California just rewrote custody with AB 495. It amends the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit so that any adult who claims a “mentoring or familial relationship” can pick up a child from school and make education and healthcare decisions without parental consent, without court order, without oversight. https://www.californiafamily.org/2025/08/truth-denied-ab-495-backers-say-parents-arent-excluded-but-the-bill-and-legal-experts-says-otherwise/
Attorney and mother Elizabeth Barcohana didn’t soften it: “Without parental notification, consent, background check, any guardrails, this adult… can basically take control over anyone’s child.” https://www.foxnews.com/media/parental-rights-concerns-erupt-over-california-bill-would-let-non-relatives-make-decisions-kids
The sponsors say it’s meant for immigration raids. But the language extends custody powers to “nonrelative extended family members,” a category that includes teachers, clergy, neighbors, even family friends. https://www.villagenews.com/story/2025/08/07/opinion/editorial-california-bill-ab-495-stirs-debate-over-parental-rights/79504.html
The California School Boards Association confirmed that anyone with the affidavit can remove a child from school. Snopes labeled critics “misinformation.” The text of the bill says otherwise. https://www.californiafamily.org/2025/08/truth-denied-ab-495-backers-say-parents-arent-excluded-but-the-bill-and-legal-experts-says-otherwise/
No background checks. No emergency-only limit. The affidavit repeats “no parent signature required” three times. That’s not an accident. That’s intent.
Parents don’t just lose veto power, they lose the right to know. And the state tells them it’s for “safety.”
Plastic straws banned in the name of children’s health. Strangers handed custody with no ID check. That’s California logic.
