ARTICLE 4.5. Interscholastic Athletics [35179. - 35179.8.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 4.5.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179. Section 35179.

(a) Each school district governing board shall have general control of, and be responsible for, all aspects of the interscholastic athletic policies, programs, and activities in its district, including, but not limited to, eligibility, season of sport, number of sports, personnel, and sports facilities. In addition, the board shall ensure that all interscholastic policies, programs, and activities in its district are in compliance with state and federal law. (b) Governing boards may enter into associations or consortia with other boards for the purpose of governing regional or statewide interscholastic athletic programs by permitting the public schools under their jurisdictions to enter into a voluntary association with other schools for the purpose of enacting and enforcing rules relating to eligibility for, and participation in, interscholastic athletic programs among and between schools. (c) Each governing board, or its designee, shall represent the individual schools located within its jurisdiction in any voluntary association of schools formed or maintained pursuant to this section. (d) No voluntary interscholastic athletic association, of which any public school is a member, shall discriminate against, or deny the benefits of any program to, any person on any basis prohibited by Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no voluntary interscholastic athletic association shall deny a school from participating in interscholastic athletic activities because of the religious tenets of the school, regardless of whether that school is directly controlled by a religious organization. (f) Interscholastic athletics is defined as those policies, programs, and activities that are formulated or executed in conjunction with, or in contemplation of, athletic contests between two or more schools, either public or private.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.1. Section 35179.1.

(a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the 1998 California High School Coaching Education and Training Program. (b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) The exploding demand in girls athletics, and an increase in the number of pupils participating in both boys and girls athletics, are causing an increase in the number of coaches needed statewide. (2) Well-trained coaches are vital to the success of the experience of a pupil in sports and interscholastic athletic activities. (3) Improvement in coaching is a primary need identified by hundreds of principals, superintendents, and school board members who participated in the development of a strategic plan for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in 1993 and 1994. (4) There are many concerns about safety, training, organization, philosophy, communications, and general management in coaching that need to be addressed. (5) It is a conservative estimate that at least 25,000 coaches annually need training and an orientation just to meet current coaching regulations contained in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, including basic safety and CPR requirements. (6) School districts, in conjunction with the California Interscholastic Federation, have taken the initial first steps toward building a statewide coaching education program by assembling a faculty of statewide trainers composed of school district administrators, coaches, and athletic directors using a national program being used in several states. (c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to establish a California High School Coaching Education and Training Program. It is the intent of the Legislature that the program be administered by school districts, be updated and rehearsed annually, and emphasize the following components: (1) Development of coaching philosophies consistent with school, school district, and governing board of a school district goals. (2) Sport psychology: emphasizing communication, reinforcement of the efforts of pupils, effective delivery of coaching regarding technique, and motivation of the pupil athlete. (3) Sport pedagogy: how pupil athletes learn, and how to teach sport skills. (4) Sport physiology: principles of training, fitness for sport, development of a training program, nutrition for athletes, and the harmful effects associated with the use of steroids and performance-enhancing dietary supplements by adolescents. (5) Sport management: team management, risk management, and working within the context of an entire school program. (6) Training: certification in CPR, use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), and first aid that includes, but is not limited to, training in recognizing the signs and symptoms of, and responding to, concussions, heat illness, and, by July 1, 2024, cardiac arrest. Certification in CPR and use of an AED shall be consistent with national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines. Concussion, heat illness, and cardiac arrest training may be provided by entities offering free, online, or other types of training courses. For purposes of this section, “heat illness” includes heat cramps, heat syncope, heat exhaustion, and exertional heat stroke. (7) Knowledge of, and adherence to, statewide rules and regulations, as well as school regulations, including, but not necessarily limited to, eligibility, gender equity, and discrimination. (8) Sound planning and goal setting. (d) This section does not endorse a particular coaching education or training program.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.2. Section 35179.2.

(a) Subject to funds being appropriated for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, the California Interscholastic Federation is encouraged to establish a statewide panel that includes, at a minimum, the following members: school administrators, school board members, coaches of secondary school athletics, teachers, parents, athletic directors, representatives of higher education, pupils participating in athletics at the secondary school level, and a representative of the State Department of Education, as described in Section 35179.3. (b) The panel established pursuant to subdivision (a) is encouraged to develop an application process whereby public secondary schools may submit applications to the State Department of Education for grants to offset the costs of education and training of athletic coaches in an education and training program that emphasizes the components set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 35179.1. (c) The panel established pursuant to subdivision (a) is encouraged to evaluate applications submitted to the State Department of Education pursuant to subdivision (b) and to recommend applicants to the State Department of Education for the award of dollar-for-dollar matching grants, in an amount determined by the department.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.3. Section 35179.3.

If the California Interscholastic Federation establishes a statewide panel pursuant to Section 35179.2, the State Department of Education shall do all of the following: (a) Provide a department representative to assist the panel in developing an application and grant distribution process. (b) Review recommendations submitted by the panel for the award of dollar-for-dollar matching grants to public secondary school applicants. (c) Determine which public secondary school applicants will receive dollar-for-dollar matching grants. (d) Determine the amount of the grants.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.4. Section 35179.4.

If a school district or charter school elects to offer any interscholastic athletic program, the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school shall ensure that there is a written emergency action plan in place that describes the location of emergency medical equipment and procedures to be followed in the event of sudden cardiac arrest and other medical emergencies, including concussion and heat illness, related to the athletic program’s activities or events. By July 1, 2024, the emergency action plan shall include a description of the manner and frequency at which the procedures to be followed in the event of sudden cardiac arrest and other medical emergencies, including concussion and heat illness, which shall be based on the training described in paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 35179.1, will be rehearsed. The written emergency action plan shall be posted in compliance with the most recent pertinent guidelines of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.5. Section 35179.5.

(a) (1) If a school district, charter school, or private school elects to offer an athletic program, it shall comply with all of the following: (A) A high school or middle school football team shall not conduct more than two full-contact practices per week during the preseason and regular season. (B) The full-contact portion of a practice shall not exceed 90 minutes in any single day. (C) A high school or middle school football team shall not hold a full-contact practice during the off-season. (2) For purposes of this section, a team camp session shall be deemed to be a practice. (b) The California Interscholastic Federation is urged to develop and adopt rules to implement this section. (c) As used in this section: (1) “Full-contact practice” means a practice where drills or live action is conducted that involves collisions at game speed, where players execute tackles and other activity that is typical of an actual tackle football game. (2) “Off-season” means a period extending from the end of the regular season until 30 days before the commencement of the next regular season. (3) “Preseason” means a period of 30 days before the commencement of the regular season. (4) “Regular season” means the period from the first interscholastic football game or scrimmage until the completion of the final interscholastic football game of that season. (d) This section shall not prohibit the California Interscholastic Federation, an interscholastic athletic league, a school, a school district, or any other appropriate entity from adopting and enforcing rules intended to provide a higher standard of safety for athletes than the standard established under this section.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.6. Section 35179.6.

(a) For purposes of this section, “AED” means an automated external defibrillator. (b) (1) Commencing July 1, 2019, if a school district or charter school elects to offer any interscholastic athletic program, the school district or the charter school shall acquire at least one AED for each school that participates in the program within the jurisdiction of the school district or the charter school. The school district or the charter school is encouraged to ensure that the AED or AEDs are available for the purpose of rendering emergency care or treatment within a recommended three to five minutes of sudden cardiac arrest to pupils, spectators, and any other individuals in attendance at the athletic program’s on-campus activities or events, and shall ensure that the AED or AEDs are available to athletic trainers and coaches and authorized persons at these activities or events. (2) If a school district or charter school elects to sponsor or host, in or around a swimming pool, an on-campus event that is not part of an interscholastic athletic program, the school district or charter school shall require at least one adult with a valid certification of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training to be present throughout the duration of the event. The presence of an adult with cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, as mandated by the California Interscholastic Federation coaching education program requirements, would satisfy this paragraph. (c) Subdivision (b) of Section 49417 applies for purposes of determining if an employee of a school district is liable for any civil damages resulting from the employee’s use, attempted use, or nonuse of an AED in the rendering of emergency care or treatment pursuant to this section. (d) Subdivision (c) of Section 49417 applies for purposes of determining if a public school or school district is liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the rendering of emergency care or treatment pursuant to this section. (e) Except as provided in subdivision (g), if an employee of a charter school complies with Section 1714.21 of the Civil Code in rendering emergency care or treatment through the use, attempted use, or nonuse of an AED at the scene of an emergency, the employee is not liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the rendering of the emergency care or treatment. (f) Except as provided in subdivision (g), if a charter school complies with the requirements of Section 1797.196 of the Health and Safety Code, the charter school is covered by Section 1714.21 of the Civil Code, and is not liable for any civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the rendering of the emergency care or treatment. (g) Subdivisions (e) and (f) do not apply in the case of personal injury or wrongful death that results from gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct on the part of the person who uses, attempts to use, or fails to use an AED to render emergency care or treatment. (h) In order to ensure public safety, each school district or charter school that elects to offer any interscholastic athletic program shall ensure that its AED or AEDs are maintained and regularly tested according to the operation and maintenance guidelines set forth by the manufacturer, the American Heart Association, or the American Red Cross, and according to any applicable rules and regulations set forth by the governmental authority under the federal Food and Drug Administration and any other applicable state and federal authority. (i) This section does not alter the requirements of Section 1797.196 of the Health and Safety Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.7. Section 35179.7.

The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations establishing standards of ethical conduct applicable to each temporary, probationary, or permanent employee of a school district providing supervision and instruction in interscholastic athletic programs and activities. These standards shall include, at a minimum, rules and regulations prohibiting these employees from exerting undue influence in a pupil’s decision to enroll in an athletic program at any public or private postsecondary educational institution, or from otherwise influencing a pupil’s decision to enroll in an athletic program for his or her personal gain.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 35179.8. Section 35179.8.

(a) In order to better protect student athletes participating in athletics, no later than July 1, 2024, the California Interscholastic Federation, in consultation with the department, shall develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards for the prevention and management of exertional heat illness. (b) Guidelines developed pursuant to this section shall identify the environmental conditions at which a school shall limit and prohibit practice and play. These guidelines shall include information regarding the accurate measurement of environmental heat stress at the site of the athletic activity, including the use of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to determine ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation from the sun, including sun angle and cloud cover. (c) Guidelines developed pursuant to this section shall identify the environmental conditions at which a school shall have a method to institute whole-body cooling to treat a student athlete with exertional heat illness, especially heat stroke, that is easily accessible at all practice and contest venues.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026