AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 5, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 5, 2025
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2025
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
96
Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Castillo)
December 5, 2024
An act to amend Section 38000 of the Education Code, relating to school safety.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: yes
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district. Existing law also authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and to employ peace officers.
This bill would require require, commencing with the 2028–29 school year, and each school year thereafter, a
rural school district or charter school to hire or contract with at least one school, as defined, to determine the appropriate number of armed school resource officer, officers, as defined, authorized to carry a loaded firearm to be for each school of the rural school district or charter school. The bill would require the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school to ensure that at least one
armed school resource officer is present at each school of the school district or charter school
during regular school hours and any other time when pupils are present on campus, phased in by certain grade spans,
at each school of the rural school district or charter school that meets specified criteria, as provided. By imposing an additional requirement on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the governing board or body, if it is unable to comply with these requirements due to the unavailability of funding or personnel who qualify to serve as an armed school resource officer, to claim a good cause exception to these requirements by adopting a resolution, as provided.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 38000 of the Education Code is amended to read:
38000.
(a) The governing board of a school district may establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district. In accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 45100) of Part 25, the governing board of a school district may employ personnel to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils and the security of the real and personal property of the school district. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section that a school district security department is supplementary to city and county law enforcement agencies and is not vested with general police powers.
(b) The governing board of a school district may establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and, in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 45100) of Part 25, may employ peace officers, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code, to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils, and the security of the real and personal property of the school district.
(c) The governing board of a school district that establishes a security department or a police department shall set minimum qualifications of employment for the chief of security or school chief of police, respectively, including, but not limited to, prior employment as a peace officer or completion of a peace officer training course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. A chief of security or school chief of police shall comply with the prior employment or training requirement set forth in this subdivision as of January 1, 1993, or a date one year subsequent to the initial employment of the chief of security or school chief of police by the school district, whichever occurs later. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the employment by a school district of additional personnel.
(d) A school district may assign a school police reserve officer who is deputized pursuant to Section 35021.5 to a schoolsite to supplement the duties of school police officers pursuant to this section.
(e) (1) A school district, including a school district that establishes a police department pursuant to this section, or
charter
school shall hire or contract with at least one Commencing with the 2028–29 school year, and each school year thereafter, a rural school district or charter school shall determine the appropriate number of armed school resource officer officers authorized to carry a loaded firearm pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 25900) of Chapter 3 of Division 5 of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code to be for each school of the rural school district or charter school. The governing board of the school district or
the governing body of the charter school shall ensure that at least one armed school resource officer is
present at each school of the school district or charter school during regular school hours and any other time when pupils are present on campus, in accordance with all of the following: rural school district or charter school that meets both of the following criteria:
(B) On and after January 1, 2027, each school of the school district or charter school that maintains any of grades 6 to 8, inclusive, but no grade lower than grade 6.
(C) On and after January 1, 2028, each school of the school district or charter school that maintains a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive.
(2) This subdivision shall only apply to a school of the school district or charter school with an enrollment of 50 or more pupils.
(A) The school has an enrollment of 20 or more pupils.
(B) The school is located 10 or more miles from the nearest census-designated urban area.
(2) If the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school is unable to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) due to the unavailability of funding or personnel who qualify to serve as an armed school resource officer, the governing board or body may claim a good cause exception by adopting a resolution.
(3) If the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school claims a good cause exception pursuant to paragraph (2), the governing board or body shall develop a plan and timeline to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) to the greatest extent possible for each school that meets the criteria described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1). The plan may include, but is not limited to, either or both of the following:
(A) Rotating armed school resource officers among schools in the school district based on priority.
(B) Jointly contracting with another school district or charter school for armed school resource officers.
(4) A school district’s or charter school’s costs of implementing paragraph (1) shall be reimbursed as a state mandate under Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution and shall not be funded with the funding provided to school districts and charter schools pursuant to Section 42238.02.
(5) For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A) “Rural school district or charter school” means a school district or charter school that is located in one or more counties where the total enrollment of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in the prior fiscal year is fewer than 40,000 pupils, as reported to the department.
(B) “School resource officer” means an individual who is a peace officer as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code and is employed by, or contracts to be assigned to, a school district or charter school.
SEC. 2.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.