California’s AB 1005, a bipartisan measure aimed at reducing child drowning deaths and injuries, has passed through the legislative process and awaits the governor’s signature.
The measure requires the California Department of Education to compile and post drowning-prevention and water-safety resources online, and it authorizes schools to distribute age-appropriate, no-cost materials to families.
As first introduced, the bill went further, proposing to mandate a Swim Lesson Voucher program and Swim Lesson Directory Development Plan Partnership within the Department of Public Health. That partnership would have created a voucher program for low-income families, model agreements with swim lesson providers, and a statewide online directory of swim programs. This concept parallelled work currently being done by the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance in supporting free and accessible swim lesson opportunities.
In its final form, however, the swim lesson voucher program and swim lesson directory provisions were suspended from the bill, contingent on future funding. The partnership to develop the voucher program and directory has been established, but its implementation is contingent on a future appropriation in the annual state budget or another statute.
This move was a strategic compromise to ensure that the bill’s primary goal — enhancing schoolbased water safety education — could pass. While advocates saw the cuts as “unfortunate,” they still considered the bill a victory for advancing drowning prevention efforts.
As it stands, the bill’s core mandate is that the Department of Education gather and post water online safety resources and distribute drowning prevention materials in schools.
Furthermore, the bill declares that swim instruction is “an essential public health service,” a move that lends swim instruction greater status, visibility, and legitimacy. That designation signals drowning prevention as a state priority, which provides a stronger framework for future funding such as the voucher program; encourages collaboration between state agencies, schools, and private organizations; and provides a legal justification for keeping swim lesson facilities open if another public health crisis like Covid should arise.
The California Pool and Spa Association supported AB 1005 throughout the process, emphasizing that drowning remains the leading cause of death for children under 5 in California and that the bill takes a smart, cost-effective approach to prevention.
