CA AB2096

Expands educational institutions covered by restraining order provisions from private postsecondary institutions to include public institutions, effective January 1, 2026.

Broadens grounds for restraining orders to include "unlawful violence" (assault, battery, or stalking) in addition to credible threats of violence, and removes requirements that conduct occur off-campus or be construed as carried out at the campus.

Allows chief administrative officers of postsecondary educational institutions to seek temporary restraining orders and orders after hearing on behalf of students with written consent, potentially covering multiple similarly situated students.

Persons subject to protective orders issued under this section are prohibited from owning, possessing, or purchasing firearms or ammunition, with courts ordered to require relinquishment of any firearms under Section 527.9.

Violations of restraining orders are punishable under Penal Code Section 273.6, and persons violating firearm prohibitions are punishable under Penal Code Section 29825; orders are transmitted to law enforcement and entered into the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS).