version of the bill now on the governor’s desk still fails to address a problematic 1990s law that authorizes certain adults to make decisions for other people’s children under circumstances that are ill-defined and ripe for misuse.
The current law—and its flaws
Since 1994, California’s “caregiver affidavit” law has let certain adults who live with a child temporarily enroll a child in school. It also authorizes “relatives” to consent to medical or dental care—without a formal guardianship and with the term “relatives” broadly defined.
A caregiver over 18 who lives with the child can enroll her in school and consent to school-related medical care. All that person has to do is present an affidavit to school or medical providers. Certain “relative caregivers” could also claim the same authority as a parent to approve medical or dental treatment.
The affidavit must say the parents have been advised and do not object—or that they are “unable to be contacted.” But there’s no requirement to prove the parents placed the child with that person in the first place, and “unable to be contacted” is undefined. That leaves the door open to overreach if someone, including a hostile relative, uses the affidavit without clear parental consent.
The new bill would have significantly expanded the categories of who could make vital education and medical decisions for these children, including distant relatives and “nonrelative extended family members” which was left completely undefined. Critically, it required no proof that the parent entrusted the child to the caregiver.
Remaining vigilant
The latest version of A.B. 495 has removed the “nonrelative extended family member” provision but leaves in place the expanded definition of “relative.” Additionally, it still leaves “unable to be contacted” undefined, which means that even a short delay in reaching a parent could give others power over their child.
“The fact the bill made it out of the legislature without this concerning issue being addressed confirms a long-term trend—that many California lawmakers are reluctant to defend parental rights,” Estrada said. “And yet, the positive changes to the measure shows that families do have an impact when they make their voices heard.”
HSLDA continues to work with organizations such as CHEA and FPM to monitor legislation in the Golden State and alert homeschool advocates when action is needed.
“Erosion of parental rights in one state, particularly one as large as California, could have downstream effects on other states that look to California for legislative guidance,” HSLDA President Jim Mason said. “We will continue to advocate for parental rights in order to secure homeschool freedom.”