Overview

• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 495 on Oct. 13, establishing a ban on collecting immigration-related information in licensed childcare facilities and state preschools.
• The law provides tools for parents and children—particularly in immigrant and mixed-status families—to prepare for potential separations, including caregiver authorization affidavits.
• It reinforces parents’ legal rights and seeks to secure children’s care when separations result from immigration enforcement, disability, military service, or incarceration.
• Responding to critics, Newsom’s office said the bill does not change who can be a child’s caregiver, custodian, guardian, or parent without a court order.
• AB 495 is part of a broader package Newsom signed to bolster protections for immigrant communities, including safeguarding sensitive data and expanding legal representation for unaccompanied minors.