Senate BillPassed both housesEducation
SB 998: Educational equity: discrimination prevention coordinators.
What SB 998 does, verified September 14, 2026
This bill aims to promote educational equity by preventing discrimination in California's public schools. The state will appoint coordinators to address various forms of discrimination, including disability, gender, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, and others. These coordinators will work with local educational agencies to provide discrimination education, technical assistance, and training to prevent incidents of discrimination. The office of civil rights will also employ deputy coordinators focused on specific forms of discrimination, such as anti-black racism, anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander, and anti-Latino discrimination. These coordinators will work together to address intersectional cases of discrimination and provide resources and training on how to assist in these situations. The bill also updates the title of the LGBTQ+ coordinator to LGBTQ+…
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Last action: Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 6 p.m. (2026-08-25)Alert me
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| Aug. 31, 2026 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 6 p.m. |
| Aug. 26, 2026 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 9.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 58. Noes 10. Page 6530.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending. |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
Latest bill textEnrolled version, August 28, 2026 · 3,744 words
| Enrolled August 28, 2026 |
| Passed IN Senate August 26, 2026 |
| Passed IN Assembly August 25, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly August 19, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly June 18, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly June 09, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate April 08, 2026 |
| Amended IN Senate March 25, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 998
| Introduced by Senators Gonzalez and Weber Pierson and Assembly Members Fong, Ramos, and Ward |
February 09, 2026 |
An act to amend Sections 33803.2, 33803.3, 33803.4, and 33803.5 of, to add Sections 33802.1 and 33803.6 to, and to repeal Section 33803 of, the Education Code, relating to educational equity.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 998, Gonzalez. Educational equity: discrimination prevention coordinators.
Existing law states the policy of the State of California is to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law establishes the Office of Civil Rights, under the administration of the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, and an LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. Existing law requires each of the coordinators be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.
This bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Disability Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The bill would change the title of the LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to instead be the LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. The bill would require each of the coordinators, in consultation with the State Department of Education, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, to, among other things, (1) develop, consult on, and provide discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent discrimination, as provided, (2) provide technical assistance, upon specified request, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners, and (3) engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents of discrimination, as specified.
This bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Black Racism, a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (Anti-AANHPI) Discrimination, a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Latino Discrimination, and a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Native American Discrimination, and would require these deputy coordinators to report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. The bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to provide resources and training on how to properly assist in cases of discrimination that involve the intersectionality of protected characteristics, as provided.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 33802.1 is added to the Education Code, to read:33802.1.
(a) The Office of Civil Rights shall provide resources and training on how to properly assist in cases of discrimination that involve the intersectionality of protected characteristics, as listed in Section 220.(b) The discrimination prevention coordinators established pursuant to this chapter may collaborate with one another, within the purview of their roles and responsibilities, on issues of discrimination that involve the intersectionality of protected characteristics, as listed in Section 220.
SEC. 2.
Section 33803 of the Education Code is repealed.SEC. 3.
Section 33803.2 of the Education Code is amended to read:33803.2.
(a) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ the Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.(b) The Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, in consultation with the department, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop, consult on, and provide religious discrimination related education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent religious discrimination.
(2) Provide technical assistance, upon the request of the Superintendent, a school district superintendent, a county superintendent of schools, or the governing board or body of a local educational agency, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners by doing both of the following:
(A) Ensure educators receive guidance and professional development recommendations to equip educators with the skills to navigate challenging conversations while fostering safe spaces for teaching and learning.
(B) Create a list of resources and identify available trainings that local educational agencies may share with teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel in their educator preparation programs, including, but not limited to, the best practices that the department made available pursuant to Section 49055.
(3) Engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents pertaining to religious discrimination.
(4) Provide information on training courses on cultural competency and positive school climate to teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel. The training courses may include, but not be limited to, any of the following topics:
(A) Nondiscrimination laws.
(B) Trauma-informed restorative practices.
(C) Bullying prevention and response.
(D) Navigating politically charged environments.
(E) Implementing inclusive curriculum.
(5) (A) Beginning September 1, 2027, track and report to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the executive director of the state board, and the Superintendent complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints made pursuant to Section 33315 relating to religious discrimination, disaggregated by religious groups in California, in all local educational agencies serving pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. It is the intent of the Legislature that this report include disaggregated data for the top religious groups targeted for hate crimes, consistent with the most recent report on hate crimes by the Attorney General, including, but not limited to, anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish, anti-Hindu, anti-Catholic, and anti-Sikh discrimination.
(B) The report pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not include any personally identifiable information.
(6) Engage with relevant community stakeholders to address high-priority issues in the prevention of unlawful religious discrimination.
(7) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of religious discrimination in educational settings.
SEC. 4.
Section 33803.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:33803.3.
(a) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.(b) The Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, in consultation with the department, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop, consult on, and provide culturally competent race and ethnicity discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent race and ethnicity discrimination.
(2) Provide technical assistance, upon the request of the Superintendent, a school district superintendent, a county superintendent of schools, or the governing board or body of a local educational agency, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners by doing both of the following:
(A) Ensure educators receive guidance and professional development recommendations to equip educators with the skills to navigate challenging conversations while fostering safe spaces for teaching and learning.
(B) Create a list of resources and identify available training that local educational agencies may share with teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel in their educator preparation programs, including, but not limited to, the best practices that the department made available pursuant to Section 49055.
(3) Engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents pertaining to race and ethnicity discrimination.
(4) Provide information on training courses on cultural competency and positive school climate to teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel. The training courses may include, but not be limited to, any of the following topics:
(A) Nondiscrimination laws.
(B) Trauma-informed restorative practices.
(C) Bullying prevention and response.
(D) Navigating politically charged environments.
(E) Implementing inclusive curriculum.
(5) (A) Beginning September 1, 2027, track and report to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the executive director of the state board, and the Superintendent complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints made pursuant to Section 33315 relating to racial and ethnic discrimination in all local educational agencies serving pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(B) Pursuant to the tracking and reporting requirement of subparagraph (A), track and report complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints made pursuant to Section 33315 relating to anti-immigrant discrimination.
(C) The reports pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not include any personally identifiable information.
(6) Engage with relevant community stakeholders to address high-priority issues in the prevention of unlawful racial and ethnic discrimination.
(7) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of racial and ethnic discrimination in educational settings.
(c) (1) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Black Racism, who shall report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (b), the Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Black Racism shall do all of the following:
(A) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of anti-Blackness-related incidents or educational disparities.
(B) Work with the leadership of the Office of Civil Rights to develop a dedicated internet web page with resources and information accessible to support Black pupils and local educational agency personnel.
(C) Annually report statistics on anti-Black racism against pupils and local educational agency personnel with suggestions on how to prevent anti-Black racism at the root of the problem.
(D) Provide information on available training courses that focus on the history and contemporary context of anti-Black racism within society and in educational settings.
(E) Engage with Black education-specific organizations when receiving feedback to address anti-Black racism.
(d) (1) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (Anti-AANHPI) Discrimination, who shall report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (b), the Deputy Coordinator on Anti-AANHPI Discrimination shall do all of the following:
(A) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of anti-AANHPI-related incidents or educational disparities.
(B) Work with the leadership of the Office of Civil Rights to develop a dedicated internet web page with resources and information accessible to support Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander pupils and local educational agency personnel.
(C) Annually report statistics on anti-AANHPI discrimination against pupils and local educational agency personnel with suggestions on how to prevent anti-AANHPI discrimination at the root of the problem.
(D) Provide information on available training courses that focus on the history and contemporary context of anti-AANHPI discrimination within society and in educational settings.
(E) Engage with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander education-specific organizations when receiving feedback to address anti-AANHPI discrimination.
(e) (1) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Latino Discrimination, who shall report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (b), the Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Latino Discrimination shall do all of the following:
(A) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of anti-Latino-related incidents or educational disparities.
(B) Work with the leadership of the Office of Civil Rights to develop a dedicated internet web page with resources and information accessible to support Latino pupils and local educational agency personnel.
(C) Annually report statistics on anti-Latino discrimination against pupils and local educational agency personnel with suggestions on how to prevent anti-Latino discrimination at the root of the problem.
(D) Provide information on available training courses that focus on the history and contemporary context of anti-Latino discrimination within society and in educational settings.
(E) Engage with Latino education-specific organizations when receiving feedback to address anti-Latino discrimination.
(f) (1) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Native American Discrimination, who shall report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (b), the Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Native American Discrimination shall do all of the following:
(A) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of anti-Native American-related incidents or educational disparities.
(B) Work with the leadership of the Office of Civil Rights to develop a dedicated internet web page with resources and information accessible to support Native American pupils and local educational agency personnel.
(C) Annually report statistics on anti-Native American discrimination against pupils and local educational agency personnel, including, but not limited to, the requirements of Sections 221.3 and 35183.1, with suggestions on how to prevent anti-Native American discrimination at the root of the problem.
(D) Provide information on available training courses that focus on the history and contemporary context of anti-Native American discrimination within society and in educational settings.
(E) Engage with Native American education-specific organizations when receiving feedback to address anti-Native American discrimination.
SEC. 5.
Section 33803.4 of the Education Code is amended to read:33803.4.
(a) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ the Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.(b) The Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, in consultation with the department, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop, consult on, and provide gender-related discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent gender discrimination.
(2) Provide technical assistance, upon the request of the Superintendent, a school district superintendent, a county superintendent of schools, or the governing board or body of a local educational agency, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners by doing both of the following:
(A) Ensure educators receive guidance and professional development recommendations to equip educators with the skills to navigate challenging conversations while fostering safe spaces for teaching and learning.
(B) Create a list of resources and identify available training that local educational agencies may share with teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel in their educator preparation programs, including, but not limited to, the best practices that the department made available pursuant to Section 49055.
(3) Engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents pertaining to gender discrimination.
(4) Provide information on training courses on cultural competency and positive school climate to teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel. The training courses may include, but not be limited to, any of the following topics:
(A) Nondiscrimination laws.
(B) Trauma-informed restorative practices.
(C) Bullying prevention and response.
(D) Navigating politically charged environments.
(E) Implementing inclusive curriculum.
(5) (A) Beginning September 1, 2027, track and report to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the executive director of the state board, and the Superintendent complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints made pursuant to Section 33315 relating to gender discrimination in all local educational agencies serving pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(B) The reports pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not include any personally identifiable information.
(6) Engage with relevant community stakeholders to address high-priority issues in the prevention of unlawful gender discrimination.
(7) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of gender discrimination in educational settings.
SEC. 6.
Section 33803.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:33803.5.
(a) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ the LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.(b) The LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, in consultation with the department, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop, consult on, and provide LGBTQ+ related discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent LGBTQ+ discrimination.
(2) Provide technical assistance, upon the request of the Superintendent, a school district superintendent, a county superintendent of schools, or the governing board or body of a local educational agency, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners by doing both of the following:
(A) Ensure educators receive guidance and professional development recommendations to equip educators with the skills to navigate challenging conversations while fostering safe spaces for teaching and learning.
(B) Create a list of resources and identify available training that local educational agencies may share with teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel in their educator preparation programs, including, but not limited to, the best practices that the department made available pursuant to Section 49055.
(3) Engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents pertaining to LGBTQ+ discrimination.
(4) Provide available information on training courses on cultural competency and positive school climate training, including, but not limited to, Providing Relevant, Inclusive Support that Matters (PRISM) training, for teachers, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel. The training courses may include, but not be limited to, any of the following topics:
(A) Nondiscrimination laws.
(B) Trauma-informed restorative practices.
(C) Bullying prevention and response.
(D) Navigating politically charged environments.
(E) Implementing inclusive curriculum.
(5) (A) Beginning September 1, 2027, track and report to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the executive director of the state board, and the Superintendent complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints made pursuant to Section 33315 relating to LGBTQ+ discrimination in all local educational agencies serving pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(B) The reports pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not include any personally identifiable information.
(6) Engage with relevant community stakeholders, including, but not limited to, organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community, organizations that support LGBTQ+ youth, LGBTQ+ parent groups, and organizations that support transgender, gender nonbinary, and intersex youth, to address high-priority issues in the prevention of unlawful LGBTQ+ discrimination.
(7) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of LGBTQ+ discrimination in educational settings.
SEC. 7.
Section 33803.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:33803.6.
(a) The Office of Civil Rights shall employ the Disability Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, who shall be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate.(b) The Disability Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, in consultation with the department, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop, consult on, and provide disability-related discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent disability discrimination.
(2) Provide technical assistance, upon the request of the Superintendent, a school district superintendent, a county superintendent of schools, or the governing board or body of a local educational agency, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners by doing both of the following:
(A) Ensure educators receive guidance and professional development recommendations to equip educators with the skills to navigate challenging conversations while fostering safe spaces for teaching and learning.
(B) Create a list of resources and identify available training that local educational agencies may share with teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel in their educator preparation programs, including, but not limited to, the best practices that the department made available pursuant to Section 49055.
(3) Engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents pertaining to disability discrimination.
(4) Provide information on training courses on cultural competency and positive school climate to teachers, administrators, and local educational agency personnel. The training courses may include, but not be limited to, any of the following topics:
(A) Nondiscrimination laws.
(B) Trauma-informed restorative practices.
(C) Bullying prevention and response.
(D) Navigating politically charged environments.
(E) Implementing inclusive curriculum.
(5) (A) Beginning September 1, 2027, track and report to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the executive director of the state board, and the Superintendent complaints and resolutions or lack of resolutions of complaints made pursuant to Section 33315 relating to disability-related discrimination in all local educational agencies serving pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(B) The reports pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not include any personally identifiable information.
(6) Engage with relevant community stakeholders, including, but not limited to, organizations that support the disability community, organizations that support pupils and youth with disabilities, organizations that support parents and guardians of pupils with disabilities and their families, to address high-priority issues in the prevention of unlawful disability discrimination.
(7) Make recommendations, in coordination with the executive director of the state board, to the Legislature, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on legislation necessary for the prevention of disability discrimination in educational settings.
(c) This section does not alter the responsibilities of the department under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) or its implementing regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 300 et seq.).
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