Ed Source
Michael Burke
September 18, 2026
AB 2694 and SB 960, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, creates a new system capping community college bachelor’s degrees.
Top Takeaways
- Two bills originally intended to make it easier for California community colleges to create bachelor’s degrees now face backlash after several late amendments.
- The legislation, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will place every community college district into one of five tiers determining how many bachelor’s degrees they are allowed to offer.
- Community college officials say the changes would pit campuses against one another and make it more difficult for many colleges to create new programs.
A legislative attempt to settle a long-simmering turf war between California’s community colleges and the California State University has instead ignited a new dispute.
For much of this year’s legislative session, it seemed lawmakers were on course to send legislation to Gov. Gavin Newsom making it easier for community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, satisfying community college leaders who say existing law is too restrictive.