AB 2490: 70-day substitutes Beginning Jan. 1, substitute teachers will be able to serve up to 70 days in general and special education settings under the special provisions outlined in AB 2490 (Valencia), which was signed by the governor Sept. 27.

Under prior law, substitute service limits required schools to change substitutes after 20 days in special education or 30 days in general education. The result was classroom turnover that disrupted continuity, relationships, and learning for students.

After ACSA’s 2025 substitute-flexibility proposal was vetoed, ACSA returned in 2026 and co-sponsored AB 2490 (Valencia), extending substitute service limits to 70 days in both general and special education.

“The substitute churn is real — under the old rules, the substitute who had built that trust with the class and understood each of the students’ needs, they just had to simply walk away after 20 or 30 days,” said Serette Kaminski, who worked on this bill. “[AB 2490] let’s districts keep that educator in place and it pairs that flexibility with real mentorship and training.”

To take advantage of this flexibility, Kaminski said LEAs would have to provide the substitute with an orientation, five hours of professional development, and a mentorship program.

$2.4 billion increase for special education Districts are facing sustained special education cost pressures. Adequate state funding is critical not only to supporting students with disabilities, but also to reduce the amount of LCFF funding districts must redirect from core programs.

ACSA advocated for and helped secure a $2.4 billion ongoing increase in special education funding — a 43 percent increase — while equalizing the statewide base rate at $1,340 per student. The investment strengthens support for students with disabilities while reducing pressure on LCFF resources that districts rely on to sustain core programs.

For years, ACSA members have called for relief from duplicative and fragmented state reporting requirements that consume staff time and resources without meaningfully improving accountability or student outcomes.

Through the efforts of ACSA Legislative Advocate Diana Vu, ACSA turned that longstanding member priority into a coordinated package of reforms. AB 2008 (Patel) prevents “forever reports” by establishing automatic sunsets for new reporting requirements and creates a single, standardized state grant reporting template. AB 2496 (Solache) requires the state to identify duplication between the School Accountability Report Card and other accountability systems, setting the stage for future elimination of redundant requirements. HR 87 (Muratsuchi) ensures policymakers examine the purpose, cost, overlap, and duration of proposed reporting requirements before adding new obligations.

Protecting local authority and school operations Some of ACSA’s most consequential advocacy happens by reshaping or stopping proposals before they become mandates that tie the hands of local school leaders. ACSA successfully defended school leaders’ ability to make local staffing and operational decisions by successfully opposing AB 2142 (Garcia) and AB 917 (Avila Farias), which would have reduced flexibility for short-term, seasonal, and grant-funded positions.

Although these bills made it through the Legislature and to the governor’s desk, Carrillo said Legislative Advocate Dorothy Johnson was able to successfully stop them in the 11th hour.

“Dorothy was in front of the governor’s office ... bringing forth all the evidence and the anecdotes and information that was collected from our members in terms of the administrative burdens, the cost impacts of these proposals and how this would be really bad policy for schools and students,” Carrillo said, “and these and these two bills were vetoed.”