URGENT: California Bill Threatens Families
The Parental Rights Foundation joins our colleagues at Family Protection Ministries, Christian Home Educators Association of California (CHEA), Home School Legal Defense Association, and Alliance Defending Freedom in urging California senators to vote “No” on Assembly Bill 495, the “Family Preparedness Plan Act. Please read the following alert and contact your state senators immediately.
Parental Rights at Risk—Stop AB 495
AB 495—the so-called “Family Preparedness Plan Act”—is being sold as a way to help families when parents are detained or deported. But it’s not limited to those cases. As written, it:
- Expands who can claim parental authority to distant kin (up to the fifth degree) and even non-relatives with a “mentoring” or “familial” link.
- Leaves “unable to contact” undefined, meaning even brief delays could strip parents of decision-making authority when it comes to children’s education and medical care.
- Requires no proof that the parent entrusted the child to the caregiver.
- Builds on a constitutionally shaky 1994 law without fixing its flaws.
These changes could invite overreach by hostile relatives, confusion, and misuse by courts or agencies.
We need you to call your California state senator and oppose a bill now being considered in the California Legislature.
Assembly Bill 495 takes an already flawed law that undermines parental rights in education and medical decision-making—and makes it worse. Current law already leaves the door open to overreach by hostile relatives; AB 495 would throw that door wide open.
Why AB 495 Is Dangerous
AB 495 is being promoted as a compassionate fix for families in crisis when a parent is detained or deported. But the bill’s text doesn’t limit its use to immigration-related emergencies—it could apply in any situation that meets its broad definitions.
The measure would:
- Greatly enlarge the definition of “relative” to include kin as distant as the fifth degree—such as second cousins, great-great aunts and uncles, and their descendants.
- Create an entirely new category of “non-relative extended family member” covering virtually anyone with an “established familial or mentoring relationship” with the child—or even with a relative of the child.
The more people who can purport to step into a parent’s role, the greater the chance for confusion, conflict, or outright misuse—especially if a school, agency, or court treats “unable to contact” as a low bar for bypassing the parent. This undefined phrase could be interpreted so loosely that even brief delays in reaching a parent would allow others to act in their place, including authorizing major medical care.
Key Points—Why FPM Opposes AB 495
- Overreach by hostile relatives and even non-relatives becomes more likely with broader definitions of who can claim parental authority.
- Undefined phrase “unable to contact” could be stretched to mean even brief communication delays.
- No proof is required to verify that the parent entrusted the child to the caregiver.
- Vague language plus broad definitions equals greater risk of court or agency misuse.
- Expands an already constitutionally shaky law instead of fixing its flaws.
The Current Law—and Its Flaws
Since 1994, California’s “caregiver affidavit” law (Family Code § 6550) has let certain adults who live with a child temporarily enroll a child in school and authorizes “relatives,” broadly defined, to consent to medical or dental care—without a formal guardianship. In other words, existing law already allows certain relatives to avoid the formal remedy of legal guardianship to obtain the same legal rights as a parent to authorize medical care of a child.
Under current law, by presenting a statutorily created affidavit to schools or medical providers:
- A caregiver over 18 who lives with the child can enroll her in school and consent to school-related medical care.
- Certain “relative caregivers” could also claim the same authority as a parent to approve medical or dental treatment.
The affidavit must say the parents have been advised and do not object—or that they are “unable to be contacted.” But there’s no requirement to prove the parents placed the child with that person in the first place, and “unable to contact” is undefined. That leaves the door open to overreach if someone, including a hostile relative, uses the affidavit without clear parental consent.
We are not aware of any case where this law has been abused in that way—but the combination of broad authority with vague standards is a constitutional flaw.
What AB 495 Would Do
AB 495 takes these existing weaknesses and widens the opening:
- More potential claimants—far more distant relatives and non-relatives could qualify.
- Looser guardrails—the undefined “unable to contact” standard remains, now with a much larger pool of people who could invoke it.
- Greater risk of misuse—the more people who can claim parental authority, the greater the chance of overreach, particularly in contentious family situations.
Small openings in the law can become wide gateways when vague language meets expansive interpretation. Once that opening exists, courts and agencies can push far beyond what the legislature originally intended.
A Better Path Forward
A more carefully drafted, narrowly drawn statute could meet genuine needs—such as helping children when parents are truly unavailable—without threatening the fundamental right of parents to direct their children’s upbringing. That would mean:
- Narrower definitions of “relative” and “non-relative caregiver.”
- Clear proof that the parent entrusted the child to that person.
- A precise definition of “unable to contact” that prevents misuse.
CALL Now to Protect Parents—Reject AB 495 as Written
Parents should never lose their right to make education or medical decisions for their children because of vague legal language, overly broad definitions, or undefined terms like “unable to contact.” AB 495 compounds existing flaws in the caregiver-affidavit statute, making it easier for third parties, potentially including hostile relatives, to assert parental authority without clear consent.
As it stands, AB 495 begins with a constitutionally shaky law and makes it more vulnerable to abuse and misinterpretation. That is a step in the wrong direction for California families.
The bill already passed the Assembly on June 3 and was scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning, August 18 at 10:00 a.m.
Ask your California state senator to reject AB 495. Call now to protect parental rights!