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AB 2651: Amendments Made, Concerns that Remain
and AVFCA's Continued Strategic Engagement

🛑 A B 2651 (Bonta), known as the Informed Parents, Healthy Schools Act passed the Assembly Education Committee yesterday by a vote of 7 Ayes (all Democratic members) and 1 No/1 Not Voting (all Republican members). ( [link removed] [[link removed]] - Note: as of this email, the bill text does not yet include the most recent amendments)

Bill Summary: AB 2651 would direct the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to establish immunization rate thresholds for schools. Schools falling below those thresholds would be required to notify all parents that the school is considered “under-vaccinated.”

While framed as a transparency measure, the practical effect is to spotlight a small, identifiable group of students, many of whom are legally exempt, medically fragile, or otherwise protected. Because the data is based on Kindergarten cohorts and collected at the beginning of the school year, even a small number of students can significantly impact a school’s reported rate without providing meaningful public health insight.

AVFCA Engagement and Testimony: AVFCA would like to thank the Assembly Education Committee for a thorough and thoughtful analysis and recommendations. The amendments taken are a step in the right direction, particularly clarifying that the data is based on Kindergarten and adding additional context and privacy language. However, important concerns remain.

April Robinson, AVFCA’s Legislative Director, and Josh Coleman of V Is for Vaccine testified in opposition. They highlighted that the data being used is a point-in-time snapshot at the beginning of the school year, when compliance is lowest, and that many students counted as “not up to date” are conditional entrants who will likely be fully compliant by year end due to required spacing between doses. April also emphasized that herd immunity concepts cannot be broadly applied across all diseases, noting that diseases such as tetanus are not transmitted person to person.

You can watch the hearing here: [link removed] [[link removed]]
(Testimony begins at approximately 44:09)

April and Josh further highlighted that even with deidentification thresholds, students can still be identified within school communities. In a Kindergarten cohort of 100 students, a 90 percent rate reflects approximately 10 children. These are often students already known within the school, including those on IEPs, medically fragile children, or students experiencing homelessness, foster placement, military transitions, or undocumented status. This raises real concerns about stigmatization, bullying, and discrimination.

AVFCA and V Is for Vaccine were the only organizations present in opposition, representing the many families across California who would be impacted by this bill. AVFCA also continues to lead behind-the-scenes engagement with legislators and staff to address the real-world implications of this legislation, and to ensure these issues are addressed before the bill reaches the Governor's desk in September.

What This Means: Passage out of committee was expected. The real work on bills like this happens through continued engagement, relationship building, and securing meaningful amendments.

AB 2651 still leaves key questions unanswered, including what actions are expected after notification and how schools and families are meant to respond. This creates uncertainty for families, potential liability for schools, and does not provide clear public health benefit.

Next Steps: The bill will be amended based on committee recommendations and then move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee at the end of April. If it passes there, it will proceed to a full Assembly floor vote.

AVFCA will remain actively engaged at each stage, continuing to push for amendments that remove or neutralize the risk of stigmatization and discrimination. We will continue to keep you updated as AB 2651 moves through the legislative process.

Support Our Work: Thank you to everyone who continues to support strategic, principled advocacy on behalf of California families. For over a decade, AVFCA has worked closely with legislation and policy in California. We encourage you to rely on AVFCA as a trusted source for accurate, up-to-date information when it comes to bills in CA.

If you found this information helpful and appreciate the work A Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a donation today.

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C
Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
[email protected] [[email protected]]
www.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org [[link removed]]
www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org [www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org]
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