Bill Text: CA AB727 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 727

Introduced

Bill Title: Pupil and student safety: statewide resources: identification cards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-19 - From printer. May be heard in committee March 21. [AB727 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB727-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 727

Introduced by Assembly Member Mark González
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Solache)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Elhawary and Ward)
(Coauthor: Senator Wiener)

February 18, 2025

An act to amend Sections 215.5 and 234.5 of the Education Code, relating to pupil and student safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 727, as introduced, Mark González. Pupil and student safety: statewide resources: identification cards.

Existing law, commencing July 1, 2025, requires a public or private school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards to have printed on the identification cards the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Existing law requires a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards to have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

This bill, commencing July 1, 2026, would require the above-referenced schools and institutions to additionally have printed on the identification cards the telephone number and text line for a specified suicide hotline that is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, as provided.

Existing law, the Safe Place to Learn Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post, and annually update, on the State Department of Education’s internet website, and notify school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools of the availability of, a list of statewide resources that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, including school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of neurodiversity, religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, or perceived neurodiversity, religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, as provided.

This bill would additionally require that list to include resources that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) All pupils need and deserve safe and supportive school environments to learn.

(2) Pupils who identify as LGBTQ+ often face verbal, physical, or online harassment, which have significant effects on those pupils’ academic achievement and mental health.

(3) Recent reports indicate that almost one-half of LGBTQ+ pupils reported that they have experienced bullying in person and over one-third have experienced cyberbullying due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

(4) Recent studies also show that 23 percent of LGBTQ+ young people report they have been physically threatened due to sexual orientation or gender identity and 28 percent of transgender and nonbinary young people have been physically threatened or harmed due to their gender identity.

(5) The rate of LGBTQ+ pupils who experience discrimination may be underreported due to many of these pupils fearing verbal, physical, or online harassment of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

(6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that schools are the third most commonly known location for hate crimes against LGBTQ+ youth and community members and that hate crimes more than doubled at elementary and secondary schools and universities from 2018 to 2022, inclusive. The FBI also noted that participation in the collection of the aforementioned data regarding hate crime reports in schools is voluntary for most agencies and mandatory for only some federal agencies, therefore making the reports likely incomplete and underreported.

(7) Multiple studies demonstrate that pupils who are bullied suffer academically. Bullying is also linked to negative outcomes, including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide.

(8) Research by The Trevor Project shows that in a study of 18,000 LGBTQ+ young people 13 to 24 years of age, inclusive, from across the United States, 12 percent attempted suicide and 39 percent seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. Of those pupils who attempted suicide, 25 percent experienced physical threats or harm due to their sexual orientation or gender identity in the past year.

(9) Research shows that 50 percent of LGBTQ+ pupils who sought mental health resources were not able to access them.

(10) Research shows that LGBTQ+ pupils who reported their school to be “LGBTQ-affirming” had lower rates of being bullied compared to LGBTQ+ pupils who reported their school to not be “LGBTQ-affirming.”

(11) Research shows that by fostering an inclusive environment in schools for mentors and students to connect, including, but not limited to, being providing resources to the aforementioned, LGBTQ+ pupils were three times more likely to graduate. This research shows that creating safe and supportive learning environments improves pupil performance and well-being.

(12) The United States Department of Education provides numerous resources for schools and districts to support pupils who are facing bullying due to sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. These resources were highlighted in the “U.S. Department of Education Toolkit for Creating Inclusive and Nondiscriminatory School Environments for LGBTQI+ Students” dated June 21, 2023, as well as additional resources on the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights internet website, “Resources for LGBTQI+ Students.”

(b) The Legislature encourages school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide information on existing schoolsite and community resources to educate teachers, administrators, and other school staff on how to support LGBTQ+ and other pupils who may face anti-LGBTQ+ bias and bullying, as required by subdivision (d) of Section 234.1 of the Education Code.

SEC. 2.

Section 215.5 of the Education Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 642 of the Statutes of 2024, is amended to read:

215.5.

(a) (1) Commencing July 1, 2025, a public school, including a charter school, or a private school, that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards shall have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

(2) Commencing October 1, 2020, a public school, including a charter school, or a private school, that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards shall have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards the telephone number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.

(3) Commencing July 1, 2025, a public school, including a charter school, or a private school, that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards may have printed on either side of the pupil identification card a quick response (QR) code that links to the mental health resources internet website of the county in which the public or private school is located.

(4) Commencing July 1, 2026, a public school, including a charter school, or a private school that serves pupils in any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, and that issues pupil identification cards shall have printed on either side of the pupil identification cards The Trevor Project’s 24 hours per day, 7 days per week suicide hotline that is available through both of the following options:
(A) Telephone number: 1-866-488-7386.
(B) Text line, which can be accessed by texting START to 678-678.

(b) (1) Commencing July 1, 2019, a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards shall have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone number described in subparagraph (A) and may have printed on either side of the student identification cards the text line described in subparagraph (B) and the telephone numbers described in subparagraphs (C) and (D):

(A) The telephone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.

(B) The Crisis Text Line, which can be accessed by texting HOME to 741741.

(C) The campus police or security telephone number or, if the campus does not have a campus police or security telephone number, the local nonemergency telephone number.

(D) A local suicide prevention hotline telephone number.

(2) Commencing October 1, 2020, a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards shall have printed on either side of the student identification cards the telephone number for either of the following:

(A) The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233.

(B) A local domestic violence hotline that provides confidential support services for students that have experienced domestic violence or stalking and is available by telephone 24 hours a day.

(3) Commencing July 1, 2026, a public or private institution of higher education that issues student identification cards shall have printed on either side of the student identification cards The Trevor Project’s 24 hours per day, 7 days per week suicide hotline that is available through both of the following options:
(A) Telephone number: 1-866-488-7386.
(B) Text line, which can be accessed by texting START to 678-678.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if, as of January 1, 2020, a school subject to the requirements of subdivision (a), or a public or private institution of higher education subject to the requirements of subdivision (b), has a supply of unissued pupil or student identification cards that do not comply with the requirements of subdivision (a) or (b), as applicable, the school or the public or private institution of higher education shall issue those pupil or student identification cards until that supply is depleted.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), if, as of July 1, 2025, a school subject to the requirement of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) has a supply of unissued pupil identification cards that do not comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the school shall issue those pupil identification cards until that supply is depleted.

(d) Subdivisions (a) and (b) apply for a pupil or student identification card issued for the first time to a pupil or student, and to a pupil or student identification card issued to replace a damaged or lost pupil or student identification card.

(e) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2025.

SEC. 3.

Section 234.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:

234.5.

(a) (1) The Superintendent shall post, and annually update, on the department’s internet website and notify local educational agencies of the availability of a list of statewide resources, including community-based organizations, that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, including school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of neurodiversity, religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, or perceived neurodiversity, religious affiliation, nationality, race, ~~or ethnicity.~~ ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

(2) The resources included pursuant to paragraph (1) that provide support for youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of neurodiversity shall include those developed by the University of California and California State University Collaborative for Neurodiversity and Learning.

(b) The department’s internet website shall also include a list of statewide resources for youth who have been affected by gangs, gun violence, and psychological trauma caused by violence at home, at school, and in the community.