Drowning prevention: public schools: informational materials.

Assembly Member Davies, joined by coauthors Alanis, Chen, and Flora, advances a drowning-prevention framework for public schools that places free, CDC-aligned water-safety information in schools and public-facing resources at the center of its approach. The measure requires drowning or injury prevention organizations to provide informational materials to public schools at no cost, with English language materials available upon request and multilingual provision encouraged where population data support need. It also establishes a process for schools to share these materials with students and families while mandating that the materials align with CDC content and other vetted sources, and it directs the state to assemble a centralized repository of age-appropriate water-safety curricula and resources.

The bill adds definitions to clarify the scope of the new authority, including what constitutes a public school and what “water safety” entails, and it expands the scope of informational materials to cover the role of water-safety education and local programs, access to certificates for swimming-skills programs, and the organization’s contact information. It specifies that materials should be provided to parents at enrollment and at the start of each school year, with a May distribution encouraged in the year the materials are provided, and it authorizes distribution to pupils through assemblies, classroom instruction, or library programs. Materials must be age- and grade-appropriate, aligned with CDC guidance identified by the department, and provided free of charge by the organizations.

A new requirement obligates drowning or injury prevention organizations to furnish written evidence that their materials align with the CDC’s drowning-prevention content and vetted authorities, and to make the materials available to schools at no cost with the ability for schools to copy and share them. The bill creates a centralized repository, maintained by the Department of Education in consultation with the State Department of Developmental Services and the State Department of Public Health, to provide school-based water-safety resources and curricula that are age-appropriate and adaptable for use in classrooms. It also adds a regulatory-review framework within the Health and Safety Code, authorizing the Department of Public Health to review existing statutes and regulations related to drowning prevention for clarity and alignment with current practice, and to propose updates or nonsubstantive corrections to the Legislature as part of ongoing governance.

The legislative portrait frames drowning as a persistent public-health issue and cites findings that swimming instruction from certified providers contributes to water competency, informing the rationale for the expanded information-sharing and oversight mechanisms. The policy context envisions closer coordination among state agencies—the Department of Education, the Department of Public Health, and the Department of Developmental Services—to standardize materials, guide implementation through a shared resource portal, and maintain currency with evolving practices via a formal regulatory-review process. While the measure imposes new duties on organizations and schools and creates a state-supported resource hub, it does not authorize new state funding in its text, placing cost considerations on participating organizations and existing agency workloads subject to future appropriation or rulemaking.