Management Bulletin 26-08

Early Education Division

Subject: Implementation of the Attorney General Model Policies for Immigration Enforcement Requirements

Number: 26-08

Date: August 2026

Expires: Until rescinded

Authority: California Health and Safety Code (HSC) Section 1597.640; Assembly Bill (AB) 495 (Chapter 664, Statutes of 2025)

Purpose

This Management Bulletin (MB) reminds California State Preschool Program (CSPP) contractors of the various legal requirements related to their implementation of model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement developed by the Attorney General (“Model Policies”).

Policy

No later than July 1, 2026, any classroom that is funded, in whole or in part, by funds received pursuant to Education Code (EC) Section 8207 (“CSPP contractor”), including licensed and license-exempt CSPP facilities, are required to adopt the Attorney General’s Model Policies. HSC 1597.640(g)(2).

Further, effective January 1, 2026:

• All CSPP contractors are prohibited from collecting immigration or citizenship information of children or their family members except when required by state or federal law or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program. HSC 1597.640(a).
• All CSPP contractors must request parents or authorized representatives to review and update the child's emergency contact information, as needed. HSC 1597.640(c).
• Licensed CSPP contractors are required to report any requests for information or access to the facility by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency, for the purpose of immigration enforcement to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the Attorney General. HSC 1597.640(b)(1)(A).
• CSPP license-exempt facilities may, but are not required to, report requests to access facilities or information for purposes of immigration enforcement to the CDE and the Attorney General. HSC 1597.640(b)(1)(B).
• All CSPP contractors are required to inform parents and authorized representatives of how to access the Model Policies. HSC 1597.640(g), (h).

Directives for Implementation

Adopting Model Policies

HSC 1597.640 requires all CSPP contractors to adopt the Model Policies developed by the Attorney General as soon as possible, and no later than July 1, 2026. The Model Policies and related guidance were released by the Attorney General on April 1, 2026, and are available at AB 495 Guidance and Model Policies .

If a CSPP contractor has any policies that are in conflict with the Model Policies developed by the Attorney General, the CSPP contractor must amend the program policy to align by July 1, 2026.

Reporting

Licensed CSPP Contractors

Licensed CSPP contractors are required to report to the California Attorney General and the California Department of Social Services any requests for information or access to the facility by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency, for the purpose of immigration enforcement. HSC 1597.640(b)(1)(A). Licensed CSPP contractors may report through the Attorney General Reporting Portal for AB 495 CSPP/Licensed Child Daycare . In this portal, licensed CSPP contractors will submit a report to the California Attorney General. After submitting the report, licensed CSPP contractors may download a copy, and there will be instructions for emailing the copy of the report to the California Department of Social Services at ccp495reporting@dss.ca.gov. Licensed CSPP contractors are encouraged to also send the downloaded report to the California Department of Education (CDE) by emailing it to the Early Education Division inbox at: earlyeducation@cde.ca.gov.

License-exempt CSPP Contractors

A license-exempt CSPP facility may, but is not required to, report to the California Attorney General and the CDE any requests for information or access to the facility by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency, for the purpose of immigration enforcement. HSC 1597.640(b)(1)(B).

License-exempt contractors may report to the California Attorney General Office and the CDE through the Attorney General Reporting Portal for AB 495 CSPP/Licensed Child Daycare . Once reported to the portal, license-exempt contractors may download a copy of what was submitted and send the copy of the report to the CDE by emailing it to the Early Education Division inbox at: earlyeducation@cde.ca.gov.

Background and Authority

AB 495 (Chapter 664, Statutes of 2025) added HSC Section 1597.640 requiring all CSPP licensed and license-exempt programs to adopt the Model Policies and to comply with related requirements summarized above.

Resources

The CDE is sharing this information and resources to preserve access to education for students during times of increased fear of immigration enforcement.

• Safe Havens: Including Immigrant Families
• ALL IN for Safe Schools: Resources for Early Childhood Educators

Resources for psychological and mental health concerns, including coping with tragedy, crisis intervention and prevention, school psychology, and suicide prevention websites are available on the CDE's Mental Health Resources web page.

Resources to assist schools in helping students cope with tragic events are available on the CDE's Coping with Tragedy web page.

See the CDE's Resources to Support in the Case of Immigration Enforcement on School Campuses.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center provides a comprehensive toolkit including information and resources for creating Family Preparedness Plans, Know Your Rights tutorials, creating Red Cards, and contact information for Rapid Response Networks in California and nonprofit legal service providers.

If you have programmatic questions related to this Management Bulletin, please contact your assigned EED, Program Quality Implementation (PQI) office regional consultant. See the CDE's PQI Regional Consultant Directory web page for consultant assignments.

If you have fiscal questions about the information in this Management Bulletin, please contact your assigned CDE Early Education Nutrition and Fiscal Services fiscal analyst. See the CDE's Fiscal Analyst Directory web page for fiscal analyst assignments.

This Management Bulletin is mandatory only to the extent that it cites a specific statutory or regulatory requirement, and is not prescriptive, pursuant to California Education Code Section 33308.5.