AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 10, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

CHAPTER 218

Statutes of 2025

[ Approved by Governor October 1, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 1, 2025. ]

URGENCY STATUTE

Introduced by Senators Seyarto and Wahab

February 14, 2025

An act to amend Section 13511.1 of the Penal Code, relating to peace officers, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law required the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, on or before June 1, 2023, in consultation with specified entities, to develop a modern policing degree program and to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature outlining a plan to implement the program. Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training within the Department of Justice and requires the commission, within 2 years of the submission of the report, to approve and adopt the education criteria for peace officers, based on the recommendations in the report.

This bill would repeal the requirement for the commission to approve and adopt the criteria described above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 13511.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

13511.1.

(a) The commission, stakeholders from law enforcement, including representatives of law enforcement administration and law enforcement employees, the California State University, including administration and faculty members, and community organizations shall serve as advisors to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop a modern policing degree program. By June 1, 2023, the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, in consultation with the stakeholders, shall submit a report on recommendations to the Legislature outlining a plan to implement this program. The recommendations in the report shall:

(1) Focus on courses pertinent to law enforcement, which shall include, but not be limited to, psychology, communications, history, ethnic studies, law, and those determined to develop necessary critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence.

(2) Include allowances for prior law enforcement experience, and appropriate work experience, postsecondary education experience, or military experience to satisfy a portion of the employment eligibility requirements.

(A) It is the intent of the Legislature that allowances for prior experience in this paragraph for those with military experience may be provided to those with military specializations pertinent to law enforcement, including those specializations in community relations, deescalation, foreign language translators, and those determined to require necessary critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence.

(B) It is the intent of the Legislature that allowances for prior experience specified in this paragraph shall be granted to those of good moral character, and shall not be granted to those with prior sustained disciplinary actions taken against them, except that the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training may, after considering the severity of the sustained misconduct or violation, grant a partial allowance.

(3) Include both the modern policing degree program and bachelor’s degree in the discipline of their choosing as minimum education requirements for employment as a peace officer.

(4) Include recommendations to adopt financial assistance for students of historically underserved and disadvantaged communities with barriers to higher education access that fulfill the minimum education requirements to be adopted, pursuant to this section, for employment as a peace officer.

(b) The report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 2.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to alleviate pressure on law enforcement recruitment, absent clarification on degree requirements, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.