Policy impact of AB 1078 (2024)

Assembly Bill 1078, passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2023, clarifies certain requirements and prohibitions related to the use, selection or rejection of textbooks, instructional materials, library books or similar educational resources. AB 1078 also increases district accountability, including new authority for state involvement, should governing boards run afoul of these requirements and prohibitions. The bill was motivated by data that shows an increase in limiting race- or gender-related topics in school classrooms, as well as the scrutiny of books in school libraries. Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Riverside), the bill’s author, states, “We must strive to create a more equitable and inclusive education system for all students. This bill will ensure that students in California receive a comprehensive education that celebrates the diversity of our state and promotes a sense of belonging in the classroom.”

More specifically, AB 1078 provides for the following:

• Requires district and county office of education policy that prohibits discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying to include a statement that the policy applies to all acts of the district governing board/county board of education and the district/county superintendent in enacting policies and procedures that govern the district/county office of education.
• Clarifies when it is unlawful discrimination for a board to refuse to approve the use or prohibit the use of any textbook, instructional material, supplemental instructional material, or other curriculum for classroom instruction, or any book or resource in a school library.

• Provides that complaints alleging discrimination related to the use or prohibited use of any textbook, instructional material, supplemental instructional material, or other curriculum for classroom instruction, or any book or resource in a school library may be brought under the district’s uniform complaint procedures or may be directly filed with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI).

• Revises the list of groups for which instruction in social studies is required to include a study of the role and contributions of people of all genders (formerly “men and women”), Latino Americans (formerly “Mexican Americans”), LGBTQ Americans (formerly “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans”) and members of other ethnic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic status groups (formerly “ethnic and cultural”).
• Revises the list of groups required to be included in instructional materials in order to accurately portray the cultural and racial diversity of California.

• Requires a board to submit a copy of any resolution reflecting a finding of insufficient textbooks or other instructional materials to the county superintendent no later than three business days after the hearing on such materials.
• Requires county superintendents, if they determine that a district has provided insufficient textbooks or instructional materials, to provide the district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency and ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
• Requires county superintendents, if the above deficiency is not remedied, to request the California Department of Education (CDE) to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials, the cost of which must be repaid by the district.
• Requires CDE, if it is obligated to purchase textbooks or instructional materials, to also issue a public statement at a State Board of Education meeting indicating the superintendent’s and board’s failure to provide instructional materials.
• Authorizes complaints related to instructional materials alleging that more than one student does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as the result of an act by a district governing board/county board of education, or the board’s failure to remedy the deficiency, to be filed with the SSPI directly, and the SSPI may directly intervene without waiting for a district investigation.
• Requires the SSPI to assess a financial penalty against the district’s Local Control Funding Formula allocation if the SSPI determines that a district has not provided sufficient textbooks or instructional materials.

AB 1078, an urgency measure that took effect immediately, impacts a number of CSBA’s sample policies. As a result, CSBA released a “Special Policy Packet” in early October that includes revisions to the following policies:

• BP 0410 – Nondiscrimination in District Programs and Activities
• BP/AR/E(1) 1312.2 – Complaints Concerning Instructional Materials
• BP/AR (BP/E(1) for county offices of education) 1312.3 – Uniform Complaint Procedures
• AR/E(1)/E(2) 1312.4 – Williams Uniform Complaint Procedures
• BP 5145.3 – Nondiscrimination/Harassment
• BP/AR 6143 – Courses of Study
• BP/AR/E(1) 6161.1 – Selection and Evaluation of Instructional Materials
• BP 6161.11 – Supplementary Instructional Materials
• BP 6163.1 – Library Media Centers

These policy materials have also been updated to include other new legislation, guidance documents from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, the CDE’s 2023–24 federal program monitoring instrument, and more, making now a great time for your board to review your policies which have been impacted by AB 1078.