KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

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SB-1226 • 2026

Pupil health: individuals with exceptional needs: respiratory services.

Pupil health: individuals with exceptional needs: respiratory services.

Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Ochoa Bogh
Last action
2026-03-04
Official status
Referred to Coms. on B. P. & E.D. and ED.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the defined set of basic respiratory services or qualifications required for individuals to perform these services.

Student Health: Respiratory Care for Special Needs Students

This law changes who can give certain breathing help to students with special needs during school hours.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes the permission for licensed vocational nurses, under a credentialed school nurse's supervision, to provide basic respiratory care to students with exceptional needs.
  • Allows individuals with specific qualifications and requirements to offer a set of basic breathing services to these students instead.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students with exceptional needs who require specialized physical health care services
  • Licensed vocational nurses and credentialed school nurses

Terms To Know

Respiratory Care Practitioner
A person licensed to perform respiratory care tasks.
Credentialed School Nurse
A nurse who is authorized by the school district to provide health services in schools.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if there are no qualified individuals available to perform basic respiratory care.
  • It's unclear how this change will affect the current practices and policies of individual school districts.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-04 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Coms. on B. P. & E.D. and ED.

  2. 2026-02-20 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.

  3. 2026-02-19 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1226, as introduced, Ochoa Bogh.
Pupil health: individuals with exceptional needs: respiratory services.
Existing law, the Respiratory Care Practice Act, prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of respiratory care unless the person is a licensed respiratory care practitioner, except for specified respiratory care functions, including, among others, the performance of suctioning and other basic respiratory tasks and services by a licensed vocational nurse under the supervision of a credentialed school nurse, as provided.
Existing law authorizes individuals with specified qualifications and meeting certain requirements to assist an individual with exceptional needs who requires specialized physical health care services, as defined, during the regular schoolday. Existing law also authorizes a licensed vocational nurse, under the supervision of a credentialed school nurse, to assist an individual with exceptional needs who requires specialized
physical health care with the basic respiratory services authorized by the Respiratory Care Practice Act.
This bill would repeal the authorization for a licensed vocational nurse, under the supervision of a credentialed school nurse, to assist an individual with exceptional needs with the above-described basic respiratory services authorized by the Respiratory Care Practice Act. The bill would instead authorize individuals, if they have the qualifications and meet the requirements referenced above for providing specialized physical health care services to an individual with exceptional needs, to provide a defined set of basic respiratory services to those individuals.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Download Bill PDF