Pastor Jack Hibbs calls for parents to homeschool after initially warning families they’d ‘need to pack up and get out’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that critics have warned could lead to parental rights abuses and enable child trafficking.
On Sunday, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 495 (AB 495), the Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025, which supporters say will expand child welfare protections by legally recognizing caregivers and providing children with access to family services without unwanted disruptions.
AB 495 broadens the definition of a “caregiver” to include “nonrelative extended family members,” defined as “any adult caregiver who has an established familial or mentoring relationship with the child, or who has an established familial relationship with a relative of the child.” In turn, any “caregiver” would be allowed to take custody of a child by merely handing over a signed “affidavit” to school or childcare staff.
According to a statement from Newsom’s office, licensed childcare facilities and state preschools will not collect immigration-related information from students and families under AB 495 in order to “protect parents’ legal rights and supports security for children in case they are separated from their parents due to immigration enforcement.”
The bill, says Newsom, still requires that changes in a parent’s legal custody or guardianship require a court decision, and does not make any changes to who can be identified as a child’s caregiver or guardian “without a court order.”
Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, who authored AB 495, celebrated the signing, calling it a “crucial step toward protecting children and families at a time when they are facing the terror of separation” under the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
“Together, we are sending a message to immigrant and mixed-status families that in California, you are seen, and we will do all in our power to protect you from the trauma of family separation,” Rodriguez added.
Back in August, however, Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills warned his congregation specifically about AB 495 and held a “Stop AB 495 Rally” on Aug. 19 at the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento to draw attention to the issue.
The pastor and founder of Real Impact said should the bill become law, he would tell his church and Christians statewide to flee California. “If this bill passes, I am going to ask you to leave the state of California,” Hibbs said at the time. “You’re gonna need to pack up and get out; you gotta get out. You gotta run with your kids. You gotta go.”
But within hours of Newsom signing AB 495, Hibbs adopted a somewhat softer stance.
“The Bible tells us that God raises up kings and he takes kings down. Gavin Newsom has authority because God put him in that place. For what reason?” Hibbs said in an Oct. 12 video. “It’s a scary thought to think, but he is in the power that he is, the place that he is, and he’s responsible for his actions, not to us, but to God. In the end, God will judge him as He will judge all of us.”
Urging his followers not to “give up on doing the right thing,” Hibbs, 67, encouraged parents to homeschool and “get your kids out of public school in such massive amounts that you can send a message.”
“Sell your boat, sell your airplane. You don’t have to have two Porsches,” he said. “You can survive with one and get your kid into private school or homeschool them. We are Californians. We have more than enough, and we can live. We can downsize.”
