Senate Bill 19 Strengthens Safety Protections Involving Threats of Violence Against Schools

11.25.2025

On October 11, 2025, Governor Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (“SB”) 19, which expands protections in the Penal Code relating to threats made against a school, university, workplace, daycare, place of worship or medical facility. By enacting SB 19, the Legislature has provided for the prosecution and conviction of individuals for making credible threats of violence against schools, without having to prove danger to specific individuals connected to the school.

Existing law makes it a crime to willfully threaten to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury to another person, with the specific intent that the statement is to be taken as a threat. Previously, prosecutors were required to prove an individual victim was in sustained fear, which did not account for some threats made or posted online against places such as schools, medical facilities, and places of worship without legal consequence to the individual making the threat because a specific person to be harmed was not named.

SB 19 is intended to respond to incidents in which threats of violence made against schools, universities, workplaces, medical facilities, and places of worship were previously dismissed or uncharged because the threats were broad and did not target an individual. SB 19 adds Penal Code section 422.3, which makes it a crime for a person to willfully threaten to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury at specified locations, including schools, with the intent that the statement be taken as a threat. It is the goal of SB 19 to strengthen protections for schools and other similar locations by explicitly criminalizing such threats.

While the decision to prosecute individuals under Penal Code section 422.3 remains within the discretion of prosecutors, SB 19 provides law enforcement with another tool to address generalized threats against school sites.  LEAs should report any threats of violence against the school, students, or staff to law enforcement immediately. LEAs should then consult with counsel to evaluate further steps to respond to the threat, including pursuit of a Workplace Violence Restraining Order or other appropriate steps consistent with the LEA’s Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding SB 19 or are interested in school safety training for school site staff, please contact the authors of this alert or your usual AALRR counsel.

Thank you to law clerk Samantha Fidel for her work on this Alert.

This AALRR publication is intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in reaching a conclusion in a particular area of law. Applicability of the legal principles discussed may differ substantially in individual situations. Receipt of this or any other AALRR publication does not create an attorney-client relationship. The Firm is not responsible for inadvertent errors that may occur in the publishing process.

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