Amended  IN  Assembly  August 05, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 26, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  May 20, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  April 11, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1283

Introduced by Senator Stern
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Hoover and Muratsuchi)(Coauthor: Assembly Member Muratsuchi)

February 15, 2024

An act to add Section Sections 48901.8 and 48901.9 to the Education Code, relating to pupils.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1283, as amended, Stern. Pupils: use of social media. media: access to electronic information.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or its designee to regulate the possession or use of any electronic signaling device that operates through the transmission or receipt of radio waves, including, but not limited to, paging and signaling equipment, by pupils of the school district while the pupils are on campus, attending school-sponsored activities, or under the supervision or control of school district employees. Existing law explicitly authorizes the governing body of a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school to adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school.
This bill would additionally explicitly authorize the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of social media, as defined, while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school. Notwithstanding a specified provision of law, if a local educational agency requests the voluntary disclosure of or access to a pupil’s electronic information, the bill would require the request to be obtained through written specific consent of the pupil’s parent or guardian and would require the request to adhere to certain requirements, including, among other things, that the request be limited to information directly related to specified acts. If a pupil’s parent or guardian grants written consent to the information requested by a local educational agency, the bill would, among other things, (1) require the local educational agency to, prior to accessing the specified information requested, provide a written disclosure to the pupil informing them that the pupil’s parent or guardian has consented to the disclosure of or access to the pupil’s electronic information and (2) prohibit the local educational agency from retaining or sharing information relating to a pupil’s gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, except as provided.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 48901.8 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 48901.7, to read:

48901.8.
 (a) The governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school may adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of social media while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(b) For purposes of this section, “social media” means a “social media platform” as that term is defined in Section 22675 of the Business and Professions Code.

SEC. 2.

 Section 48901.9 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 48901.8, to read:

48901.9.
 (a) Access to a pupil’s electronic information is subject to the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1546) of Title 12 of Part 2 of the Penal Code). Notwithstanding paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 1546.1 of the Penal Code, a request by a local educational agency for a voluntary disclosure of or access to a pupil’s electronic information shall be obtained through written specific consent of the pupil’s parent or guardian and shall adhere to all of the following requirements:
(1) The request identifies specific categories of information being sought and timeframes that the information being sought is likely to have been generated.
(2) The specific categories of information being sought pursuant to paragraph (1) are limited to information directly related to acts of harassment, cyberbullying, or acts that may violate any provision of the Penal Code.
(3) The request is in response to a specific incident involving an act or alleged act described in paragraph (2).
(b) (1) If a parent or guardian grants written consent pursuant to subdivision (a), the local educational agency shall, prior to accessing the specified information requested, provide a written disclosure to the pupil informing them that the pupil’s parent or guardian has consented to the disclosure of or access to the pupil’s electronic information.
(2) A parent or guardian’s written consent shall no longer be valid after the end of the school year that the request is made. After the ensuing school year starts, a new request may be made subject to the requirements of this section.
(c) Except as necessary to address acts that meet the criteria of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) or as otherwise required by state or federal law, if a parent or guardian grants written consent pursuant to subdivision (a), a local educational agency shall not do either of the following:
(1) Convey information obtained pursuant to this section to any person other than an authorized staff member.
(2) (A) Seek to obtain information relating to a pupil’s gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
(B) If the local educational agency discovers information described in subparagraph (A), the local educational agency shall treat the information as confidential and shall not retain or share the information.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect LGBTQ+ pupils from policies that forcibly “out” the pupil.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Cyberbullying” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 22589 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) “Harassment” has the same meaning as defined in Section 653.2 of the Penal Code.
(3) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.