City of Anderson police, SWAT and investigators work the scene outside Renaissance Academy 805 East Whitner Street Anderson, S.C. Thursday, April 17, 2025. The shooting took place in a school owned park across the street from the school building.
Sacramento, California – A new proposal from Inland Empire state Sen. Susan Rubio (D–West Covina) aims to make it easier to prosecute threats directed at schools and places of worship — but it’s already ignited a fierce debate in Sacramento, dividing law enforcement and education groups from civil rights and youth advocates.
The bill, which passed the Senate Public Safety Committee in March on a 6-0 vote, would revise existing law to emphasize the location of a threat — such as a school campus or church — rather than requiring a threat to be made against a specific individual. The goal, Rubio says, is to give authorities more tools to respond to threats that, while vague or anonymous, can still traumatize communities and waste emergency resources.
“California law shouldn’t allow someone to threaten a mass shooting at a school and walk away without consequences, simply because no individual person was named in the threat,” Rubio said.
Rubio, a former public school teacher, said she was motivated by the increasing number of hoax threats sent via phone or text, which can trigger lockdowns, traumatize students and staff, and divert police resources. “Even when the danger isn’t real, the fear is — and the trauma stays with kids long after the lockdown ends,” she said.
But opponents argue the bill overlaps too much with current law, which already makes certain threats a misdemeanor or felony if they are “unequivocal” and cause “sustained fear.” Critics worry this new version will open the door to criminalizing youth behavior, including jokes, mental health crises, or forms of artistic expression.
“It allows police intervention for what’s perceived as a threat, even if it’s just a joke, a mental breakdown, or expressing yourself through art,” said Kevin Maturano, a policy fellow with Fresh Lines for Youth. “And like every punitive policy, it will target Black and Brown students the most.”
Rubio said the bill protects minors by ensuring that anyone under 18 only faces misdemeanor charges, not felonies. Still, groups such as the ACLU, the Children’s Defense Fund California, and Disability Rights California have joined the opposition.
The bill now sits in the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file — where high-cost legislation is reviewed — with a decision expected next month. This is the eighth time since 2015 that a version of this measure has been introduced. None have made it into law.
