Overview

• AB 495 sits on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk with four days left to sign or veto after clearing both legislative chambers.
• The bill expands who qualifies as a caregiver to relatives by blood, adoption, or affinity up to the fifth degree and grants them guardian‑level authority for school‑related medical care.
• It authorizes courts, at their discretion, to name the custodial parent and a parent‑nominated adult as joint guardians during a temporary absence.
• Local educational agencies would be barred from collecting immigration or citizenship data, from sharing student or family records with immigration authorities, and from allowing immigration enforcement into non‑public school areas, with emergency contacts prioritized before child protective services.
• Backers including sponsor Assemblymember Celeste Rodríguez frame the measure as preserving parental rights, while protesters such as Rick Ingram warn of potential misuse, and the proposal aligns with other immigration‑related laws Newsom signed in September including SB 627.