There will be 25 new laws going into effect in either 2024 or 2025, which were passed by the California legislature over the past few years. These new laws include education-related laws, labor and employment laws and civil rights laws.
One of the many education-related laws that came into effect in 2024 includes AB 1540. This law finds its roots in the California Dream Act, which allows students who do not qualify for financial aid from the federal government to apply for state financial aid.
“AB 1540 is in place for students, especially undocumented students, to access financial aid [in order] to further their education after high school,” said College Advisor Mary O’Reilly. “So it’s extremely important for students to access higher education and broaden [their] opportunities.”
However, this law only pertains to local California residents.
“The challenge might be with the federal government,” O’Reilly said. “What’s great is that the California Dream Act is a California state program, so it’s protected by California right now. But other undocumented students who are outside of California don’t get the same resources.”
However, there are a lot of resources to aid students who are undocumented.
“There’s a lot of great resources for information,” O’Reilly said. “Immigrants Rising is a great [organization]. They do a lot of financial aid guides for students who are undocumented to help support through the application process and the Dream Act process.”
Law SB 247 prohibits expulsion and suspensions on the grounds of willful defiance, which are low-level behavioral offenses, will go into effect as well. With this law, California schools will take on new regulations regarding one of the California suspension codes, code K489100.
“In the past, it could be used by itself to suspend a student,” said assistant principal Andrew Hartig. “More recent practice dictated that it could only be used in conjunction with another reason. For instance, if a student were to engage in a fight with another student, the ‘disrupt and defy’ could be added to the suspension. The new legislation says that code may not be used for the suspension period.”
For Aragon, this new law will not change the existing expulsion and suspension protocol.
“The law was designed, I think rightly so, to prevent students from being suspended because of a perception or a bias,” Hartig said. “I think about when I was in school in the 90s, where that might be used: ‘I don’t like your attitude.’ So it’s really about making sure that the reasons for removing a student from the educational environment are very particular to both the ed code and a very valid reason for doing so.”
In addition to laws regarding education, there are also new labor and employment laws. This year, the minimum wage was increased by 50 cents, raising it to $16 an hour in January. The minimum wage for fast-food workers was raised from $16 to $20 an hour in April. This increase brought about a rise in interest from students in joining the workforce.
“Being in the Bay Area, the cost of living is very high. With the increase to $20 it helped to lift family burden,” said Career Technical Education and Career Coordinator Queenie Hua.
The increase also helped students with academics.
“After the increase, my life changed positively,” said Aragon alumni Kristen Salazar. “I was able to earn a higher wage and reduce some working hours, [which] helped prioritize my focus on my studies.”
Overall, the new education and labor laws will have a lasting effect on Aragon students and the community.
