A California pastor is urging families to consider leaving the state if a bill passes that would broaden who can claim “caregiver” rights over a child.
“Legal experts have concluded that this very well might be the worst, most dangerous legislation that has ever come out of California,” Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills told Fox News Digital. “If this bill passes, you have to grab your kid and leave the state for your child’s protection.”
Hibbs is organizing a rally on Tuesday at 1 p.m. PT at the Capitol in Sacramento, calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to veto AB 495, known as the Family Preparedness Plan Act. The legislation aims to protect immigrant children at risk of family separation through immigration enforcement.
Under the bill, a caregiver who is a relative or has “an established familial or mentoring relationship with the child” could sign a caregiver’s authorization affidavit. This would grant them the legal right to enroll a minor in school and consent to school-related medical care, according to the bill’s text.
Hibbs and parental rights groups argue the bill is overly broad and could diminish parents’ authority to make school-related medical decisions for their children.
The legislation does not require schools to conduct additional inquiries or investigations. It does not mandate parental consent, photo I.D. verification, or background checks for those completing the affidavit. While the form asks for a driver’s license number, caregivers may instead provide a Social Security or Medi-Cal number, Hibbs noted.
Legal experts consulted by Hibbs have described the bill as a “human trafficker, pedophile, and kidnapper’s dream come true.”
He warned that if AB 495 becomes law, similar measures could emerge in other liberal states across the country.
Hibbs also argued that California’s Education Code 234.7 already protects immigrant students in schools in cases involving immigration enforcement.
He hopes to draw attention to the bill and hold Newsom accountable if he signs it. “This is where Newsom must be stopped,” Hibbs said, referencing the governor’s rumored 2028 presidential ambitions.
“Let’s make him own this bill. Let’s tie it around his neck and let it be a letter that he wears that he has no regard for parental rights and no regard for federal law,” Hibbs added.
Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez, a sponsor of AB 495, clarified in a “FAQ” document that the bill “does not create any form of legal or physical custody under California law.”
