California SB 316

(1) Existing law authorizes the administrator of a high school to appoint one or more pupils who are enrolled at that high school to be voter outreach coordinators, as provided. This bill would specify that the administrator of a public or private high school may appoint one or more pupils who are enrolled at that high school to be voter outreach coordinators, as provided. (2) Existing law declares the last two full weeks in April and the last two full weeks in September as "high school voter education weeks," during which time persons authorized by the county elections official are allowed to register students and school personnel on any high school campus, as provided. Existing law establishes the California School for the Deaf, Northern California, the California School for the Deaf, Southern California, and the California School for the Blind, known as the state special schools, under the administration of the State Department of Education, as provided. This bill would, commencing with the 2026–27 school year, require the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, a state special school, and the governing body of a charter school that serves pupils in grade 11 to ensure that each of its pupils receives, at least once before the pupil completes grade 11, information on how to properly preregister to vote and register to vote, as provided. The bill would also require the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, a state special school, and the governing body of a charter school to ensure that, upon request of a pupil or a pupil's parent or guardian, information regarding where to acquire a paper copy of a voter registration card is provided to that pupil, such as a referral to the Secretary of State's internet website. To the extent that this bill would create new duties for local educational agencies or local officials, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize those educational entities to contract with a third-party nonprofit organization, with demonstrated experience providing nonpartisan youth civic engagement, to implement the requirements of these provisions. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.