CA AB 395

in committee

Holidays.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

Existing law designates specific days as holidays in this state. Existing law designates holidays on which public schools are required to close. This bill would require, commencing with the 2026–27 school year, the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school to consider making efforts to avoid scheduling the first day of class and high school graduation, if applicable, on a date for which the governing board of the school district, the county office of education, or the governing body of the charter school knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school, in considering and making a determination of which dates to avoid, to actively seek input from the affected community and consider any other relevant sources to ensure inclusive public participation. The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of California's public segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. The California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, are 3 of the segments. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by appropriate resolution, to make them applicable. This bill would require, commencing with the 2026–2027 academic year, the governing board of a community college and the California State University, and would request the University of California, to make good faith, reasonable efforts, when developing academic calendars, to avoid calendaring an institutional event, as defined, on a date for which the institution of higher education knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday. The bill would require the governing board of a community college and the California State University, and would request the University of California, in considering and making a determination of which dates to avoid, to seek input from the student and faculty organizations on campus. The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act require, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of specified governmental bodies be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. Existing law prohibits a state agency, as defined, or a legislative body of a local agency, as defined, from conducting any meeting, conference, or other function in any facility that prohibits the admittance of any person, or persons, on the basis of ancestry or a specified characteristic, that is inaccessible to disabled persons, or where members of the public may not be present without making a payment or purchase. This bill would require a state agency to make good faith, reasonable efforts to avoid conducting any meeting, conference, or other function on a date for which the state agency knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday, including, among others, Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, and Diwali. The bill would also encourage a legislative body of a local agency to consider making efforts to avoid conducting any meeting, conference, or other function on a date for which the legislative body knows, or has reason to know, that members of the public would be unable to participate or be present due to the ritual observance of a religious, cultural, or ancestral holiday, including, among others, the holidays listed above. By imposing new duties on school districts and community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize a person who has suffered harm as a result of a violation of certain of the above provisions to bring a civil action for injunctive relief, as provided. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Introduced: 2025-03-28
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-07-08 — Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Holidays

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2025-02-03
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2025-02-04
From printer. May be heard in committee March 6.
2025-03-28
Referred to Coms. on ED. and HIGHER ED.
referral-committee
2025-03-28
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ED. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-01
Re-referred to Com. on ED.
referral-committee
2025-04-10
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on HIGHER ED. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 9).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2025-04-21
Read second time and amended.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-04-22
Re-referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.
referral-committee
2025-04-30
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 29).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2025-05-01
Read second time and amended.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2
2025-05-05
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
referral-committee
2025-05-14
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-27
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-06-02
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 1824.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-06-03
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2025-06-11
Referred to Coms. on ED. and JUD.
referral-committee
2025-06-25
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 25).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2025-06-26
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-07
In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
2025-07-14
In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
2026-07-08
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 30).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-07-08
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

Versions

02/03/25 - Introduced — 2025-02-03Compare
03/28/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-03-28Compare
04/21/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-04-21Compare
05/01/25 - Amended Assembly — 2025-05-01Compare
06/26/25 - Amended Senate — 2025-06-26Compare
07/08/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-07-08Compare
AB395Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Higher Education] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-04-09 · pass · 9-0
Member-level votes (9)
- Castillo: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Patel: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Addis: yes
Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-04-29 · pass · 10-0
Member-level votes (10)
- DeMaio: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Fong: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Patel: yes
Do pass.
2025-05-23 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Calderon: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Hart: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Solache: yes
- Ta: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Sanchez: other
AB 395 Gabriel Assembly Third Reading
2025-06-02 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (79)
- Rivas: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ward: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Patel: yes
- Solache: yes
- Chen: yes
- Bonta: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Lee: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Papan: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Davies: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Berman: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Soria: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ta: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Flora: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Addis: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Fong: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Hart: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Bains: yes
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Judiciary] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2025-06-25 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Cortese: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Laird: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Choi: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2026-06-30 · pass · 13-0
Member-level votes (13)
- Wahab: yes
- Niello: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Laird: yes
- Stern: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Allen: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Durazo: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB395

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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