California law changes how community colleges win approval for bachelor's degrees, if SB 960 also takes effect

Districts seeking to offer a bachelor's degree must send workforce-need evidence and records of talks with CSU and UC about working together, and CSU's Chancellor joins the review. Districts may instead get an advance determination from the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, which excuses them from the workforce-need and consultation items. Evidence must show the district consulted employers and regional workforce boards and the state Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Talks with CSU and UC must look at partnerships such as guaranteed transfer or shared facilities. These rules apply starting January 1, 2028.

A district may send no more than three bachelor's degree applications in one academic year. A district with a bachelor's program must not displace enrollment for students seeking associate degrees, transfer degrees, certificates, or noncredit classes, and must keep lower division classes open. These rules apply starting January 1, 2028. The two yearly application windows (January 15 and August 15) stay.

CSU and UC would have 45 working days to object that a proposed program duplicates one of theirs. For a CSU objection, the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development would decide within 90 days. If the Secretary finds an unmet need that CSU's similar program cannot meet, the program may go ahead with Board of Governors approval. A UC objection still goes to a written agreement process and not to the Secretary. If more than 45 applications arrive in one period, CSU and UC get 60 working days. If the Secretary finds no unmet need, the program cannot start and the district cannot reapply for a similar program for five years. The Chancellor has 30 working days after an objection to send the application to the Secretary. These rules apply starting January 1, 2028.

The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges must report each year to the Legislature on every approved bachelor's degree program. Each report covers enrollment, completion and job results by race, gender, income, and first-generation status, objections and agreements, and funding sources. Reports are due on or before March 1 each year, starting when these rules take effect on January 1, 2028.

If SB 960 is also enacted and this bill is enacted after it, a version of the law with extra limits would apply, including caps on how many bachelor's programs a district can offer based on its completion and transfer rates. Districts would be placed in one of five tiers. The caps range from two to ten programs for programs approved on or after January 1, 2028, with a maximum of 10 at any one time. The whole act takes effect only if SB 960 is enacted and effective on or before January 1, 2027. The text does not say whether SB 960 was enacted, so which version applies cannot be confirmed from it.