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    SB-385
    Justice & Public Safety

    Peace officers.

    Enrolled
    CA
    ∙
    2025-2026 Regular Session
    0
    0
    Track
    Track

    Key Takeaways

    • Mandates dual-degree requirements for peace officer employment.
    • Shifts degree program development to the CCC Chancellor’s Office with broad input.
    • Eliminates POST's mandatory criteria adoption and makes POST advisory, with immediate effect.
    • Adds prior experience and character considerations and seeks financial aid for underserved communities.

    Summary

    Senators Seyarto and Wahab advance a measure that centers the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in shaping a modern policing degree program and pairs it with a dual-ed education pathway for peace officers, taking effect immediately as an urgency statute. The proposal reframes the pathway into which prospective officers enter the field by requiring both a modern policing degree and a bachelor’s degree in a field of the recipient’s choosing, while also broadening the role of prior experience in meeting employment eligibility.

    Under the core mechanism, a broad set of actors—including the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, law enforcement representatives, the California State University system, and community organizations—shall advise the CCC Chancellor’s Office as it develops the program. A report outlining the plan to implement the program must be submitted by June 1, 2023, detailing course focus areas such as psychology, communications, history, ethnic studies, law, and skills intended to foster critical thinking and emotional intelligence. The bill allows prior law enforcement, work, postsecondary education, or military experience to count toward eligibility, with specific caveats for military-related specializations and for character assessments. It also directs consideration of opportunities for financial assistance to students from historically underserved and disadvantaged communities, and it ties the reporting to Government Code requirements for public disclosures.

    The legislation describes a shift away from a mandatory criteria-adoption role for the POST, as reflected in its digest, toward an advisory framework led by the CCC Chancellor’s Office and its stakeholders. It would preserve an advisory and reporting function for POST rather than a prescriptive standard-setting obligation, though the enacted text does not expressly repeal every prior enforcement mechanism in the excerpt. The act also foresees no new direct appropriation within the bill itself, and it retains a fiscal-committee review process to evaluate ongoing costs associated with curriculum development, degree pathway implementation, and potential student support services.

    Contextually, the measure has several implementation implications for key groups: law enforcement agencies and POST would need to align recruitment policies with the new dual-degree requirement and the allowances for prior experience; higher education institutions (CCC and CSU) would shoulder increased responsibility for program design, articulation, and capacity to deliver expanded degree offerings; prospective officers would confront a more demanding entry standard, while opportunities for veterans and others with relevant military specializations could be expanded through experience-based pathways. The emphasis on equity through anticipated financial assistance and the immediate effective date aims to address recruitment pressures, though questions remain about transitional rules, alignment with existing certifications, and the sufficiency of resources to realize the program’s stated goals.

    Key Dates

    Vote on Assembly Floor
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    SB 385 Seyarto Third Reading Urgency By Irwin
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Do pass. To Consent Calendar
    Assembly Public Safety Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Public Safety Hearing
    Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Senate Floor
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Senate 3rd Reading SB385 Seyarto et al. Urgency Clause
    Senate Public Safety Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Public Safety Hearing
    Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
    Introduced
    Senate Floor
    Introduced
    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    Contacts

    Profile
    Kelly SeyartoR
    Senator
    Bill Author
    Not Contacted
    Not Contacted
    Profile
    Aisha WahabD
    Senator
    Bill Author
    Not Contacted
    Not Contacted
    0 of 2 row(s) selected.
    Page 1 of 1
    Select All Legislators
    Profile
    Kelly SeyartoR
    Senator
    Bill Author
    Profile
    Aisha WahabD
    Senator
    Bill Author

    Similar Past Legislation

    Bill NumberTitleIntroduced DateStatusLink to Bill
    AB-992
    Peace officers.
    February 2025
    Enrolled
    View Bill
    SB-1122
    Peace officers: educational requirements.
    February 2024
    Failed
    View Bill
    AB-852
    Peace officers.
    February 2023
    Failed
    View Bill
    Peace officers: minimum qualifications.
    December 2020
    Passed
    View Bill
    Showing 4 of 4 items
    Page 1 of 1

    Get Involved

    Act Now!

    Email the authors or create an email template to send to all relevant legislators.

    Introduced By

    Aisha Wahab
    Aisha WahabD
    California State Senator
    Kelly Seyarto
    Kelly SeyartoR
    California State Senator
    70% progression
    Bill has passed both houses in identical form and is being prepared for the Governor (9/12/2025)

    Latest Voting History

    View History
    September 11, 2025
    PASS
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AyesNoesNVRTotalResult
    770380PASS

    Key Takeaways

    • Mandates dual-degree requirements for peace officer employment.
    • Shifts degree program development to the CCC Chancellor’s Office with broad input.
    • Eliminates POST's mandatory criteria adoption and makes POST advisory, with immediate effect.
    • Adds prior experience and character considerations and seeks financial aid for underserved communities.

    Get Involved

    Act Now!

    Email the authors or create an email template to send to all relevant legislators.

    Introduced By

    Aisha Wahab
    Aisha WahabD
    California State Senator
    Kelly Seyarto
    Kelly SeyartoR
    California State Senator

    Summary

    Senators Seyarto and Wahab advance a measure that centers the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in shaping a modern policing degree program and pairs it with a dual-ed education pathway for peace officers, taking effect immediately as an urgency statute. The proposal reframes the pathway into which prospective officers enter the field by requiring both a modern policing degree and a bachelor’s degree in a field of the recipient’s choosing, while also broadening the role of prior experience in meeting employment eligibility.

    Under the core mechanism, a broad set of actors—including the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, law enforcement representatives, the California State University system, and community organizations—shall advise the CCC Chancellor’s Office as it develops the program. A report outlining the plan to implement the program must be submitted by June 1, 2023, detailing course focus areas such as psychology, communications, history, ethnic studies, law, and skills intended to foster critical thinking and emotional intelligence. The bill allows prior law enforcement, work, postsecondary education, or military experience to count toward eligibility, with specific caveats for military-related specializations and for character assessments. It also directs consideration of opportunities for financial assistance to students from historically underserved and disadvantaged communities, and it ties the reporting to Government Code requirements for public disclosures.

    The legislation describes a shift away from a mandatory criteria-adoption role for the POST, as reflected in its digest, toward an advisory framework led by the CCC Chancellor’s Office and its stakeholders. It would preserve an advisory and reporting function for POST rather than a prescriptive standard-setting obligation, though the enacted text does not expressly repeal every prior enforcement mechanism in the excerpt. The act also foresees no new direct appropriation within the bill itself, and it retains a fiscal-committee review process to evaluate ongoing costs associated with curriculum development, degree pathway implementation, and potential student support services.

    Contextually, the measure has several implementation implications for key groups: law enforcement agencies and POST would need to align recruitment policies with the new dual-degree requirement and the allowances for prior experience; higher education institutions (CCC and CSU) would shoulder increased responsibility for program design, articulation, and capacity to deliver expanded degree offerings; prospective officers would confront a more demanding entry standard, while opportunities for veterans and others with relevant military specializations could be expanded through experience-based pathways. The emphasis on equity through anticipated financial assistance and the immediate effective date aims to address recruitment pressures, though questions remain about transitional rules, alignment with existing certifications, and the sufficiency of resources to realize the program’s stated goals.

    70% progression
    Bill has passed both houses in identical form and is being prepared for the Governor (9/12/2025)

    Key Dates

    Vote on Assembly Floor
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    SB 385 Seyarto Third Reading Urgency By Irwin
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Do pass. To Consent Calendar
    Assembly Public Safety Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Public Safety Hearing
    Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Senate Floor
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Senate 3rd Reading SB385 Seyarto et al. Urgency Clause
    Senate Public Safety Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Public Safety Hearing
    Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
    Introduced
    Senate Floor
    Introduced
    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    Latest Voting History

    View History
    September 11, 2025
    PASS
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AyesNoesNVRTotalResult
    770380PASS

    Contacts

    Profile
    Kelly SeyartoR
    Senator
    Bill Author
    Not Contacted
    Not Contacted
    Profile
    Aisha WahabD
    Senator
    Bill Author
    Not Contacted
    Not Contacted
    0 of 2 row(s) selected.
    Page 1 of 1
    Select All Legislators
    Profile
    Kelly SeyartoR
    Senator
    Bill Author
    Profile
    Aisha WahabD
    Senator
    Bill Author

    Similar Past Legislation

    Bill NumberTitleIntroduced DateStatusLink to Bill
    AB-992
    Peace officers.
    February 2025
    Enrolled
    View Bill
    SB-1122
    Peace officers: educational requirements.
    February 2024
    Failed
    View Bill
    AB-852
    Peace officers.
    February 2023
    Failed
    View Bill
    Peace officers: minimum qualifications.
    December 2020
    Passed
    View Bill
    Showing 4 of 4 items
    Page 1 of 1