AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2026
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
97
Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta, Alanis, Pellerin, and Schiavo)
February 20, 2026
An act to add Article 4.95 (commencing with Section 66048) to Chapter 2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: no
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of California’s public segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. The California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California are the 3 public segments of postsecondary education in the state. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by appropriate resolution, to make them applicable.
This bill would establish the Cal-Bridge Program as a fully intersegmental partnership program between the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California to create a pathway that promotes the advancement of California’s diverse undergraduate public postsecondary student population who major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to pursue STEM doctors of philosophy (PhDs) and become members of California’s professorate or leaders in California’s technology industry. The bill would specify the goals of the Cal-Bridge Program, including, among others, preparing students to apply to PhD programs in STEM disciplines, as specified. The bill would include 5 Cal-Bridge subprograms to provide resources, research opportunities, and financial support to qualifying public postsecondary undergraduate, PhD, and postdoctoral STEM scholars. The bill would also establish the ENLACE Program as an operationally independent program that works in collaboration with the Cal-Bridge Program to create pathways that prepare California’s high school and college students for all levels of postsecondary STEM education and the state’s STEM workforce, as specified. The bill would require the ENLACE Program to consist of the ENLACE High School and Undergraduate Program to provide support to qualifying students in high school and undergraduate studies across all STEM disciplines at public postsecondary educational institutions, as specified. The bill would authorize funding appropriated for purposes of the Cal-Bridge Program or the ENLACE Program to be used for specified activities. The bill would require the Cal-Bridge Program to submit an annual programmatic progress report to the office of the President of the University of California that includes data on implementation of the Cal-Bridge Program’s activities and the allocation of funding for those activities, as specified. The bill would apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make it applicable.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 4.95 (commencing with Section 66048) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 4.95. The Cal-Bridge Program and the ENLACE Program
This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Cal-Bridge Program and the ENLACE Program.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Cal-Bridge Program” means the statewide program established pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 66048.3.
(b) “ENLACE Program” means the program established pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 66048.3.
(c) “CCC” means the California Community Colleges.
(d) “CSU” means the California State University.
(e) “PhD” means doctor of philosophy.
(f) “Scholars” means students participating in the Cal-Bridge Program.
(g) “STEM” means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
(h) “STEM disciplines” include, but are not limited to, all branches of engineering, the biological, physical, health, and earth sciences, and medicine.
(i) “UC” means the University of California.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Cal-Bridge Program is an intersegmental partnership of the California State University, the University of California, and the California Community Colleges.
(b) The mission of the Cal-Bridge Program is to create a pathway that promotes the advancement of California’s diverse undergraduate public postsecondary student population who major in STEM disciplines to pursue STEM PhDs and become members of California’s professorate or leaders in California’s technology industry.
(c) By providing a comprehensive, end-to-end pathway for the diverse undergraduates of the state’s public postsecondary system to attain a PhD and join the California STEM professorate and technology industry leadership, the Cal-Bridge Program would transform higher education in California.
(d) The ENLACE Program is an intersegmental partnership that complements the Cal-Bridge Program by creating pathways for students from high school and college in the full spectrum of STEM disciplines, which is critical for meeting California’s comprehensive STEM workforce needs.
(e) The mission of the ENLACE Program is to create inclusive pathways that prepare California’s diverse student population in high school or college for all levels of postsecondary STEM education and the state’s STEM workforce, including research, industry, health care, and academia.
(f) By supporting students from high school and college to prepare them to pursue graduate and professional programs across all STEM fields, the ENLACE Program would significantly expand and diversify the pipeline of STEM professionals in California.
(g) By diversifying the California STEM professorate, the number of STEM majors from groups traditionally excluded from those disciplines would increase as those students see faculty who look like them.
(h) Training the next generation of technology industry leaders with PhDs in their disciplines would similarly transform the technology industry to make it more diverse and effective by using the full potential of the diverse California population.
(a) (1) The Cal-Bridge Program is hereby established as a fully intersegmental partnership program between the CCC, CSU, and UC. The Cal-Bridge Program shall be independent of the CCC, CSU, and UC, but shall be administratively housed at either a CSU or UC campus.
(2) The ENLACE Program is hereby established as an operationally independent program that works in collaboration with the Cal-Bridge Program for the purpose of serving as a critical component of the state’s STEM education ecosystem. The ENLACE Program shall operate as an intersegmental STEM pathway program to serve students in high school and undergraduate studies across all STEM disciplines.
(b) CCC, CSU, and UC students majoring in STEM disciplines shall be recruited into the Cal-Bridge Program. The Cal-Bridge Program shall have all of the following goals:
(1) Preparing students to apply to PhD programs in STEM disciplines, particularly UC STEM PhD programs.
(2) Providing summer research experiences for community college and CSU undergraduates to prepare them for PhD programs or the California STEM workforce.
(3) Supporting students to become PhD scholars and preparing them to become competitive postsecondary faculty candidates and leaders in California’s technology industry.
(4) Offering postdoctoral opportunities in the UC and CSU systems to further prepare students to become faculty in California’s postsecondary education system.
(5) Maintaining an ongoing support network of scholars and faculty to support the continuation and growth of the Cal-Bridge Program and to create a community of support.
(c) The Cal-Bridge Program shall consist of the following five distinct but interrelated programs:
(1) The Cal-Bridge Undergraduate Program, which shall provide all of the following types of support to CCC and CSU undergraduate scholars majoring in the physics, astronomy, computer science, computer engineering, mathematics, and statistics disciplines with the goal of supporting them to successfully apply to STEM PhD programs:
(A) Mentorship by CSU and UC faculty.
(B) Financial support towards completing their undergraduate degrees.
(C) Professional development focused on guiding them through the PhD application process.
(D) Research opportunities in their physics, astronomy, computer science, computer engineering, mathematics, and statistics disciplines.
(2) The Cal-Bridge Summer Program, which shall provide research opportunities for Cal-Bridge undergraduate and community college scholars to conduct summer research at UC and other research sites.
(3) (A) The Cal-Bridge Doctoral Program, which shall provide all of the following types of support to students in CSU and UC STEM PhD programs, particularly those in the UC system, to prepare them to become competitive postsecondary faculty candidates or leaders in California’s technology industry:
(i) Financial support towards completing their PhD degrees.
(ii) Professional development in pedagogy and research leadership.
(iii) Mentorship by Cal-Bridge Program-participating faculty that supplements the doctoral mentorship that these scholars receive in their PhD programs.
(B) Eligibility for the Cal-Bridge Doctoral Program shall be extended to any California undergraduate who majored in a discipline served by the Cal-Bridge Undergraduate Program, who participated in the Cal-Bridge Undergraduate Program, the ENLACE Program, the University of California Leadership Excellence through Advanced Degrees program, or other program with similar goals, and who matriculates to a UC PhD program in a STEM discipline, thereby providing continued support through the comprehensive Cal-Bridge pathway.
(4) The Cal-Bridge Postdoctoral Program, which shall provide additional preparation for postdoctoral scholars to become competitive faculty candidates. The Cal-Bridge Postdoctoral Program shall include all of the following:
(A) Cal-Bridge postdoctoral scholar positions shall each be a two-year postdoctoral position.
(B) UC and CSU Cal-Bridge postdoctoral scholars shall be sponsored by a STEM-instructing faculty member of the applicable segment and receive on-campus research opportunities under the direct supervision of the faculty member.
(C) CSU postdoctoral scholars shall teach classes at the segment as the instructors of record.
(5) The Cal-Bridge First Academic Scholar Training (FAST) Program, which shall provide preparation for CCC students to join the California STEM workforce, and for those interested, to successfully apply to the Cal-Bridge Undergraduate Program. The Cal-Bridge FAST Program shall include all of the following:
(A) One-week workshops to expose CCC students to computer programming and small research projects, and prepare them to apply for summer research experiences.
(B) Research opportunities in STEM disciplines specifically targeted at the CCC students.
(d) The ENLACE Program, which shall operate independently from, but in collaboration with, the Cal-Bridge Program toward shared statewide STEM workforce development goals, shall consist of the ENLACE High School and Undergraduate Program, as follows:
(1) The ENLACE High School and Undergraduate Program shall provide support to students from high school through undergraduate studies at CCC, CSU, and UC campuses majoring in all STEM disciplines, including engineering, the biological, physical, earth, and health sciences, and medicine. This support shall include, but not be limited to, mentorship, academic support, research opportunities, and guidance on pathways to advanced STEM degrees and careers.
(2) The high school programming conducted by the ENLACE High School and Undergraduate Program shall provide summer research experiences in STEM subjects at participating campuses of the UC to qualified 11th grade pupils who will be entering 12th grade after the summer.
(e) The Cal-Bridge Program and the ENLACE Program shall seek areas for formal and informal collaboration to enhance their joint missions of developing a diverse and robust California STEM workforce. The Legislature intends for the programs to explore opportunities to leverage their distinct pathways from high school through doctoral and professional degrees to create a more comprehensive and inclusive ecosystem for STEM education in the state.
On or before January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the Cal-Bridge Program shall submit a programmatic progress report to the office of the President of the University of California that includes, for the previous year, data on both of the following:
(a) Implementation of each category of the Cal-Bridge Program’s activities specified in subdivision (a) of Section 66048.5.
(b) How state, federal, and institutionally based funding was allocated for the Cal-Bridge Program’s activities specified in subdivision (a) of Section 66048.5, using expenditure categories and definitions established by the president’s office.
66048.4.66048.5.
(a) Funding appropriated for purposes of this article for the Cal-Bridge Program may be used to offer any of the following:
(1) Financial support to Cal-Bridge Undergraduate and Doctoral Program scholars.
(2) Summer research opportunities for Cal-Bridge undergraduate and community college scholars to conduct summer research at UC and other research sites.
(3) Salaries and benefits to Cal-Bridge Postdoctoral Program scholars.
(4) Financial support for Cal-Bridge Program meetings and workshops relating to professional development, including travel expenses, venue rentals, stipends, and hiring consultants.
(5) Stipends to UC, CSU, and CCC faculty who take on Cal-Bridge Program mentorship or professional development roles.
(6) Financial support to UC, CSU, and CCC faculty who take on leadership roles in the Cal-Bridge Program, including course release funding, summer salaries, and stipends.
(7) Cal-Bridge Program administrative salaries or stipends.
(b) Funding appropriated for purposes of this article for the ENLACE Program may be used to offer either of the following:
(1) Financial support for the ENLACE High School and Undergraduate Program.
(2) Financial support for ENLACE Program participants for summer research opportunities.
66048.5.66048.6.
Consistent with Section 67400, this article shall apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California make it applicable.