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View the legislative bills report here. (updated September 12, 2025)
October 3, 2025
Governor Signs SB 241 Into Law
On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 241 (Cervantes, Statues of 2025) into law. SB 241 requires that a California Community College instructor, librarian, counselor, student personnel worker, supervisor, administrator, chief administrative officer, extended opportunity programs and services worker, disabled students programs and services worker, apprenticeship instructor, or health supervisor be a person who meets the minimum qualifications to serve in that position established in current law.
SB 241 makes explicit what is more implicit under existing law: that only qualified humans may be hired into the aforementioned roles, thereby constraining non-human substitutes (e.g., use of artificial intelligence [AI] in place of human staff) from being used in those positions. The bill is in part a follow-up to Assembly Bill 2370 (Cervantes, Statutes of 2024), which first inserted the term “person” for the instructor of record, aiming to prevent AI from fully replacing faculty. SB 241 expands that principle to a broader set of roles beyond just instructors.
The bill does clarify that its provisions do not prohibit community college staff from using AI tools to assist in the operations of a community college or in providing services to community college students.
SB 241 was supported by the California Teachers Association, the Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges, and the California Federation of Teachers. The bill’s provisions will go into effect on January 1, 2026.
Federal Government Enters Partial Shutdown
In last week’s ACCCA Update, we explained that the federal government was headed for a partial shutdown. Since Congress and President Trump were unable to come to an agreement on a stopgap spending measure to temporarily keep the government, the federal government entered a partial shutdown on October 1, 2025.
Democrats oppose the “clean CR [continuing resolution]” proposed by House Republicans because it does not extend enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, and it does not undo recent Medicaid cuts that were enacted in the reconciliation bill approved on July 4, 2025.
For community college districts (CCDs), the immediate exposure is limited, as community colleges are primarily funded from state and local dollars. Since the shutdown is occurring mid-semester, as opposed to the start of the academic year, federal financial aid has already been disbursed to students, and once that funding is allocated, the federal government’s role in higher education funding is mostly satisfied.
While CCD funding should face minimal impact during the shutdown, there are federal programs that students rely on that could have severe implications if the shutdown were to drag on. Students that rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for food and groceries could be significantly impacted if the shutdown extends beyond October.
The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) contingency plan outlines how federal operations and grant activities will be constrained during the lapse. According to the plan, approximately 95% of non-Federal Student Aid Department personnel would be furloughed in the first week, leaving only a small team working under “excepted” or “exempt” authority. The ED will continue to disburse Pell Grants and direct student loans, since those programs draw on mandatory or multiyear appropriations and carryover funds.
However, new grantmaking is suspended during the lapse. The ED will pause application reviews, award decisions, technical assistance, regulatory work, and Office for Civil Rights investigations unless they qualify as “excepted” or otherwise-funded activity. As a result, CCDs planning to launch new discretionary or competitive grant-funded projects this fall may face delays until appropriations are restored.
The contingency plan also allows for limited continuation of certain programs funded through advance or multiyear appropriations. The plan notes that 17 non-mandatory programs hold carryover funds or advance appropriations from fiscal year 2025 and may be able to maintain obligations and payments during a short shutdown, to the extent that failure to do so would “significantly damage” the execution of educational operations.
In the area of early childhood education, the same constraints apply: Head Start providers with existing awards may continue operations under currently obligated funds, but new awards or renewals with project periods that begin October 1 cannot be obligated during the lapse. Those programs face the risk of temporary service interruption until appropriations resume.
We will continue to follow negotiations between Congress and the President as the shutdown moves forward. History offers a clear precedent: the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which lasted 35 days during President Trump’s first term, furloughed roughly 800,000 federal employees or required them to work without pay. That standoff ended only after lawmakers approved a short-term CR to reopen federal agencies while broader budget talks continued. A similar stopgap agreement remains the most likely outcome for the current impasse, though the timeline and negotiations are still uncertain. Stay tuned.
