Pro-Kid Bill Update: Governor Signs Pro-Kid Bills into Law!

Updated November 13th, 2025

Throughout the year, we highlighted Pro-Kid bills that would improve outcomes for children and youth across California. We’re thrilled to share that as of mid-October, many of these bills were signed by the Governor and will soon become law! Expand the dropdowns below to learn more about each bill.

Signed Pro-Kid Bill Summaries

Early Childhood

AB 495 (Rodriguez, Celeste) Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025 

This bill will strengthen legal protections for children at risk of family separation by creating streamlined, legally recognized caregiving arrangements to ensure children can stay with trusted caregivers in times of crisis. AB 495 will standardize the use of Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavits, establish a new Joint Guardianship option that preserves parental rights, and require schools and early learning programs to implement updated family preparedness policies. By safeguarding children from the devastating consequences of family separation, especially during this perilous time with immigration raids, this legislation will help prevent unnecessary trauma, strengthen family stability, and ensure schools and childcare providers are equipped to support families in times of crisis.  

 

AB 607 (Rodriguez, Celeste) CalWORKs: Home Visiting Program 

California must expand voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs statewide to ensure these highly effective services reach a larger share of eligible families. AB 607 will extend the CalWORKs Home Visiting Program at least 24 months and would extend the maximum age of the child at the time of enrollment to 36 months of age. The bill will also authorize a voluntary participant whose participation would otherwise be terminated because the participant no longer meets CalWORKs income, eligibility, or need criteria to continue through the duration of the home visiting program or for up to an additional 12 months, whichever is longer. Click here to read an in-depth blog post about this bill, authored by Children Now policy experts. 

 

SB 271 (Reyes) Public Postsecondary Education: Students with Dependent Children: Childcare Services, Resources, and Programs 

This bill will ensure student parents are notified of supportive resources while they pursue higher education. This bill will require that when a student parent on a higher education campus is identified at certain campus locations – financial aid offices, child development centers, or a basic need centers – the student parent shall be notified about the childcare and financial aid resources available to them.  Further, this bill will also require basic need centers to coordinate with local resource and referral agencies and their Local Child Care Planning and Development Council to ensure student parents have support to apply for subsidized childcare and to find childcare providers. 

Education

AB 1454 (Rivas) Pupil Literacy: Credential Program Standards and Professional Development: Instructional Materials. 

This bill will require the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to revise standards for literacy specialist and administrator preparation programs to ensure alignment with evidence-based literacy practices and the state’s English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Framework. It will also require the State Board of Education to adopt new instructional materials for grades K-8 in ELA/ELD that meet specified criteria and would establish related requirements for local adoptions of instructional materials. 

 

SB 640 (Cabaldon) Public Postsecondary Education: Admission, Transfer, and Enrollment 

This bill will make it easier for eligible students to move from high school to college, particularly into the California State University (CSU) system. It also strengthens transfer pathways between community colleges and CSU campuses, helping more qualified students enroll and supporting campuses with available capacity. 

Health

AB 224 (Bonta) and SB 62 (Menjivar) Health Care Coverage: Essential Health Benefits 

These bills will update the benchmark that determines what benefits health insurance companies in California will be required to cover beginning in 2027. Right now, more than 20,000 children and youth in California use hearing aids, yet their health insurance does not cover them. This lack of coverage has resulted in a developmental emergency, as pediatric experts stress that early access to hearing aids is essential for language, learning, and social development. 

 

AB 1043 (Wicks) Age Verification Signals: Software Applications and Online Services 

To create a safer online environment for young people, AB 1043 will require device manufacturers (i.e., cell phones) to verify a device user’s age and then communicate the user’s age to application stores, applications, websites, and any other online services that require age verification for access. 

Child Welfare

AB 898 (Bryan) The Family Urgent Response System (FURS) 

The Family Urgent Response System (FURS), consisting of a 24/7 statewide hotline and county mobile response teams, was designed to provide immediate trauma-informed support to young people with lived experience in foster care and caregivers during critical moments. AB 898 will help ensure counties: 1) are permitted to utilize their FURS teams to support families who are receiving family preservation and voluntary or court-ordered family maintenance to prevent entries into foster care; 2) are clear that they have the flexibility to dispatch FURS teams based on local needs and with the approval of children, youth, and caregivers without a state-level hotline call; and 3) revisit their local implementation plan every other year. 

Note that some of the Pro-Kid bills we spotlighted this year did not move forward this session, though we’ll continue to track and support efforts on these important issues. These include: