On September 23, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 760, which requires each school district, county office of education, and charter school maintaining any combination of classes from first grade to twelfth grade, inclusive, to provide and maintain at least one all-gender restroom for student use at every school site, by no later than July 1, 2026.
Starting January 1, 2025, officials in school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools must complete ethics training at least once every two years.
On September 25, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1078, which prohibits school boards from banning books because the books include diverse perspectives.
On October 8, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 274, also known as the “Keep Kids in School” bill.
On June 5, 2023, an Oklahoma charter school authorizer approved the nation’s first religious charter school. The decision is certain to ignite litigation and open the possibility that higher courts may explore whether religious schools may be state sanctioned and publicly funded.
On July 10, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Education Omnibus Budget Trailer Bill, Senate Bill (SB) 114 (Trailer Bill), which, among other things, clarifies and revises provisions of the Charter Schools Act (Act).
A recent California Superior Court ruling reinforces the deference granted to local educational agencies under Assembly Bill (AB) 1505 in determining whether to grant or deny charter petitions.
At its May 2023, meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted updated assessment criteria for charter school petitions, including amended criteria for defining verified data, procedures for using verified data, and new academic progress indicators within the SBE's verified data list.
Back in November of 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc in deciding D.D. v. Los Angeles Unified School District (9th Cir. 2021) 18 F.4th 1043, addressed the issue of whether a plaintiff asserting a claim in federal court under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) must first pursue available administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Educ