Cal. Educ. Code § 51140
Drowning Prevention
Redline — January 1, 2023 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2025
As of January 1, 2023
(a) (1) A local, state, or national drowning or injury prevention organization affiliated with one or more drowning prevention organizations may provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school regarding the following topics: (A) The role that water safety education courses and swimming lessons play in drowning prevention and saving lives. (B) Local water safety and swimming skills programs in the county and communities served by the school, including free or reduced-price programs, and how to access information about age-appropriate public or private water safety courses and swimming skills programs that result in a certificate indicating successful completion. (C) Contact information of the organization to receive further water safety education information. (2) The informational materials shall not be used to solicit funding or donations for the organization.
(a) (1) A drowning or injury prevention organization may provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school that serves pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in accordance with the requirements of this article, regarding all of the following topics: (A) The role that water safety education courses and swim lessons play in drowning prevention and saving lives. (B) Local water safety and swimming skills programs in the county and communities served by the public school, including free or reduced-price programs, and how to access information about age-appropriate public or private water safety courses and swimming skills programs that result in a certificate indicating successful completion. (C) Contact information of the organization to receive further water safety education information. (2) The informational materials shall not be used to solicit funding or donations for the organization. (3) It is the intent of the Legislature that public schools that receive information pursuant to paragraph (1) facilitate the sharing of that information with the parents, caregivers, or guardians of pupils.
(b) Beginning with the 2024–25 school year, upon receipt of the informational materials described in subdivision (a), a public school may provide the informational materials to parents, legal guardians, or caregivers of pupils at the time the pupil enrolls at the school and at the beginning of each school year.
(b) (1) Upon receipt of the informational materials described in subdivision (a), a public school is authorized to provide the informational materials to parents, legal guardians, or caregivers of pupils at the time the pupil enrolls at the public school and at the beginning of each school year, and are encouraged to provide the materials described in subdivision (a) during the first week of May in the year that the informational materials were provided.
(2) In recognition of the importance of drowning as a public health issue impacting the lives of many pupils, public schools are authorized to, and are encouraged to, provide to their pupils water safety informational materials through multiple means, including, but not limited to, school assemblies, classroom instruction, or library programs. These informational materials shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Be age and grade appropriate.
(B) Be aligned with the information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 51141, and identified by the department pursuant to Section 51900.1.
(C) Be provided for free by drowning prevention or children safety organizations.
(c) Upon request by a public school, an organization described in subdivision (a) shall provide the informational materials in the three most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school.
(c) Upon request by a public school, a drowning or injury prevention organization that elects to provide informational materials shall provide the informational materials in English and is encouraged to provide informational materials in the other most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school based on available data from the department.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Public school” means a school operated by a school district, county office of education, or a charter school.
(2) “Water safety” means age-appropriate education intended to promote safety in, on, and around bodies of water, including residential and public pools and spas, home water sources such as bathtubs, and open bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, canals, and the ocean, and to reduce the risk of injury or drowning.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.