Governor Newsom signs bill to protect parents’ rights and children

What you need to know: Adding to the already robust network of laws that help children and families feel safe at school, Governor Newsom today signed into law legislation to bring those same protections to licensed childcare facilities and preschools.

SACRAMENTO - As California continues to protect our youngest constituents, Governor Gavin Newsom today signed Assembly Bill 495 authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez(D-San Fernando), which supports parents' rights and ensures educational institutions are equipped to support families in times of crisis.

Our children deserve to feel safe at home, in school and in the community. We are putting on record that we stand by our families and their right to keep their private information safe, maintain parental rights and help families prepare in case of emergencies.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Parents deserve the right to access options that preserve their legal rights and ensure their children have proper care. This bill helps protect children against additional unnecessary trauma, strengthens family stability, supports parents' rights, and ensures that schools and agencies are equipped to support families in times of crisis.

What this means

✅ Protecting our youngest children: Licensed childcare facilities and state preschools will not collect immigration-related information from students and families, and families' private information is further protected.

✅ Parents' rights and family preparedness: Helps protect parents' legal rights and supports security for children in case they are separated from their parents due to immigration enforcement. This also supports parents' rights in the context of a disability, military service and incarceration.

"I am grateful that the Governor has signed AB 495, the Family Preparedness Plan Act, into law today. This is a crucial step toward protecting children and families at a time when they are facing the terror of separation. By creating additional protections and tools that strengthen parental rights and community preparedness, we are ensuring that no child is left without a safety net and reinforcing California's commitment to safety and compassion for all families," said Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez. "This victory would not have been possible without the tireless advocacy of our bill sponsors, partners, and the many community supporters who stood with us every step of the way. Together, we are sending a message to immigrant and mixed-status families that in California, you are seen, and we will do all in our power to protect you from the trauma of family separation."

Correcting the record

✅ State law requires that changes in a parent's legal custody or guardianship require a decision from a court of law, which preserves their legal rights as parents.

✅ This bill does notmake any changes to who can be a child's caregiver, legal custodian, guardian or parent, without a court order.

✅ Schools, with advice from the California Department of Justice, can help families be prepared with safety plansfor their kids if they are separated due to federal immigration enforcement.

Taking a stand to protect our children

California is home to just over 11 million immigrants, and nearly half of all children in the state have at least one immigrant parent. In California, nearly a million U.S. citizen children are estimated to be at risk of being separated from a parent because of immigration enforcement. Especially given the President's current assault on families and children nationwideduring unprecedented and indiscriminate immigration actions, AB 495 ensures that a parent has more legal tools to prepare for an emergency and keep their children safe, including family separation due to immigration enforcement.

Building on existing success

Today's legislation builds on the nation's strongest laws to protect Californians from tactics being employed by federal immigration officers. Existing law already sets forth common-sense rules to protect students at school. Recently, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a groundbreaking packageof bills to respond to federal overreach and push back against Trump and Stephen Miller's "secret police" tactics in California.

Families will be notified when immigration enforcement comes on school campuses, and student information and classrooms are protected from ICE - and require a judicial warrant or court order to be accessed. Emergency rooms and other nonpublic areas in a public hospital are off limits to immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant or court order, and immigration information collected by a health care provider is protected as medical information.

Supported by child advocates and anti-trafficking leaders

"Family separation is a public health and human rights issue. By signing AB 495, California has strengthened protections for children and families ensuring safety, stability, and the preservation of parental rights. This law closes dangerous gaps that traffickers often exploit and helps keep children with trusted caregivers during times of crisis," said Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking CEO Kay Buck. "It's a vital step toward preventing exploitation and supporting family unity. We applaud the Governor for signing AB 495, a thoughtful, measured response that protects children, gives parents the tools they need, and builds safety through family and community support."

"The passage of AB 495 is crucial for children and families. It creates clear legal ways to establish stable caregiving arrangements, ensuring children keep access to essential services like school and health care," said California State Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President Heather Ippolito. "This significantly reduces trauma when parents face unforeseen crises, such as immigration actions, protecting the well-being of California's most vulnerable youth."

"One in four children in the US had an immigrant parent, including one in ten who are citizen children with a non-citizen parent. By providing rational safeguards to families to try to limit any potential impacts of enforcement, AB 495 ameliorates some of the immigration enforcement-related stress and uncertainty that members of the immigrant community are experiencing," said First 5 California Commission Executive Director Jackie Thu-Huong Wong. "In so doing, this legislation helps to protect the physical and mental health of immigrant families with young children."

"We are deeply grateful to Governor Newsom for signing AB 495 into law and to Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez for standing with immigrant families. AB 495 protects the fundamental rights of parents to make decisions about their children's care and ensures that, even in moments of crisis, children remain safe, loved, and stable," said Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Executive Director Angelica Salas. "AB 495 safeguards families from exploitation and confusion during separations, giving parents the power to designate trusted loved ones to be caregivers and keep their children out of harm's way. CHIRLA is a proud Co-Sponsor of this bill because every child deserves safety and protection, and every parent deserves the right to plan for their family's future without fear."

"AB 495, The Family Preparedness Plan Act, strengthens California's commitment to family and community safety. Over the past few months, we have witnessed families torn apart by immigration enforcement, leaving children suddenly without their parents and caregivers," said VALOR CEO Sandra Henriquez. "This Act protects parents and caregivers, promotes the safety and stability of children, safeguards families from further violence, abuse, and exploitation, and gives every family the dignity and respect they deserve by supporting continuity of care within trusted networks."

"The Federal Government's unrestricted and increasingly aggressive immigration raids are tearing families apart and leaving children without their primary caretakers - vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and human trafficking. AB 495 is utilizing existing laws of custody defined by the child welfare system to create a much-needed safety net for children facing family separation due to emergency circumstances," said Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative Loyola University Law School Senior Policy Counsel Aradhana Tiwari. "AB 495 is narrowly tailored to ensure that in the event that a child is alone, there will be a trusted adult who can ensure they receive continuity of care and necessary services. Contrary to the opposition, establishing continuity of care and building these safeguards protects children from trafficking. While we hope no child must ever be without their parents or primary caretakers, California must take steps to assure children are protected from being completely alone, from the very circumstances that perpetrators prey upon."

Other bills the Governor signed today include:

• AB 64 by Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco (D-Downey) - Vital records
• AB 419 by Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) - Educational equity: immigration enforcement
• AB 1261 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) - Immigration: immigrant youth: access to legal counsel. A signing message can be found here.
• SB 281 by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) - Pleas: immigration advisement
• SB 294 by Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) - The Workplace Know Your Rights Act
• SB 307 by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) - Public postsecondary education: immigration enforcement
• SB 313 by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) - Vital records: birth certificates
• SB 580 by Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) - Attorney General: immigration enforcement policies