Professional development

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a slate of education bills affecting California schools, colleges and students, with effects phasing in from this year through 2028. Senate Bill 1067 will require screening of kindergarten through second-grade students for math skills, with full implementation by fall 2028. Assembly Bill 2555 streamlines reclassification of English learners as fluent, removing teacher and parent approval requirements. Assembly Bill 2440 eases access to roughly $1 billion in annual Proposition 28 arts education funding by allowing districts to pool resources and reducing audit mandates. Assembly Bill 1709 bars children under 16 from holding accounts on social media platforms with "addictive features" like algorithmic feeds. Assembly Bill 2490 expands emergency substitute teacher credentialing, while Senate Bill 1412 mandates remote options for parent-teacher conferences. Senate Bill 960 and Assembly Bill 2694 create a tiered system letting community colleges offer more bachelor's degree programs based on transfer and graduation rates. Separately, Senate Bill 895 places a $7.5 billion science and health research bond on the March 2028 ballot, partly to offset federal research funding cuts.