Below is the list of priority bills sponsored by CFT this legislative term, and other important issues addressed this year in the Capitol. 

The AI Bill” AB 2148 (Muratsuchi) – In order to protect the sanctity of education and be able to provide students the education and support they need without the constraint of an algorithm, the CFT is sponsoring legislation that defines any employee or person within the education code, as a natural person. Signed by Governor Newsom.

Vendor Protection SB 583 (Rubio) – Educators have become inundated with solicitations from vendors either in person or through their district email inboxes. These vendors may at times appear to be trusted agencies, such as the California State Teachers Retirement System, and may sell products or services that are unnecessary or appear to be aligned with existing agency services. This bill will require vendors to disclose their identities and purpose when presenting to educators so that there is no confusion as to who a vendor is representing and compares their products to other prices in the market. Postponed to a future year.

Campus Security SB 1140 (Ashby) – Public school sites are considered private spaces for student and worker safety. However, during construction projects, some onsite construction or maintenance workers may be less familiar with school security protocols than the school’s employees. This bill will require school construction contracts to include a plan to secure the campus during such projects. Heading to the Governor.

Egregious Misconduct Investigations SB 1083 (Pérez) -  Increases due process protections for classified school professionals, improves data sharing to increase turn around on hiring, penalizes withholding of information, forces employers to finish investigations, and includes contractors that were left out of SB 848. Heading to the Governor.

Workers’ Compensation Access AB 2098 (Kalra) - Workers hurt on the job are guaranteed free access to the timely and sufficient medical care necessary to recover from their injury. However, some of our members have been explicitly prohibited from attending medical care appointments during normal shift hours, a prohibition that–depending on the worker’s schedule and the nature of their injury–is effectively a denial of care. This bill guarantees the right of workers to access occupational medical treatment whenever necessary and without retaliation. Held by the first Appropriations Committee.

Short-Term Employment Abuse AB 2142 (Garcia) - Current law allows for the use of short-term employees in order to address temporary needs at schools. In many instances, there has become an excessive reliance on short-term hourly workers, with some examples of jobs being kept as short-term for 30 years or more. This practice denies employees the status and benefits of regular employment even though they are working what is clearly a full-time, ongoing job. AB 2142 addresses this abuse and creates a rebuttable presumption so that an assignment that is habitually used as a short-term assignment is transformed into an ongoing job assignment. Heading to the Governor.

Community College District Reserve Cap SB 1262 (Archuleta) – While it is prudent for districts to maintain a level of reserve funds for economic downturn or unforeseen expenses, there is a threshold when dollars would be better spent on student services today rather than the phantom needs of a tomorrow that may never come. CFT has seen some districts store well over the recommended amount of funds in reserve by many districts. This bill will require college districts to have no more than a financial reserve of 50% on operating expenses, unless they are already complying with certain provisions of current law, such as providing part-time faculty health care benefits, office hours, and meeting other existing conditions. Held by the first Appropriations Committee.

Social Security for Part-Time Faculty AB 2417 (Zbur) – Individuals who hear the call to be educators in the community college system after a long career often start out with part-time assignments. Faculty have several options for retirement, including the CalSTRS defined benefit pension, or its Cash Balance program. These programs make sense for the beginning of a career to become vested in the pension or build up funds in the cash balance program, however for workers with a long career with social security credits, it may make more sense to continue focusing on earning more social security credit. This bill adds Social Security as a required option offered for all part-time community college faculty, in addition to CalSTRS other benefits and bolsters education about retirement choices for new hires. Heading to the Governor.

Employment Opportunities for Undocumented Higher Education Students AB 713 (Solache) – Undocumented students who seek employment opportunities at California’s public colleges and universities should not be barred based solely on their immigration status. This legislation provides undocumented students shall not be barred from applying from employment opportunities at public higher education institutions based on their immigration status. Heading to the Governor.

Community College Promise Program Expansion SB 632 (Arreguín) – Expands the Community College Promise program to students enrolled with 9-units rather than 12. Heading to the Governor.

Library Spending Transparency JLAC Request (Muratsuchi) – Years of declining investment in public university libraries threatens student success. CFT shall sponsor a Joint-Legislative Audit Committee Audit of historic public college and university library spending (going back as far as 30 years). This information will better inform the budgetary decisions of the legislature and university systems. Approved.

Community College Part-Time Health Care Fund flexibility to vision and dental benefits – The current Part-Time Health Care Program that reimburses districts for providing health insurance to part-time faculty is barred from providing districts for dental and vision benefits. This leaves a gap in coverage between full time and part-time faculty for benefits and further does not utilize the previous year allocations for the health care reimbursement program. CFT proposes that funds for the part-time health care program may be used for dental and vision benefits. Approved in the 2026-2027 Budget.

Community College Part-time Faculty Office Hours -  Compensation for office hours is only guaranteed to full time faculty. This creates a disparity for access to office hours for students enrolled in classes taught by full time faculty versus classes taught by part-time faculty, and with many part-time faculty unable to provide office hours to students. While the current program is funded to provide 90% of community colleges with part-time student office hour compensation, the absence of investment last year left the fund without adequate funding. CFT seeks 90 million dollars annual appropriation to ensure that office hours are available to students who take courses from part-time faculty. Not included in the Budget Trailer Bill.

CalSHAPE – Absent immediate legislative action, schools with CalSHAPE-funded HVAC upgrades in progress will lose some or all funding for such projects as soon as May of this year. This will leave construction projects partially completed and schools without any viable path toward alternate funding, and roughly $200 million in unencumbered CalSHAPE funding will also be permanently lost should the legislature fail to act fast. The worsened ability of schools to mitigate heat illness and toxic air in schools will cause cancer, asthma, and heat-related cognitive dysfunction among students and education workers. Our members and our students remain in dire need of this funding, and the legislature must enact a trailer bill to protect the physical and mental health of our most vulnerable Californians. Not included in the Budget Trailer Bill.

Re-establishment of Adult Education Programs (Solache) Budget Ask – AB 86 (2013) established the current Adult Education Consortia and funding to offer free or low-cost classes for adults to earn high school diplomas/equivalencies, learn English (ESL), gain job skills (CTE), improve basic skills, and prepare for citizenship. Unfortunately, classes that are focused on parenting skills, classes for seniors and financial literacy classes were cut from the program. CFT is asking to restore the ability for an adult education consortium to offer these classes under existing funding levels in order to cater to their local community’s needs. Denied in the 2026-2027 Budget.