Overview

• Newsom has until Oct. 12 to sign or veto AB 495 after its approval by both chambers of the Legislature.
• The bill establishes a legal pathway for temporary caregiving arrangements for children at risk of family separation.
• It broadens who qualifies as a relative for caregiver affidavits, grants caregiver parity for school-related medical consent, and allows court-ordered joint guardianship during temporary absences.
• Local educational agencies would be barred from collecting immigration status information, limited in granting access to nonpublic school areas to immigration officers, and restricted from sharing student or family records with those officials.
• Sponsor Celeste Rodríguez says the plan preserves parental rights so children do not end up with strangers, while protesters in Sacramento warn it could enable adults to make education and medical decisions without parental consent.