California school emergency plan law

Who must have a school safety plan in California?

California law requires each school to adopt a comprehensive school safety plan and to review and update it by March 1 every year; school districts and county offices of education are responsible for the plans of their K-12 schools. A new school campus must adopt a plan within one year of starting operation. Each school district and county office of education is responsible for the overall development of the plans for its K-12 schools. The schoolsite council (the school's elected parent, staff and student body) writes the plan for its own school, and may hand the job to a school safety planning committee. A small school district, one with fewer than 2,501 units of average daily attendance, may adopt one districtwide plan that applies to each school instead. A charter school petition must provide for writing a school safety plan and reviewing and updating it every year. A charter school's plan must cover the topics in § 32282(a)(2)(A) to (N), and the charter school must review and update it by March 1 every year. Each private school's governing board must set up an earthquake emergency procedure system in every building with 50 or more students or more than one classroom, including a building disaster plan ready for use at any time.

What must the plan contain?

The law defines a safety plan as covering prevention of, response to and education about medical emergencies, including sudden cardiac arrest, and campus crime and violence.

If the plan includes active shooter drills, the school must follow the statute's drill rules. At the next update, and no later than July 1, 2026, the plan must include procedures to protect children from child abuse or neglect and sex offenses. At the next update on or after July 1, 2025, the plan must cover the response to sudden cardiac arrest and similar medical emergencies. At the next update, and no later than March 1, 2026, the plan must include procedures to notify parents, teachers, administrators and staff when the school confirms immigration enforcement on campus. If a principal finds merit in a concern about a student's access to the disaster procedures, the principal must direct changes to the plan.

What about wildfire and continuity of learning?

Public and charter schools with more than 50 K-12 students in a high or very high fire hazard severity zone have extra duties. From the 2026-27 fiscal year, those schools' plans must set a procedure to identify refuge shelter for all students and staff if local authorities order an evacuation, and notify the operational area (the county emergency management area) of that refuge. Those schools must also have a communication and evacuation plan for an early evacuation warning, with a clear decision process for whether to evacuate. Since July 1, 2025, the plan must include an instructional continuity plan for when an emergency disrupts in-person teaching. That plan must reach students within five calendar days of the emergency, and give access to in-person or remote instruction within 10 instructional days.

What may the plan include?

The plan may also include, paid for with local funds, procedures for a pesticide or toxic release from nearby properties. Plans are encouraged, not required, to include guidelines on the roles of mental health professionals, counselors, school resource officers and police. By July 1, 2030, public and charter schools with 100 or more students are encouraged, not required, to use a web- or app-based school safety program. A school's smartphone policy may limit student smartphone use in emergencies if the safety plan explicitly addresses it, under AB 962 (2025).

How often must the plan be reviewed?

Each school must review and update its plan by March 1 every year. The plan must be evaluated at least once a year to make sure it is being carried out properly, and the evaluation must check that it includes adaptations for students with disabilities.

Who approves the plan, and is it shared?

Each school must send its plan to its school district or county office of education for approval. Before adopting the plan, the council or committee must hold a public meeting at the school. Each year by October 15, districts and county offices must tell the state Department of Education which schools have not followed § 32281. The plan and any updates must be shared with law enforcement, the fire department and other first responders.

How do schools work with police and fire?

The schoolsite council must consult law enforcement, the fire department and other first responders when writing the plan. Working with law enforcement, a district or county office may choose not to have the schoolsite council write the parts of the plan on tactical responses to criminal incidents. The governing board may meet with law enforcement in closed session to approve a tactical response plan.

What training is tied to the plan?

The earthquake system must include a program so that students and staff know about it and are trained in it. The Legislature says it intends for all school staff to be trained on the plan; this is a statement of intent, not a requirement.

Is the plan public?

An updated file of all safety-related plans and materials must be readily available for public inspection. A district or county office may choose not to disclose the parts of the plan on tactical responses to criminal incidents. In a web- or app-based safety program, the maps, floor plans and staff details are confidential and exempt from the Public Records Act.

How is it enforced?

If the Superintendent of Public Instruction finds a willful failure to make a report the law requires, the Superintendent must act, including an assessment of up to $2,000 against the district or county office. Complaints that federal school safety planning requirements were not met may be filed with the department under the Uniform Complaint Procedures. The department must post a compliance checklist for writing a plan, and best practices for reviewing and approving plans. The Legislature intends schools to write their plans using existing resources.

What changed recently?

SB 98 (2025), an urgency law that took effect immediately, set the charter school plan rules in § 47606.3. SB 848 (2025) added the duty to include child abuse and sex offense protection procedures at the next update, and no later than July 1, 2026. AB 2496 was signed and chaptered on September 27, 2026 (Chapter 615); it repeals the duty to report the plan's status in the School Accountability Report Card. AB 2496 has no urgency clause, so it takes effect January 1, 2027; until then, the report card duty stays in the code. From January 1, 2027, the rewritten § 32286 keeps the March 1 yearly review and update and drops the report card duty. AB 1721 (Chapter 373 of 2026) requires the Education Commissioner to report recommendations on writing and approving school safety plans by July 1, 2028. The current version of § 32282 is repealed on January 1, 2031, when a later version takes over. AB 453 (2025-2026, comprehensive school safety plans) died in the Assembly on January 31, 2026. AB 598 (a School Mapping Data Grant Program) was last acted on August 29, 2025, when it was held in committee, and did not pass before the session's deadline.