Assembly BillChaptered/SignedEducation
AB 2003: Pupil health: suicide prevention.
What AB 2003 does, verified September 7, 2026
This bill aims to improve pupil health and suicide prevention in California schools. The state department of education will no longer provide grants for online training programs, but instead, the behavioral health services oversight and accountability commission will develop an evidence-based program to train school staff, parents, and pupils on pupil suicide prevention. These educational entities will be required to conduct suicide risk screenings and report the results to the department. The department will compile and post statewide aggregate data on these screenings on its website. The bill will take effect immediately.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 92, Statutes of 2026. (2026-07-16)Alert me
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| Jul. 16, 2026 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 92, Statutes of 2026. |
| Jul. 16, 2026 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Jul. 15, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:15 a.m. |
| Jul. 02, 2026 | In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. |
| Jul. 02, 2026 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 5189.). |
Latest bill textChaptered version, July 16, 2026 · 921 words
Assembly Bill No. 2003
CHAPTER 92
An act to amend Sections 216 of, and to add Section 216.5 to, the Education Code, relating to pupil health, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
[ Approved by Governor July 16, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State July 16, 2026. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2003, Berman. Pupil health: suicide prevention.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to identify an evidence-based online training program that a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, can use to train school staff and pupils as part of their policy on pupil suicide prevention. Existing law requires the department, subject to an appropriation for these purposes, to provide a grant to a county office of education to acquire a training program identified by the department and disseminate that training program at no cost to specified educational entities, as specified.
This bill would revise and recast these provisions by (1) deleting the requirement to provide the above-described grant, (2) deleting the requirement of the department to identify the above-described evidence-based online training program, (3) instead requiring the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to develop an online training program to train school staff, pupils who are 13 years of age or older, and parents, guardians, or caregivers of pupils as part of the policy on pupil suicide prevention adopted by county offices of education, school districts, state special schools, and charter schools that serve pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as specified. The bill would require those educational entities that elect to conduct suicide risk screenings to report, on or before June 30, 2027, and June 30 annually thereafter, the number of pupils screened, and which screening instruments were used, for the reporting year, to the department, as provided, and would require the department to compile and post statewide aggregate data on these screenings on its internet website, as provided.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 216 of the Education Code is amended to read:216.
(a) The Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission shall, in consultation with the department and the State Department of Public Health, develop an evidence based online training program that is accessible, free of charge, and available statewide to train school staff serving pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, pupils who are 13 years of age or older, and parents, guardians, or caregivers of pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as part of the local educational agency’s policy on pupil suicide prevention adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 215.(b) In developing an online training program pursuant to subdivision (a), the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission shall ensure all of the following:
(1) The training program is evidence based, trauma informed, and culturally and linguistically competent.
(2) The training program is consistent with the model pupil suicide prevention policy developed by the department pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 215.
(3) The training program addresses the needs of high-risk groups as specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 215.
(4) The training program can track aggregate, statewide usage.
(5) The training program can assess trainee knowledge before and after training is provided in order to measure training outcomes.
(c) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
SEC. 2.
Section 216.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:216.5.
(a) For purposes of this section, “local educational agency” means a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.(b) A local educational agency that conducts suicide risk screenings, including as provided under a school-linked behavioral health program or the local educational agency’s policy on pupil suicide prevention adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 215, shall report, on or before June 30, 2027, and June 30 annually thereafter, the number of pupils screened, and which screening instruments were used, for the reporting year, to the department. This section shall not be construed to require a local educational agency to conduct suicide risk screenings.
(c) In collecting and reporting data pursuant to subdivision (b), the local educational agency shall ensure that data is reported in a deidentified, aggregate format that protects pupil privacy consistent with state and federal data privacy laws.
(d) The department shall compile the data reported pursuant to this section through existing data reporting processes and post statewide aggregate data on its internet website to inform policy and program development.
SEC. 3.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:To ensure that the training required in Section 216 of the Education Code is developed expeditiously for use by local educational agencies as part of their suicide prevention efforts, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
Text of AB 2003 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions