New California Laws Expanding LGBTQ+ Rights Go Into Effect
On July 1, 2026, a slate of new California laws took effect, expanding campus safety, mental health support, and privacy protections for the state’s LGBTQ+ community.
In public education, Senate Bill 760 now mandates that every K–12 school maintain at least one accessible, gender-neutral restroom open during school hours, complete with standardized signage and a designated staff point of contact. To address elevated crisis risks among young people, Assembly Bill 727 requires middle schools, high schools, and colleges to print 24/7 contact information for The Trevor Project directly on all newly issued student IDs alongside the national 988 lifeline.
For adults, updated judicial procedures now streamline and safeguard the process of changing legal names and gender markers. Court petitions filed to align personal documents with gender identity are automatically sealed to protect privacy, eliminating previous requirements for public newspaper notices and establishing a six-week window for courts to process updates to driver’s licenses and state records.
