A Win for Family Privacy: AB 2651 Fails to Advance
AB 2651 Held on Suspense: Bill Fails to Advance
California Assembly Bill 2651, known as the Informed Parents, Healthy Schools Act, has been stopped in the Senate Appropriations Committee and did not advance to the Senate Floor.
AB 2651 is a bill that was seeking to have schools inform all families in the district when vaccination rates would fall below a threshold determined by the state. Proponents feel this was a transparency issue, while opponents pointed out that such policies can cause chilling effects including discrimination. On August 13, 2026, the bill’s official legislative history was updated with the following action:
“In committee: Held under submission.”
While this terminology may be unfamiliar to the public, its practical meaning is significant. AB 2651 did not make it out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is effectively dead for the 2025–2026 legislative session.
What “Held Under Submission” Means
“Held under submission” is a formal legislative status indicating that a committee has retained a bill rather than releasing it for further consideration.
When a bill is held under submission:
The bill remains in the committee that held it.
It does not advance to the Senate Floor or the next stage of the legislative process.
The final action generally does not include a recorded roll call vote on whether to pass the bill.
It cannot move forward unless the committee takes additional action.
This differs from “held in committee” which generally means a bill failed to receive enough affirmative votes to pass.
In the Senate Appropriations Committee, “held under submission” is one of the two principal outcomes for bills considered on the Suspense File. The committee explains that bills either advance to the Senate Floor or are held in committee and under submission.
In practical terms, it is how many bills are stopped without receiving a floor vote.
What AB 2651 Would Have Done
AB 2651 was authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta.
The bill would have required the California Department of Public Health to establish and update immunization rate thresholds for diseases covered by California’s school immunization laws.
When the immunization rate at a school, childcare center, or other covered institution fell below a threshold established by the Department, the Department would have notified the institution. The school or institution would then have been required to distribute the state prepared notification to parents and guardians within 10 business days.
The notification would have included:
The immunization rate established by the Department
The immunization rate at the school or institution
Information about the risks of disease transmission
Locations where families could obtain immunizations
Links and QR codes directing families to state vaccination resources
The final version excluded children with permanent or temporary medical exemptions, conditionally admitted children, and certain independent study students from the immunization rate calculations.
Read the official text of AB 2651.
How AB 2651 Reached the Suspense File
AB 2651 passed the Assembly by a vote of 59 to 13 and subsequently advanced through the Senate Health and Senate Education Committees.
The bill’s path through the Legislature was:
Assembly → Senate Health → Senate Education → Senate Appropriations → Suspense File → Held Under Submission
On August 3, 2026, the Senate Appropriations Committee placed AB 2651 on its Suspense File.
The Suspense File is used to evaluate bills with significant potential costs to the state. At the committee’s August 13 Suspense Hearing, AB 2651 was held under submission rather than released to the Senate Floor.
Is AB 2651 Dead?
AB 2651 is effectively dead for the current legislative session.
Technically, a bill held under submission remains in committee and could be reconsidered if the committee takes further action. In this case, however, AB 2651 was held during the closing weeks of the final year of the 2025–2026 legislative session.
The bill:
Did not advance out of Senate Appropriations
Did not reach the Senate Floor
Will not receive an ordinary Senate floor vote
Cannot carry over into another legislative year
Only extraordinary procedural action before the end of the session could revive it. Once the session ends, this version of AB 2651 is dead. Any similar proposal would have to be introduced as a new bill in a future legislative session. Thank you to all the parents and organizations that put their time and energy to stop this piece of legislation.
View the official status and history of AB 2651.
California Needs a Comprehensive Public Examination
Stopping AB 2651 does not resolve the larger questions surrounding California’s school immunization and medical exemption policies.
For years, families, physicians, educators, and advocates have raised concerns involving physician discretion, access to medical exemptions, student exclusion, medical privacy, transparency, and the educational consequences experienced by children with complex medical circumstances.
Before pursuing more piecemeal changes to this policy area, California lawmakers should examine how the existing system is working and whether it is producing unintended consequences.
Informed Policy Advocates continues to call for a Senate informational hearing where lawmakers can review the evidence, hear from all affected stakeholders, and evaluate California’s existing vaccine mandate and medical exemption framework in a transparent public forum.
AB 2651 has been stopped. The need for transparency, accountability, and a comprehensive public hearing remains.