Would documentation submitted by schools under AB 1348 have been available to the public through records requests?
Short answer
No, the documentation would not have been available to the public. Assembly Bill 1348 included a specific exemption that would have shielded these records from the California Public Records Act. This measure was designed to protect the privacy and safety of students and families involved in immigration proceedings. However, because the Governor vetoed the bill, this exemption never took effect.
What the bill or law says
The text of AB 1348 explicitly addressed public access to information. It stated that any documentation submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction regarding immigration enforcement activities would be exempt from the California Public Records Act [<a href="https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1348/id/3268851">Enrolled Bill Text</a>].
The Legislature included findings in the bill explaining why this secrecy was necessary. They determined that the exemption was required to protect the privacy and safety of California residents [<a href="https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1348/id/3268851">Enrolled Bill Text</a>]. Without this protection, details about which schools were affected by enforcement actions could have become publicly accessible through standard records requests.
How it works in practice
If the bill had become law, schools experiencing attendance drops due to immigration enforcement would have needed to submit an affidavit to the state. This document would verify that the absence was linked to enforcement activity so the school could maintain its funding [<a href="https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1348/id/3268851">Enrolled Bill Text</a>].
Under the proposed rules, once a school submitted this affidavit, the public would not be able to request or view it. Journalists, researchers, or community members filing public records requests would have been denied access to these specific files. This contrasts with many other school administrative records, which are typically subject to public disclosure unless another specific privacy law applies. The goal was to prevent the public identification of schools or districts dealing with federal immigration enforcement, thereby reducing potential risks to the families involved.
What the source does not answer
The provided sources do not explain how this exemption would interact with other existing privacy laws, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It is also unclear whether the exemption would have applied to internal school board discussions about the issue, or only to the specific affidavits sent to the state Superintendent. Additionally, the sources do not detail what legal penalties, if any, would have faced officials who improperly released these documents. Since the bill was vetoed, there is no case law or administrative guidance to clarify these operational details.