Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene State School Building Lease-Purchase Law of 1976, effectuates the declaration of the Legislature that it is in the interest of the state and its people to reconstruct, remodel, or replace existing school buildings that are educationally inadequate or that do not meet present-day structural safety requirements, and to acquire new schoolsites and buildings for the purpose of making them available to local school districts for the pupils of the public school system. Existing law authorizes the State Allocation Board, by adoption of rules, to establish priorities for the construction and leasing of projects to schools districts whose pupils will benefit most. This bill would authorize the board to include, as priorities for projects, an efficient response to extreme heat and climate change. If the board adopts priorities related to an efficient response to extreme heat and climate change, the bill would require those priorities to apply only to project applications received after January 1, 2027.
This measure would declare Monday, April 13, 2026, to Friday, April 24, 2026, inclusive, as High School Voter Education Weeks and would encourage local educational agencies to dedicate at least one of those 2 weeks to educating pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, on the electoral process, as provided. The measure would encourage local educational agencies to provide digital and physical resources necessary to provide this information and would encourage the governing boards or bodies of local educational agencies to contract with third-party nonprofit organizations, as provided, to accomplish this endeavor.
Existing law sets forth the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education, and details the ways in which their respective institutions are to be differentiated. Existing law specifies that the California State University (CSU) shall offer undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree in the liberal arts and sciences and professional education. Existing law authorizes the CSU to award undergraduate and graduate degrees jointly with international institutions of higher education. Existing law vests the University of California (UC) with the sole authority in public higher education to award doctoral degrees in all fields of learning, except that the CSU may award doctoral degrees jointly (1) with the UC in selected fields, (2) with independent institutions of higher education if the proposed doctoral program is approved by the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and (3) with international institutions of higher education if, among other things, the doctoral degrees are for professional or applied doctoral degrees that do not duplicate UC doctoral degrees, and the CSU complies with a specified review and approval process, as provided. This bill would authorize the CSU to award doctoral degrees jointly with one or more independent institutions of higher education without approval by the California Postsecondary Education Commission. The bill would also authorize the CSU to award undergraduate and graduate degrees jointly with one or more independent institutions of higher education. The bill would authorize the CSU to jointly award doctoral degrees with accredited international institutions of higher education without (1) limiting it to professional or applied doctoral degrees that do not duplicate UC doctoral degrees, and (2) complying with the specified review and approval process.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state under the administration of community college district governing boards. Existing law prohibits a person from being subjected to discrimination on the basis of specified attributes, including, among others, disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, or immigration status, in a program or activity conducted by a postsecondary educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state student financial aid, including, among others, community colleges. This bill would require the board of governors, within one year of appropriation, to enter into a contract with a managing entity, as defined, to administer on behalf of the California Community Colleges external resolution services for civil rights compliance, including, among other services, developing and recommending a nondiscrimination policy, assisting the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges in developing an annual campus discrimination prevention training program for students and employees, and addressing grievances and complaints alleging discrimination, as specified. The bill would also require the board of governors to approve the nondiscrimination policy recommended by the managing entity and require the governing boards of community college districts to adopt the policy, as provided. The bill would further require community college districts, within one year of appropriation, to designate a staff person as a civil rights coordinator tasked with specified duties, including, among others, responding to complaints alleging discrimination and maintaining a record system of files on those complaints, as specified. By imposing new 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. This bill, for the 2026–27 fiscal year, would appropriate $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the California Community Colleges to fund external resolution services for civil rights compliance provided by the managing entity, as provided.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the California State University to require each campus in its system to grant students the right to reenroll in their baccalaureate degree program after withdrawing or stopping out, if the student was in good academic standing with the university. This bill would establish the California State University Enrollment, Access, and Retention of Noncontinuous Students Program to increase the reenrollment rates of California State University students who have withdrawn from a campus before the conferral of a baccalaureate degree. The bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University to adopt a policy prioritizing enrollment funding for California State University campuses that meet enrollment figures and engage in outreach to reenroll former California State University students. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, the trustees to adopt a policy related to evaluating transcripts of noncontinuous students who wish to reenroll in the California State University, as specified. The bill would require each campus to designate, on or before July 1, 2027, a noncontinuous student advisor, and, commencing July 1, 2027, provide priority registration to noncontinuous students returning to complete a degree. The bill would require, on or before September 1, 2028, the trustees to maintain an internet-accessible data dashboard that includes, among other things, the number of noncontinuous students who have reenrolled at a campus.
Existing law establishes various food assistance programs, including the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law declares that it is the established policy of the state that every human being has the right to access sufficient affordable and healthy food. Existing law requires all relevant state agencies, as specified, to consider this state policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, and grant criteria when those policies, regulations, and grant criteria are pertinent to the distribution of sufficient affordable food. This bill would revise that declaration to provide that every human being has the right to access sufficient affordable and healthy food that is locally grown and raised. The bill would require the specified state agencies to, within existing resources, identify opportunities and strategies to improve farm-to-fork infrastructure, including, but not limited to, in public programs, particularly school meals and other nutrition initiatives. The bill would require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and encourage the Regents of the University of California, to consider that state policy in their policies, guidelines, and procurement practices related to campus food services and student nutrition.
This bill designates April 14 of every year as Sylvia Mendez Day to honor the civil rights activist who challenged school segregation in California. The measure is a commemorative resolution that does not change laws, allocate funding, or alter government operations. By establishing this annual observance, the state recognizes Mendez's historical contributions to education and civil rights.
This House Resolution encourages California high schools to participate in High School Voter Education Weeks, a designated period from September 14 to 25, 2026. The measure asks school administrators to promote voter preregistration and registration for eligible students, designate coordinators to lead civic engagement activities, and participate in the statewide Student Mock Election. It also reminds schools that students in grades 6 through 12 may take an excused absence to attend civic events with prior notice. The resolution does not change existing laws but serves as a formal recommendation to boost youth participation in the upcoming 2026 general election.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state and authorizes them to provide instruction at the campuses they operate. Existing law authorizes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, in consultation with the California State University and the University of California, to authorize the establishment of community college district baccalaureate degree programs, as provided. This bill would authorize the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to authorize the Coast Community College District to offer a workforce-aligned cybersecurity baccalaureate degree program at Coastline College, as provided. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to, on or before July 1, 2030, conduct and present to the Legislature and the Governor an interim evaluation of the baccalaureate degree program that is offered pursuant to that authorization and, on or before July 1, 2034, a final evaluation of that degree program, as provided. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2035. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Coast Community College District.
This measure would proclaim March 2026 as Arts Education Month and urge all residents to become interested in and give full support to quality arts education programs for children and youth.
