In 2018, the California Legislature added Section 234.7 to the Education Code to safeguard students and school communities in light of the threat of increased federal immigration enforcement actions. That law prohibits school districts and county offices of education (COEs) from: (1) soliciting or collecting information or documents regarding the citizenship or immigration status of a student or the student’s family members and (2) seeking or requiring information or documents, to the exclusion of other permissible information or documents, regarding the citizenship or immigration status of a student or the student’s family members. Additionally, it required local educational agencies to adopt policies using model policy language (or its equivalent) developed by the California attorney general (AG).

In early 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, after rescinding its longstanding policy limiting immigration enforcement in schools and other “sensitive locations,” initiated immigration enforcement actions near schools and against students, student’s families and staff. As a result, the California Legislature amended Education Code 234.7 to further safeguard students and school communities.

Education Code 234.7, which initially imposed prohibitions and obligations only on seeking or collecting immigration-related information, now imposes new prohibitions and obligations on districts and COEs in situations where an officer or employee of an agency is requesting information or conducting immigration enforcement near or on a school campus. Additionally, the changes to Education Code 234.7 directed the AG to revise its model policy language from 2018 and for districts and COEs to update their policies based on the revised model policy language (or its equivalent) no later than March 1, 2026.

The AG’s revised model policy language was published on Dec. 1 in “Promoting a Safe and Secure Learning Environment for All: Guidance and Model Policies to Assist California’s K-12 Schools in Responding to Requests for Access and Information for Immigration Enforcement Purposes.”

Due to these changes, CSBA is updating its relevant sample policies. Most notably, CSBA is deleting sample Board Policy/Administrative Regulation (BP/AR) 5145.13 – Response to Immigration Enforcement and creating a new sample BP/AR 1445 – Response to Immigration Enforcement. While sample BP/AR 1445 are similar to sample BP/AR 5145.13, the former reflects the changes in Education Code 234.7, the updated model policy language and the fact that the content of the sample policies now include support for staff. (Policies in the 5000s only focus on students.).

Under sample BP/AR 1445, the following prohibitions apply unless they are required by state or federal law to administer a state or federally supported educational program, or when presented with a valid judicial subpoena, judicial warrant or court order:

• District/COE staff is prohibited, to the extent practicable, from disclosing or providing in writing, verbally or in any other manner to an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement either:
  • The education records of or any information about a student, a student’s family and household, a student’s home or a student’s travel schedule without parent/guardian written consent, or
  • The personnel records of any district employee or any other confidential employee information.
• District/COE staff is prohibited from granting an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement permission to enter any district/COE-provided transportation (e.g., school bus), any nonpublic area of district/COE property or facility, or any nonpublic area in which a district/COE-sponsored activity is occurring. (Education Code 234.7 references the nonpublic areas of a school and a school-sponsored activity; sample BP/AR 1445 applies the prohibition to any nonpublic area of district/COE property or facilities such as administrative offices and to district/COE-sponsored activities such as district/COE-wide professional development.) Importantly, nothing in Education Code 234.7, the revised model policy language, or in sample BP/AR 1445 requires or permits staff to obstruct, interfere with or otherwise impede an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement who nonetheless enters district/COE-provided transportation (e.g., school bus), any nonpublic area of district/COE property or facility, or any nonpublic area in which a district/COE-sponsored activity is occurring.

Additionally, sample BP/AR 1445 requires districts/COEs to post the AG’s updated “Know Your Educational Rights” document in the following areas: (1) in all administrative buildings and on the websites for the district/COE and each school and (2) in all languages provided by the AG.

The California Department of Education (CDE) — which is empowered to track compliance with the March 1, 2026, deadline to adopt policies — is requiring all districts and COEs to upload their policies to a CDE webpage. Districts and COEs should be aware that this is a new form of compliance that will enable the CDE to quickly determine which districts and COEs have uploaded policies by the deadline and which have not.

Although sample BP/AR 1445 reflects the revisions to Education Code 234.7 and the revised model policy language, they do not necessarily contain all of the revised model policy language or its equivalent. Whether other policies contain the remainder of the revised model policy language or its equivalent is unique to each district and COE. Therefore, it is recommended that districts and COEs consult CSBA’s District and County Office of Education Legal Services or other legal counsel when determining whether other policies should be updated by the March 1, 2026, deadline.