California AB 2071 digital wellness curriculum (2026)

California — AB 2071: Digital Wellness Integrated Into Middle and High School Health Classes, Teaching Students to Identify Unhealthy Tech Habits and Evaluate the Credibility of Digital Content (Signed September 10, 2026)
California · Cal. A.B. 2071 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.) — digital wellness in middle and high school health education (signed September 10, 2026; effective January 1, 2027)

Status
Enacted (not yet in effect)
Takes effect
January 1, 2027
Applies to
California school districts and the state education agencies responsible for health curriculum standards
Enforced by
California Department of Education; local education agencies

California Assembly Bill 2071 integrates DIGITAL WELLNESS into middle and high school health classes. Students are to be taught to identify unhealthy technology habits, protect their personal safety, and EVALUATE THE CREDIBILITY OF DIGITAL CONTENT — which is media and AI literacy placed inside the health curriculum rather than a computer science elective. Governor Newsom signed it on September 10, 2026. Two things distinguish this bill. It was CO-AUTHORED BY STUDENTS, which is unusual for any statute and especially for one governing their own schooling. And it was publicly SUPPORTED by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which opposed AB 1709 in the same signing package on First Amendment grounds. EFF praised AB 2071 as 'an affirmative and constitutional way' to approach youth online safety, on the principle that real digital safety comes from preparation, not isolation. That contrast is the reason this entry sits alongside the restriction-based measures rather than being treated as a minor curriculum bill: California signed, on a single day, both a measure that limits what minors may access and a measure that equips them to handle it, and the civil liberties community drew a sharp line between the two approaches.

Who is protected: California middle and high school students

Legal detail

State of California — ASSEMBLY BILL 2071, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on September 10, 2026. OPERATIVE EFFECT: integrates DIGITAL WELLNESS into MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL HEALTH CLASSES, with instruction covering (a) identifying unhealthy technology habits, (b) protecting personal safety, and (c) EVALUATING THE CREDIBILITY OF DIGITAL CONTENT. PLACEMENT IS THE DESIGN CHOICE: locating media and content-credibility literacy in the HEALTH curriculum rather than in computer science or an elective makes it reach the general student population rather than the self-selecting technical cohort, and frames technology use as a wellbeing question rather than a technical skill. AUTHORSHIP: CO-AUTHORED BY STUDENTS. ENDORSEMENT: publicly SUPPORTED by the ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION, which praised it as 'an affirmative and constitutional way' to address youth online safety \u2014 the same organisation that called AB 1709, signed the same day, 'misguided' and unconstitutional. EFF's framing: 'real digital safety comes from preparation, not isolation.' THE PAIRING IS THE POINT: California enacted an access-restriction approach and a capability-building approach simultaneously, and this dataset records both so the contrast is visible rather than collapsing the package into a single 'child online safety' characterisation. COMPANION: California AB 2298 cybersecurity curriculum (2026), signed the same day and similarly EFF-supported. STATUS IS `enacted` NOT `effective`, effective_date NULL \u2014 no operative date located; curriculum mandates commonly phase in over subsequent school years and no phase-in schedule was located. NOT PRESENT IN THIS DATASET IN ANY FORM before this pass.

Key facts

JurisdictionCalifornia
LevelState
StrengthModerate
EnactedSeptember 10, 2026
CitationCal. A.B. 2071 (2025-2026 Reg. Sess.) — digital wellness in middle and high school health education (signed September 10, 2026; effective January 1, 2027)
Private right of actionNo, agency enforcement only
PenaltiesNot applicable — a curriculum mandate
Topicseducation AI · children's online safety · government use of AI
Legal analysisGovernor Newsom Signs Student-Backed Digital Literacy Bills Alongside Misguided Bans — Electronic Frontier Foundation

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