AB 1784 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Postsecondary education: nondiscrimination: pregnancy or pregnancy-related issues.

Summary

(1) The Equity in Higher Education Act states the policy of the state to afford all persons, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in postsecondary educational institutions of the state. For purposes of the act, existing law defines "gender" as sex, including a person's gender identity and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth. This bill would explicitly add ancestry, national origin, medical condition, marital status, familial status, citizenship, and primary language to the list of specified characteristics for purposes of that policy. The bill would also expand the definition of "gender" for purposes of the act to include pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions. (2) The Equity in Higher Education Act prohibits a postsecondary educational institution from requiring a graduate student to take a leave of absence, withdraw from the graduate program, or limit their graduate studies solely due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related issues. The act requires a postsecondary educational institution to reasonably accommodate pregnant graduate students, as specified, so that they may complete their graduate courses of study and research, including by allowing graduate students to take a leave of absence, as specified. This bill would, commencing September 1, 2027, prohibit a postsecondary educational institution from discriminating against a student or applicant based on the actual or potential familial status or marital status of the student or applicant, or based on the student's or applicant's pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, including by prohibiting the institution from requiring a student to take a leave of absence or withdraw from an educational or extracurricular program or activity, and prohibiting the institution from limiting the student's undergraduate or graduate program. The bill would require a postsecondary educational institution to provide reasonable accommodations to an institutional program for a student, including an undergraduate student, experiencing pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition to ensure the student's equal access to the institution's educational programs and activities, as provided. This bill would, commencing September 1, 2027, require a postsecondary educational institution to designate at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under these provisions, as specified, and require certain employees, upon being directly informed by a student of the student's pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition, to inform the student of their right to receive reasonable accommodations to maintain access to the educational program and provide the student with the contact information for the designated employee or employees. (3) The Equity in Higher Education Act allows a graduate student who is pregnant or has recently given birth to take a leave of absence for a period consistent with the policies of the postsecondary educational institution, or a period of 12 months, whichever is longer, and have an extension of at least 12 months toward normative time to degree while in candidacy for a graduate degree, unless a longer extension is medically necessary, as specified. The act also allows a graduate student who is not the birth parent to take a leave of absence for a period consistent with the policies of the postsecondary educational institution, or a period of one month, whichever is longer, and have an extension of at least one month toward normative time to degree while in candidacy for a graduate degree, unless a longer extension is medically necessary to care for the student's partner or child, as specified. This bill would, commencing September 1, 2027, also allow any undergraduate student who is pregnant or has recently given birth or who is not the birth parent to take the above-described leave of absence and have an extension toward normative time to degree or certificate, as specified. (4) The Equity in Higher Education Act requires a postsecondary educational institution to have a written policy for graduate students on pregnancy discrimination and procedures for addressing pregnancy discrimination complaints, as specified. Existing law requires a copy of the policy to be made available to all graduate students attending orientation sessions at a postsecondary educational institution. Existing law requires a public postsecondary institution to post on the institution's internet website, and to provide through on-campus medical centers, notice of protections provided under Title IX, as specified. This bill would, commencing September 1, 2027, require a postsecondary educational institution to revise that policy to include undergraduate students, and require a copy of the revised policy to be made available to all students attending orientation sessions. The bill would also require a postsecondary educational institution to post on the institution's internet website, and provide through on-campus medical centers, notice of the protections provided by these provisions. This bill would require the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2027, to adopt regulations for a systemwide policy that include the requirements of these provisions and best practices for implementing those requirements. The bill would require the governing board of each community college district, on or before September 1, 2027, to adopt those regulations, as provided. (5) By imposing additional duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action Aug 27, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

08/24/26 - Enrolled → AB1784 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between these two versions. The diff reflects a conversion from the formal enrolled document format (with chapter headings, clerk signatures, and governor approval line) to a web page rendering of the same bill text on the California legislature website. All statutory sections (1 through 9) contain identical language in both versions.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was reformatted from the official enrolled document layout (with chapter number, Chief Clerk and Secretary signatures, Governor approval block) into a web page display with navigation menus, search boxes, version history links, and status indicators. No changes to the actual statutory language were made.

06/18/26 - Amended Senate → 07/02/26 - Amended Senate · 6 edits · Jul 2, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate restructured AB 1784 to create a two-tier implementation system: a temporary graduate-student-only protection section (66281.7) that takes effect immediately and sunsets on January 1, 2028, and a permanent comprehensive section (66281.75) covering all students that becomes operative on September 1, 2027. Definitions previously embedded as subdivisions of one code section are now split into separate sections, and community college regulation requirements are moved to their own section (66281.76). Senator Gonzalez is added as a coauthor.

Scope change

The bill now implements protections in two phases: graduate students receive targeted protections immediately under a temporary section that expires in early 2028, while all postsecondary students (undergraduate and graduate) receive comprehensive protections beginning September 1, 2027 under a permanent section. This phased approach narrows the initial scope to graduate students only before expanding to the full student population.

SCOPE

Section 66281.7 is restructured as a temporary graduate-student-only provision that becomes inoperative on September 1, 2027 and is repealed on January 1, 2028. It provides immediate protections for pregnant graduate students including reasonable accommodations, leave of absence (12 months for birth parents, 1 month for non-birth parents), and return-to-good-standing guarantees.

Section 66281.75 is added as the permanent comprehensive provision covering all postsecondary students (undergraduate and graduate). It becomes operative on September 1, 2027 and includes the full set of protections: anti-discrimination based on familial status, marital status, and pregnancy; detailed reasonable accommodation requirements; leave of absence provisions; coordinator designation; employee reporting duties; written policy requirements; and notice obligations.

Senator Gonzalez is added as a coauthor of the bill.

TECHNICAL

Section 66281.76 is added as a standalone section for community college regulations, requiring the Board of Governors to adopt systemwide regulations by July 1, 2027 and governing boards to adopt them by September 1, 2027.

Typographical errors corrected: duplicate 'would' removed in multiple digest paragraphs, and 'the this bill' corrected to 'this bill' in the state-mandated local program language.

DEFINITION

Definitions are reorganized from subdivisions within Section 66260.7 into separate code sections: 66260.7 (Gender), 66260.8 (Gender expression), 66261.6 (Pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions), and 66262.3 (Sex).

04/09/26 - Amended Assembly → 06/18/26 - Amended Senate · 6 edits · Jun 18, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment restructures AB 1784 by splitting the single comprehensive anti-discrimination section (66281.7) into a temporary graduate-student-only provision that sunsets on January 1, 2028, and a new permanent all-student section (66281.75) that takes effect September 1, 2027. It also narrows the familial/marital status discrimination prohibition by removing references to 'current' and 'past' status, expands notice-posting requirements from public institutions only to all postsecondary institutions, and reorganizes definitions into separate code sections.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifts from a single comprehensive provision applying immediately to all students, to a two-track system: a temporary graduate-only rule that expires in early 2028, and a new all-student rule that does not take effect until September 1, 2027. Additionally, the familial/marital status protection is narrowed by removing 'current' and 'past' qualifiers, and notice obligations are broadened to cover private institutions.

SCOPE

The broad anti-discrimination provision is split: the old Section 66281.7 now covers only graduate students and becomes inoperative on September 1, 2027 (repealed January 1, 2028). A new Section 66281.75 covers all students (undergraduate and graduate) commencing September 1, 2027, creating a phased transition.

The policy statement in the temporary graduate-only section (new 66281.7) is narrowed to reference only 'sex' and Title IX, while the new all-student section (66281.75) retains the broader 'sex, familial status, or marital status' language.

ELIGIBILITY

The prohibition on discrimination based on familial or marital status is narrowed from 'current, potential, or past actual or potential' to simply 'actual or potential,' removing protection for students based on their current or past family/marital circumstances.

TIMELINE

A September 1, 2027 commencement date is added for the new all-student protections in Section 66281.75, and the old graduate-only section is set to become inoperative on that same date and be repealed January 1, 2028.

REQUIREMENT

Website posting and medical center notice requirements are expanded from applying only to 'public postsecondary educational institutions' to all postsecondary educational institutions (including private ones that receive state financial assistance or student aid).

DEFINITION

Definitions previously embedded within Section 66260.7 are reorganized into separate standalone code sections: Section 66260.8 for 'gender expression,' Section 66261.6 for 'pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions,' and Section 66262.3 for 'sex.'

02/09/26 - Introduced → 04/09/26 - Amended Assembly · 9 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MAJOR

The amended version of AB 1784 significantly broadens pregnancy discrimination protections in California postsecondary education by extending them from graduate students to all students, adding explicit coverage of termination of pregnancy and lactation, expanding anti-discrimination grounds to include familial status and marital status, and requiring the California Community Colleges Board of Governors to adopt systemwide regulations by mid-2027. The amendment also adds a carve-out protecting essential academic requirements and licensing-related requirements from being classified as discrimination.

SCOPE

Protections expanded from graduate students only to all students (undergraduate and graduate). Leave of absence, reasonable accommodation, and written policy provisions now apply to any student, not just graduate students.

The discrimination prohibition in Section 66281.7(b) now explicitly covers 'actual or potential familial status or marital status of the student or applicant' in addition to pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions.

Leave of absence provisions now reference 'normative time to degree or certificate' instead of just 'normative time to degree,' extending protections to certificate-seeking students.

DEFINITION

New definition of 'Pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions' added in Section 66260.7(c), explicitly including termination of pregnancy and lactation, medical conditions related to those events, and recovery from them.

REQUIREMENT

New provision (Section 66281.7(d)(5)) states that an academic requirement essential to academic integrity or a directly related licensing requirement shall be completed by the student and is not regarded as discrimination under the section.

Removed the word 'solely' from the prohibition on requiring leave of absence or withdrawal based on pregnancy, broadening the protection so that any action taken at least in part due to pregnancy is covered.

Added explicit statement that a postsecondary educational institution shall not require a student to accept a reasonable accommodation.

TIMELINE

The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges must adopt regulations for a systemwide policy by July 1, 2027, and each community college district governing board must adopt those regulations by September 1, 2027.

TECHNICAL

New provision allowing institutions to seek guidance from the Pregnant Scholar at the Center for WorkLife Law, UC College of the Law, San Francisco.

Floor votes · Senate Aug 19, 2026 · Assembly May 21, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

Aug 19, 2026

D Democratic30

28 Yea 2

93% Yea

R Republican10

10 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0.).

lower

Aug 19, 2026

Introduced

In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

lower

Aug 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 37. Noes 0.).

upper

Aug 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

upper

Aug 13, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).

upper

Aug 3, 2026

Committee

In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

upper

Jul 2, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jul 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jun 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

upper

Jun 17, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 17).

upper

Jun 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on ED. and JUD.

upper

May 21, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 74. Noes 0. Page 5197.)

lower

May 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).

lower

May 6, 2026

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 13, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 7).

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on HIGHER ED. and JUD.

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors