SB 316 (Reyes) adds a new Education Code section requiring school districts, county offices of education, state special schools, and charter school governing bodies that serve 11th-graders to make sure each pupil receives information — at least once before completing grade 11 — on how to preregister and register to vote. The bill specifies the content schools must cover (eligibility, county services, online registration, the Student Poll Worker program, and how to vote including vote-by-mail procedures) and allows schools to deliver the information through classes, counselors, family sessions, or other local methods.
Separately, the bill amends the statute that authorizes pupil voter outreach coordinators to clarify that administrators of public or private high schools may appoint enrolled pupils to coordinate on-campus voter outreach and election-related activities. Schools may contract with experienced, nonpartisan nonprofit organizations to meet the new requirements.
The measure also includes a standard reimbursement clause if the Commission on State Mandates finds the law creates state-mandated costs.
At a Glance
What It Does
Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, relevant California K–12 authorities must ensure every pupil gets instruction or information about how to preregister and register to vote at least once before completing 11th grade. The bill also clarifies that public and private high school administrators may appoint pupil voter outreach coordinators and permits contracting with nonpartisan civic nonprofits to implement the program.
Who It Affects
School districts, county offices of education, state special schools, and charter schools that serve 11th graders; high school administrators and counselors who will design or deliver the material; pupil voter outreach coordinators; county elections offices and the Secretary of State as sources of materials; and nonprofit civic-engagement organizations that may be contracted to run programs.
Why It Matters
The law integrates voter preregistration and registration into the K–12 pipeline, creating a predictable touchpoint for youth civic engagement and potential increases in youth registration. It also creates operational demands on local education agencies (LEAs) — from curriculum decisions to recordkeeping and privacy compliance — and sets up a market for nonprofit civic-engagement providers.
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What This Bill Actually Does
SB 316 does two related things. First, it tweaks the existing authorization for pupil voter outreach coordinators so that administrators of public or private high schools may appoint enrolled students to serve as coordinators.
Those coordinators can organize registration activities on campus — including submitting paper affidavits or directing people to the Secretary of State’s online registration tool — and run election-related activities like mock elections or debates with the administrator’s approval.
Second, the bill creates a new duty for public K–12 entities that serve 11th-graders: starting in 2026–27, the governing board of a school district, county board, state special school, or charter school must ensure each pupil receives, at least once before completing grade 11, information about how to preregister and register to vote. The statute lists required content (voting eligibility materials from the Secretary of State, county elections office services, the option to register online at registertovote.ca.gov, the Student Poll Worker program, and instructions on how to vote including vote-by-mail procedures and signature importance) but leaves the delivery method to local discretion — classroom lessons, counselors, family sessions, or other formats are all permissible.The bill also requires that, on request, schools provide information about where to get a paper voter registration card (for example, a referral to the Secretary of State’s website) and that any material shared with pupils or families comply with state and federal pupil-privacy laws.
To help with implementation, schools may contract with third-party nonprofit organizations that have experience in nonpartisan youth civic engagement. Finally, the bill contains the standard provision that if the Commission on State Mandates finds the law creates reimbursable state-mandated costs, reimbursement will follow existing Government Code procedures.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The requirement to provide preregistration/registration information applies only to LEAs and charter/state special schools that serve grade 11 and begins in the 2026–27 school year.
Section 49041 is amended to permit administrators of public or private high schools to appoint pupil voter outreach coordinators who may facilitate both paper and online registration activities with school approval.
The statute mandates specific content be included at least once before the end of 11th grade: Secretary of State eligibility guidance, county elections office services, the Secretary of State online registration link (https://registertovote.ca.gov/), the Student Poll Worker program, and instructions on voting and vote-by-mail procedures.
Schools must provide, upon request by a pupil or their parent/guardian, information about how to obtain a paper voter registration card and must handle all materials in compliance with state and federal pupil-privacy laws.
Local education agencies may contract with third-party nonprofit organizations with demonstrated nonpartisan youth civic-engagement experience to implement the requirements; the bill also invokes the state mandate reimbursement process if the Commission finds costs are mandated.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Short title — High School Voter Registration Act
Assigns a short, descriptive name to the statute. This is purely nominal but signals legislative intent to treat the provisions as a unified civic-engagement effort aimed at high school pupils.
Expands and clarifies pupil voter outreach coordinators
Updates the voter outreach coordinator authorization to explicitly include administrators of both public and private high schools. The provision spells out coordinator activities: organizing voter registration drives, facilitating submission of paper affidavits or electronic registration, and conducting election-related educational events with approval. Practically, this lets more schools host student-led registration efforts and clarifies that electronic registration through the Secretary of State site is a permitted method.
Mandatory voter preregistration/registration information for pupils
Creates the core duty: governing boards of school districts, county boards, state special schools, and charter school governing bodies that serve 11th-graders must ensure each pupil receives specified voter preregistration/registration information at least once before completing 11th grade. The statute prescribes minimum content items (eligibility guidance, county services, online registration link, Student Poll Worker program, voting and vote-by-mail instructions) but leaves the format of delivery to local discretion and requires privacy protections for materials shared with families and pupils.
On-demand paper card info, privacy, and outside implementation
Subsection (b) requires schools to provide information about obtaining a paper voter registration card when requested by a pupil or their parent/guardian. Subsection (c) imposes that communications comply with state and federal pupil-privacy laws, which will affect how schools store and transmit any election-related information. Subsection (d) authorizes contracting with nonpartisan nonprofit organizations to deliver the program, creating an explicit pathway to outsource implementation where districts lack capacity.
Implementation guidance and encouragement to align with voter education weeks
The statute encourages—but does not require—LEAs to provide the information during the existing high school voter education weeks. That creates an implementation option to concentrate activity in known windows, but the requirement to reach every pupil at least once means districts can use different timing or formats to meet the obligation.
State-mandated costs and reimbursement clause
Contains the standard direction that if the Commission on State Mandates finds the act imposes reimbursable state-mandated costs, reimbursement follows established Government Code procedures. That preserves the usual administrative remedy for local entities claiming unfunded costs tied to the new duties.
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Explore Education in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- 16- and 17-year-old California pupils who can preregister: They gain a guaranteed school-based touchpoint to learn how to preregister and register, improving access to registration information before they reach voting age.
- County elections offices: The law creates a predictable source of outreach and referrals from schools, potentially increasing preregistration volumes and improving youth-targeted communications.
- Nonprofit civic-engagement providers: Organizations with nonpartisan youth experience can contract with LEAs to deliver programming, creating new demand for their services and institutional partnerships.
- School counselors and civic educators: The statute gives counselors and teachers a clear mandate and content guidance for civic education tied to concrete outcomes (preregistration/registration), which can be incorporated into counseling or class plans.
- Student Poll Worker program: Explicit inclusion in required material raises program visibility among youth and may increase student participation and staffing pools for election operations.
Who Bears the Cost
- Local education agencies (districts, county offices, charter governing bodies): They must design, deliver, track, and document delivery of the required information for every pupil in scope, which creates staff time, training, and potentially printing or technology costs.
- Small or resource-constrained schools (including some state special schools): Implementing individualized or counselor-led delivery and privacy-compliant handling may strain limited staffing and budget capacity.
- School administrators: Principals and designees must supervise pupil voter outreach coordinators and vet election-related activities for compliance with content and privacy rules, adding an administrative oversight burden.
- Nonprofits taking contracts: While they gain opportunities, they may need to scale quickly to meet demand and absorb upfront costs before reimbursement or steady contracts materialize.
- County elections offices and the Secretary of State: They may face increased requests for paper registration cards, materials, and technical support as schools direct pupils and families to official resources.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
SB 316 pits two valid goals against one another: making voter preregistration information universally available to young people (to strengthen civic participation) versus imposing operational, privacy, and oversight burdens on local education agencies with no guaranteed funding or uniform delivery standard. The law solves the access problem but leaves localities to shoulder the logistical and legal costs of implementation.
Several trade-offs and open questions will shape how SB 316 operates in practice. First, the bill mixes broad discretion on delivery methods with mandated content.
Districts can choose classroom lessons, counselor sessions, or family outreach, which allows local tailoring but creates variability in quality and tracking: how will districts reliably demonstrate each pupil received the information, and what records are permissible under pupil-privacy rules? Second, 49041 explicitly includes private high schools for the appointment of pupil voter outreach coordinators, while the new §51225.85 applies to public governing bodies, charter schools, and state special schools that serve grade 11 — the split raises a practical inconsistency about which types of schools must provide the mandatory 11th-grade information versus where coordinators may operate.
Third, the statute requires compliance with state and federal pupil-privacy laws but does not define acceptable recordkeeping or data-sharing standards for voter-related outreach. That leaves districts to reconcile FERPA and other privacy rules with election outreach (for example, handling requests for paper registration cards or tracking who received information).
Finally, although the bill authorizes contracting with nonpartisan nonprofits, it does not prescribe procurement standards or funding, so smaller districts may rely on outside groups unevenly; that creates potential equity gaps in program quality and coverage across California.
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