Despite mounting concerns from parental rights groups, legal scholars, pastors, and common-sense Californians, the sponsors and defenders of Assembly Bill 495 continue to insist there’s nothing to worry about. Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando) and organizations like the Alliance for Children’s Rights and Public Counsel claim that critics of AB 495 are spreading “false,” “fear-mongering” misinformation. Even Snopes, a self-appointed “fact-checker,” joined the campaign to dismiss the warnings. However, the text of the bill, along with legal guidance from the California School Boards Association and Constitutional experts, demonstrates that California Family Council’s concerns are not only well-founded but also supported by reliable evidence.
What Does AB 495 Actually Do?
AB 495 makes sweeping changes to the California Family Code by expanding who can fill out a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit, a legal form that gives adults authority to make decisions about where children attend school and what healthcare services they receive. Previously, this form limited significant healthcare decisions to certain “relatives.” AB 495 expands that definition to include vague categories like “nonrelative extended family member”: any adult who claims to have a mentoring or familial relationship with the child or the child’s relatives.
Most disturbingly, the updated affidavit explicitly states three times that “a parent’s signature or a court seal is not required.” That language is not found in the current form but is repeated multiple times in the updated version proposed by AB 495. This change is not cosmetic. It removes any doubt that a caregiver can act without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents.
Assemblywoman Rodriguez pretends the affidavit says the opposite. In an August 8th press release responding to her critics, she falsely claimed the updated affidavit lets parents pick who will make educational and healthcare decisions for their child. She wrote, “Under the bill, the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit will now recognize trusted adults and extended family members such as godparents, which parents select to care for their children in the event that they are unable to.” How can she write that when the affidavit repeatedly states parents aren’t required to approve who is designated as a caregiver?
California School Boards Association Confirms Anyone with an Affidavit Can Pick Up a Child from School
Snopes and other defenders of AB 495 argue schools will only release students to people listed on emergency contact forms. Snopes quoted Sharon Balmer Cartagena, the directing attorney of Public Counsel’s Child Youth and Family Advocacy Project, who stated:
“Generally, schools only release children from school to people listed as emergency contacts by the person who enrolled the child in school. A Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit does not allow someone to bypass this process and remove a child from school.”
But this claim is directly contradicted by the California School Boards Association (CSBA), an organization that represents, advises, and claims as members a vast majority of California’s school districts.
In a December 2024 guidance document titled “Legal Guidance on Immigration Issues,” the CSBA instructed schools as follows:
“Families should be notified that, in the event that a student’s parent or guardian is detained or deported by federal immigration authorities, administration release the student to the person(s) designated in the student’s emergency contact information or to any individual who presents a caregiver’s authorization affidavit on behalf of the student.”
Let that sink in. The CSBA is not sounding an alarm; it is affirming that this is how the law works. The school administration is supposed to “release” a child to anyone who shows up with one of these affidavits, whether a parent has approved them or not.
This policy alone should give every parent pause. And now AB 495 seeks to expand the pool of adults who can gain this kind of access to your child, without ever needing your consent.
Legal Experts Agree: AB 495 Violates Parental Rights
In a detailed six-page letter, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a national leader in constitutional law, warned that AB 495 is likely unconstitutional. ADF attorney Jordan K. Carpenter argues that the bill:
- Undermines the fundamental rights of parents to make medical and educational decisions for their children.
- Allows adults with little or no legal accountability to override a parent’s decisions.
- Fails to provide due process to parents before their rights are sidelined.
Quoting U.S. Supreme Court precedent, ADF notes that parents have a “fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control” of their children.” AB 495, however, hands this authority to potentially unqualified or untrustworthy adults simply because they filled out a form. The bill even tells school officials and healthcare providers that they have no obligation to verify the legitimacy of the caregiver.
“Both the right to decide which school to enroll a child in and the right to consent to medical care on a child’s behalf belong to the child’s parents,” wrote Carpenter. “Just as the parent’s right to direct a child’s religious upbringing follows the ‘child into the public school classroom,’ so does the right to be informed of and consent to medical examinations or treatment on a child’s behalf.”
He concludes, stating, “AB 495’s provisions are designed to exclude parents and keep them in the dark while their rights to shepherd and ensure their child is being properly cared for are being violated. Whatever goal the legislature is attempting to achieve with this bill, it cannot haphazardly trample parents’ fundamental rights in the process.”
Other legal experts expressed similar objections to AB 495 (see below).
- Attorney Dean Broyles, President of the National Center for Law and Policy.
- Julianne Fleischer, Senior Legal Counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom
- Janice Lorrah, Legislative Counsel for Pacific Justice Institute
- Attorney Erin Friday, USA President of Our Duty
- Attorney Nicole Pearson, Founder of Facts, Law, Truth, Justice
AB 495’s Real Goal: Bypass Parents and Force Acceptance
Supporters of AB 495 have openly admitted why these changes are being made. Kristen Power, a representative of the Alliance for Children’s Rights, told the Assembly Human Services Committee back in April that some schools and hospitals don’t accept the current affidavit without a parent’s signature. Instead of viewing this skepticism as a safeguard, her organization proposed the introduction of AB 495 to ensure that schools and medical providers accept the form, without talking to the parent.
Power explained the problem to committee members by recalling a problem one of her clients had getting a medical provider to recognize a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit when trying to get treatment for a child. (watch clip at the 4-minute mark)
“The medical services provider refused to accept the affidavit and instead requested the parents’ authorization for proof of guardianship, delaying medical care for Gabriel,” Power complained. “AB 495 helps ensure schools and medical services providers accept existing tools by standardizing recognition of caregiver authorization affidavits so they’re honored consistently.”
In short, AB 495 fixes the wrong problem: instead of protecting children by ensuring proper parental involvement, Power wants to sidestep parents altogether.
The Bottom Line
Let’s be clear: CFC and other parental rights organizations have not misrepresented this bill. In fact, they read it more carefully than some of its defenders.
- Snopes is wrong.
- Assemblywoman Rodriguez’s office is misleading the public.
- AB 495 threatens the rights of parents and the safety of children.
Whatever the noble-sounding intentions may be, the consequences of AB 495 are dangerous. This bill empowers strangers, silences parents, and weakens the sacred trust between mother, father, and child.
TAKE ACTION
- Call your State Senator today and tell them to vote NO on AB 495.
- Share this article with friends, pastors, and your local school board.
- Pray for strength as we defend God’s design for Life, Family, and Liberty.
- Attend the AB 495 RALLY & LOBBY DAY, Tuesday August 19th. some
