Article 4 - Drowning Prevention - California Education Code

Sections (3)

Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 387, Sec. 2. (AB 1005) Effective January 1, 2026.

For purposes of this article, all of the following definitions apply:

(a)“Public school” means a school operated by a school district, county office of education, or a charter school.

(b)“Water safety” means age-appropriate education intended (1) to promote safety in, on, and around bodies of water, including residential and public pools and spas, home water sources such as bathtubs, and open bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, canals, and the ocean, and (2) to reduce the risk of injury or drowning.

§ 51140

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 387, Sec. 3. (AB 1005) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)(1) A drowning or injury prevention organization may provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school that serves pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in accordance with the requirements of this article, regarding all of the following topics:

(A) The role that water safety education courses and swim lessons play in drowning prevention and saving lives.

(B) Local water safety and swimming skills programs in the county and communities served by the public school, including free or reduced-price programs, and how to access information about

age-appropriate public or private water safety courses and swimming skills programs that result in a certificate indicating successful completion.

(2)The informational materials shall not be used to solicit funding or donations for the organization.

(3)It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools that receive information pursuant to paragraph (1) facilitate the sharing of that information with the parents, caregivers, or guardians of pupils.

(b)(1) Upon receipt of the informational materials described in subdivision (a), a public

school is authorized to provide the informational materials to parents, legal guardians, or caregivers of pupils at the time the pupil enrolls at the public school and at the beginning of each school year, and are encouraged to provide the materials described in subdivision (a) during the first week of May in the year that the informational materials were provided.

(2)In recognition of the importance of drowning as a public health issue impacting the lives of many pupils, public schools are authorized to, and are encouraged to, provide to their pupils water safety informational materials through multiple means, including, but not limited to, school assemblies, classroom instruction, or library programs. These informational materials shall meet the following criteria:

(A)Be

age and grade appropriate.

(B)Be aligned with the information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 51141, and identified by the department pursuant to Section 51900.1.

(C)Be provided for free by drowning prevention or children safety organizations.

(c)Upon request by a public school, a drowning or injury prevention organization that elects to provide informational materials shall provide the informational materials in English and is encouraged to provide informational materials in the other most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school based on available data from the

department.

§ 51141

Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 387, Sec. 4. (AB 1005) Effective January 1, 2026.

(a)A drowning or injury prevention organization that provides informational materials to a public school pursuant to this article shall adhere to both of the following:

(1)Provide written evidence, in the form of a letter or document, either of which shall be no longer than one page, to a school administrator that demonstrates that the informational materials provided by the drowning or injury prevention organization align with the drowning, drowning prevention, water safety, rescue, and swim skills lesson information found on the drowning prevention web page of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which includes evidence-based water safety and drowning prevention

information vetted through such authorities on drowning and drowning prevention as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Red Cross, among other sources.

(2)Provide informational materials at no cost to the public school and allow the school to offer copies of the materials to pupils and parents and decide how the materials are made available.

(b)A school administrator or school entity authorized by the school district or school, which also may include the school’s parent-teacher association or an equivalent association, that engages with a drowning or injury prevention organization pursuant to this article shall not be responsible for confirming the drowning or injury prevention organization’s compliance with paragraph (1) of subdivision

(a).