New law inspired by ex-lawmaker’s DUI adds to alcohol education in California schools

by Ryan Sabalow, CalMatters January 2, 2025December 31, 2024

FILE: Johnny McMahan completes a transaction with a customer at Bargain Liquors in Long Beach, on June 15, 2021. Starting in 2025, California public schools will be required to instruct students about the short- and long-term harms of excessive drinking — including alcohol’s link to chronic diseases, mental health problems and deaths. (Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters)

CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOL students will get additional coursework on the harms of alcohol in 2025, thanks to a new law from a former lawmaker whose drunken driving arrest inspired her legislation.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2865 by former Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, whose DUI last year helped derail her political career.

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