SB902 - Early childhood education and childcare: electronic signatures.

Enrolled August 19, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 18, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 13, 2026 Amended IN Assembly June 03, 2026 Amended IN Senate March 03, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 902 Introduced by Senator Grayson (Coauthors: Senators Ochoa Bogh and Smallwood-Cuevas) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Davies, Elhawary, Hadwick, Macedo, and Quirk-Silva) January 21, 2026 An act to amend Section 8234 of the Education Code, and to amend Section 10269 of, and to add Section 10209.7 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to early childhood education and childcare. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 902, Grayson. Early childhood education and childcare: electronic signatures. Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age, which includes various programs and services, including, among others, general childcare and development programs and migrant childcare and development programs. Existing law, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), provides that a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. This bill would specify that a signature required by the Child Care and Development Services Act may be satisfied by use of an electronic signature in compliance with the UETA. The bill would authorize documents with an electronic signature to be created and stored in an electronic format in compliance with the UETA, and would authorize the department to adopt regulations to implement these provisions. Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program. The Early Education Act and the Child Care and Development Services Act authorize contractors operating or providing services under the acts to use digital signatures that comply with state and federal standards, including specified state regulations. This bill would instead condition the authority of contractors operating under the Early Education Act and the Child Care and Development Services Act to use an electronic signature on compliance with the UETA. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 8234 of the Education Code is amended to read: 8234. Contractors operating or providing services pursuant to this chapter may do both of the following: (a) (1) Maintain records electronically, in compliance with state and federal standards, as determined by the department. A conversion from a paper record to an electronic format, as well as the storage of the electronic record, shall comply with the minimum standards described in Section 12168.7 of the Government Code and the standards for trustworthy electronic document or record preservation described in Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 22620.1) of Division 7 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations. (2) Pursuant to Section 33421, the records shall be retained by each contractor for at least five years, or, where an audit has been requested by a state agency, until the date the audit is resolved, whichever is longer. (3) This subdivision does not require a contractor to create records electronically. (b) (1) Use an electronic signature that complies with state and federal standards, as determined by the department, that may be a marking that is either computer generated or produced by electronic means and is intended by the signatory to have the same effect as a handwritten signature. (2) The use of an electronic signature shall have the same force and effect as the use of a manual signature if the requirements for the electronic signatures and their acceptable technology, as provided in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code), are satisfied. SEC. 2. Section 10209.7 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read: 10209.7. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a signature required by this part may be satisfied by use of an electronic signature, as defined by Section 1633.2 of the Civil Code, if the signature meets the requirements of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) (UETA). (b) Notwithstanding any other law, documents required by this part that contain an electronic signature may be created and stored in an electronic format in compliance with the UETA. (c) The department may adopt regulations to implement this section, including standards for authentication, consent, and record retention. SEC. 3. Section 10269 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read: 10269. Contractors operating or providing services pursuant to this chapter may do both of the following: (a) (1) Maintain records electronically, in compliance with state and federal standards, as determined by the department. A conversion from a paper record to an electronic format, as well as the storage of the electronic record, shall comply with the minimum standards described in Section 12168.7 of the Government Code and the standards for trustworthy electronic document or record preservation described in Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 22620.1) of Division 7 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations. (2) The records shall be retained by each contractor for at least five years, or, where an audit has been requested by a state agency, until the date the audit is resolved, whichever is longer. (3) This subdivision does not require a contractor to create records electronically. (b) (1) Use an electronic signature that complies with state and federal standards, as determined by the department, that may be a marking that is either computer generated or produced by electronic means and is intended by the signatory to have the same effect as a handwritten signature. (2) The use of an electronic signature shall have the same force and effect as the use of a manual signature if the requirements for the electronic signatures and their acceptable technology, as provided in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code), are satisfied.