Assembly BillFailedEducation
AB 68: School safety: armed school resource officers.
What AB 68 does, verified January 14, 2026
This bill requires rural school districts and charter schools to have at least one armed school resource officer present during regular school hours at each school that meets specified criteria. Starting from the 2028-29 school year, these districts and schools must determine the appropriate number of armed school resource officers and ensure they are available to carry loaded firearms. The governing board or body can claim a good cause exception if they are unable to comply due to lack of funding or qualified personnel. The state will reimburse local agencies and school districts for costs mandated by the state if the commission on state mandates determines that the bill contains such costs.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
2In CommitteeCurrent
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: From committee: Without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a). (2026-01-07)Alert me
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Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions15 total · showing 5
| Jan. 07, 2026 | From committee: Without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a). |
| Jan. 07, 2026 | In committee: Set, final hearing. Failed passage. |
| Jan. 06, 2026 | Re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Jan. 05, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ED. Read second time and amended. |
| May. 06, 2025 | Re-referred to Com. on ED. |
Latest bill textAmended version, January 5, 2026 · 1,442 words
| Amended IN Assembly January 05, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly May 05, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 19, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 68
| Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher (Coauthor: Assembly Member Castillo) |
December 05, 2024 |
An act to amend Section 38000 of the Education Code, relating to school safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 68, as amended, Gallagher. School safety: armed school resource officers.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district. Existing law also authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and to employ peace officers.
This bill would require require, commencing with the 2028–29 school year, and each school year thereafter, a rural school district or charter school to hire or contract with at least one school, as defined, to determine the appropriate number of armed school resource officer, officers, as defined, authorized to carry a loaded firearm to be for each school of the rural school district or charter school. The bill would require the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school to ensure that at least one armed school resource officer is present at each school of the school district or charter school during regular school hours and any other time when pupils are present on campus, phased in by certain grade spans, at each school of the rural school district or charter school that meets specified criteria, as provided. By imposing an additional requirement on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the governing board or body, if it is unable to comply with these requirements due to the unavailability of funding or personnel who qualify to serve as an armed school resource officer, to claim a good cause exception to these requirements by adopting a resolution, as provided.
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.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 38000 of the Education Code is amended to read:38000.
(a) The governing board of a school district may establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district. In accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 45100) of Part 25, the governing board of a school district may employ personnel to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils and the security of the real and personal property of the school district. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section that a school district security department is supplementary to city and county law enforcement agencies and is not vested with general police powers.(b) The governing board of a school district may establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and, in accordance with Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 45100) of Part 25, may employ peace officers, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 830.32 of the Penal Code, to ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils, and the security of the real and personal property of the school district.
(c) The governing board of a school district that establishes a security department or a police department shall set minimum qualifications of employment for the chief of security or school chief of police, respectively, including, but not limited to, prior employment as a peace officer or completion of a peace officer training course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. A chief of security or school chief of police shall comply with the prior employment or training requirement set forth in this subdivision as of January 1, 1993, or a date one year subsequent to the initial employment of the chief of security or school chief of police by the school district, whichever occurs later. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the employment by a school district of additional personnel.
(d) A school district may assign a school police reserve officer who is deputized pursuant to Section 35021.5 to a schoolsite to supplement the duties of school police officers pursuant to this section.
(e) (1) A school district, including a school district that establishes a police department pursuant to this section, or charter school shall hire or contract with at least one Commencing with the 2028–29 school year, and each school year thereafter, a rural school district or charter school shall determine the appropriate number of armed school resource officer officers authorized to carry a loaded firearm pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 25900) of Chapter 3 of Division 5 of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code to be for each school of the rural school district or charter school. The governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school shall ensure that at least one armed school resource officer is present at each school of the school district or charter school during regular school hours and any other time when pupils are present on campus, in accordance with all of the following: rural school district or charter school that meets both of the following criteria:
(A)On and after January 1, 2026, each school of the school district or charter school that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
(B)On and after January 1, 2027, each school of the school district or charter school that maintains any of grades 6 to 8, inclusive, but no grade lower than grade 6.
(C)On and after January 1, 2028, each school of the school district or charter school that maintains a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 5, inclusive.
(2)This subdivision shall only apply to a school of the school district or charter school with an enrollment of 50 or more pupils.
(A) The school has an enrollment of 20 or more pupils.
(B) The school is located 10 or more miles from the nearest census-designated urban area.
(2) If the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school is unable to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) due to the unavailability of funding or personnel who qualify to serve as an armed school resource officer, the governing board or body may claim a good cause exception by adopting a resolution.
(3) If the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school claims a good cause exception pursuant to paragraph (2), the governing board or body shall develop a plan and timeline to comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) to the greatest extent possible for each school that meets the criteria described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1). The plan may include, but is not limited to, either or both of the following:
(A) Rotating armed school resource officers among schools in the school district based on priority.
(B) Jointly contracting with another school district or charter school for armed school resource officers.
(3)
(4)
A school district’s or charter school’s costs of implementing paragraph (1) shall be reimbursed as a state mandate under Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution and shall not be funded with the funding provided to school districts and charter schools pursuant to Section 42238.02.(4)For purposes of this subdivision, “school
(5) For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions apply:
(A) “Rural school district or charter school” means a school district or charter school that is located in one or more counties where the total enrollment of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in the prior fiscal year is fewer than 40,000 pupils, as reported to the department.
(B) “School
resource officer” means an individual who is a peace officer as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code and is employed by, or contracts to be assigned to, a school district or charter school.Text of AB 68 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions