In the News

SACRAMENTO — In the last round of legislative action in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that will evaluate school lockdown drills.

The bi-partisan bill, SB 541, by Senators Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) and Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge)  will require the California Department of Education to report on the use of existing lockdown drills in K-12 public schools.

It’s a step in the right direction to ensure students, teachers and staff are prepared for other dangers besides fire, says Bates.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Sunday that will mandate a later morning start for most middle and high schools, choosing to side with pediatricians and the PTA rather than the state’s leading teachers union and groups representing school boards and superintendents.

The bill’s author said California will now become the first state to require later start times in response to medical research that shows most teens are sleep deprived as a result of changes to their biological clocks that prevent them from going to sleep early.