CA AB 2551
vetoedEquity in Higher Education Act: time, place, and manner policies: student code of conduct violations: open forum.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
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Quick answers
Did CA AB 2551 pass?
No. CA AB 2551 passed the legislature but was vetoed. Latest recorded action (2026-09-27): Vetoed by Governor.
What is CA AB 2551 about?
A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, provides, among other things, that all students have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment, and that postsecondary educational institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat discrimination on the basis of, among other things, disability, gender, race, or ethnicity, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable. The Equity in Higher Education Act requires the Trustees of the California State University and the Regents of the University of California to have the primary responsibility to prevent and address conduct that either creates a hostile environment for students on campus or results in differential treatment of students on campus, as specified. The act requires the trustees to, among other things, adopt rules and procedures in the student codes of conduct to prohibit violent, harassing, intimidating, or discriminatory conduct that creates a hostile environment on campus, to prohibit conduct that limits or denies a person's ability to participate in or benefit from the free exchange of ideas or the educational mission of the California State University, and to establish, and require each campus to publish on the campus internet website, reasonable content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions and, if applicable, any advance permitting requirements for protests on campus. The act requires the trustees to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 2 of each year, on the implementation and administration of these provisions, including information on student code of conduct violations. The act requests the University of California to comply with these provisions. This bill would require the above-described report to also include information on student code of conduct violations that occurred during, or as a result of, a protest on campus and a description of the discipline imposed on the student as a result of the specified student code of conduct violation. This bill would require the California State University, and request the University of California, to (1) hold an open forum on a selected campus on or before December 31, 2027, to elicit feedback regarding established content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions, as provided, and (2) notify the relevant policy committees of the Legislature of the location and date of the open forum. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2028.
Who sponsors CA AB 2551?
Elhawary is the primary sponsor of CA AB 2551.
Description
A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, provides, among other things, that all students have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment, and that postsecondary educational institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat discrimination on the basis of, among other things, disability, gender, race, or ethnicity, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable. The Equity in Higher Education Act requires the Trustees of the California State University and the Regents of the University of California to have the primary responsibility to prevent and address conduct that either creates a hostile environment for students on campus or results in differential treatment of students on campus, as specified. The act requires the trustees to, among other things, adopt rules and procedures in the student codes of conduct to prohibit violent, harassing, intimidating, or discriminatory conduct that creates a hostile environment on campus, to prohibit conduct that limits or denies a person's ability to participate in or benefit from the free exchange of ideas or the educational mission of the California State University, and to establish, and require each campus to publish on the campus internet website, reasonable content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions and, if applicable, any advance permitting requirements for protests on campus. The act requires the trustees to submit a report to the Legislature, on or before January 2 of each year, on the implementation and administration of these provisions, including information on student code of conduct violations. The act requests the University of California to comply with these provisions. This bill would require the above-described report to also include information on student code of conduct violations that occurred during, or as a result of, a protest on campus and a description of the discipline imposed on the student as a result of the specified student code of conduct violation. This bill would require the California State University, and request the University of California, to (1) hold an open forum on a selected campus on or before December 31, 2027, to elicit feedback regarding established content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions, as provided, and (2) notify the relevant policy committees of the Legislature of the location and date of the open forum. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2028.
- Introduced
- 2026-03-19
- Latest action
- 2026-09-27 — Vetoed by Governor.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Elhawaryauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-09-27
Vetoed by Governor.
executive-veto
2026-09-15
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
executive-receipt
2026-08-31
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-08-31
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 44. Noes 8.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-08-31
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 44. Noes 8. Page 7003.).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-08-30
Re-referred to Com. on HIGHER ED. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2.
referral-committee
2026-08-30
From committee: That the Senate amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 8. Noes 1.) (August 30).
committee-passage
2026-08-30
Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended.
2026-08-30
Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 6844.)
2026-08-28
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2026-08-28
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 22. Noes 12.).
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-08-13
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-08-13
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 13).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-08-03
In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-07-02
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-07-02
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (July 1).
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee
2026-06-15
Re-referred to Com. on ED.
referral-committee
2026-06-12
Withdrawn from committee.
withdrawal
2026-06-12
Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
referral-committee
2026-06-12
In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
2026-06-11
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-06-10
Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and B. P. & E.D.
referral-committee
2026-05-27
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-05-26
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-26
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 5331.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-18
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-14
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-04-22
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-04-08
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 7). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-03-23
Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-03-19
Referred to Com. on HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-03-19
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-02-21
From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2026-02-20
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
Versions
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Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-04-07 · pass · 16-0
Member-level votes (16)
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Chen: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Addis: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Patel: yes
Do pass.
2026-05-14 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Dixon: yes
- Krell: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ta: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Solache: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Mark González: yes
AB 2551 Elhawary Assembly Third Reading
2026-05-26 · pass · 78-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Ellis: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Lee: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Fong: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Papan: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Haney: yes
- Chen: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Flora: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Davies: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Ward: yes
- Patel: yes
- Hart: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Ta: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Soria: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Solache: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Krell: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Bains: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Addis: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-07-01 · pass · 5-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Reyes: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: other
- Choi: other
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-28T15:18:38.826436Z
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