Bill Text: CA AB992 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 992

Bill Title: Peace officers.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-10-01 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 175, Statutes of 2025. [AB992 Detail]

Download: California-2025-AB992-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 992

CHAPTER 175

An act to amend Section 1031 of, and to add Section 1031.5 to, the Government Code, and to amend Section 13511.1 of the Penal Code, relating to peace officers.

[ Approved by Governor October 01, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 01, 2025. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 992, Irwin. Peace officers.

Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, 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 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.

Existing law requires a peace officer to meet specified requirements, including, to be a high school graduate or meet equivalency standards, as specified, or to attain a 2-year, 4-year, or advanced degree from an accredited college or university.

This bill would authorize specified credential evaluation services to evaluate the equivalency of a foreign college or university degree for purposes of attaining a degree as described above. The bill would require, commencing January 1, 2031, a peace officer, as specified, to attain one or more specified degrees or certificates no later than 36 months after receiving their basic certificate by the commission, as specified, unless the person is employed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or as a deputy sheriff of specified counties and is employed to perform duties relating to custodial facilities, as specified, has at least 8 years of experience as a sworn peace officer of another state or at least 8 years of military service in the Armed Forces of the United States, as specified, is employed as a peace officer by the State Department of State Hospitals, or is, as of December 31, 2030, currently enrolled in a basic academy or is employed as a peace officer by a public entity in California. The bill would require a peace officer with experience as a sworn peace officer from another state or with experience serving in the Armed Forces of the United States who served for less than 8 years, as specified, to attain one or more of the specified degrees or certificates no later than 48 months after receiving their basic certificate by the commission. The bill would authorize coursework completed as part of military or law enforcement training to count toward a degree or certificate, as specified.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

Section 1031 of the Government Code is amended to read:

1031.

Each class of public officers or employees declared by law to be peace officers shall meet all of the following minimum standards:

(a) Be legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law.

(b) Be 18 years of age or older.

(c) Be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose a criminal record.

(d) Be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation.

(e) Be a high school graduate, pass the General Education Development Test or other high school equivalency test approved by the State Department of Education that indicates high school graduation level, pass the California High School Proficiency Examination, or have attained a two-year, four-year, or advanced degree from an accredited college or university. The high school shall be either a United States public school, an accredited United States Department of Defense high school, or an accredited or approved public or nonpublic high school. Any accreditation or approval required by this subdivision shall be from a state or local government educational agency using state or local government approved accreditation, licensing, registration, or other approval standards, a regional accrediting association, an accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education, an accrediting association holding full membership in the National Council for Private School Accreditation (NCPSA), an organization holding full membership in AdvancED or Cognia, an organization holding full membership in the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), or an accrediting association recognized by the National Federation of Nonpublic School State Accrediting Associations (NFNSSAA). A foreign college or university degree may be evaluated for equivalency by a credential evaluation service holding membership in the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE).

(f) Be found to be free from any physical, emotional, or mental condition, including bias against race or ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, disability, or sexual orientation, that might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer.

(1) Physical condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon.

(2) Emotional and mental condition shall be evaluated by either of the following:

(A) A physician and surgeon who holds a valid California license to practice medicine, has successfully completed a postgraduate medical residency education program in psychiatry accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and has at least the equivalent of five full-time years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders, including the equivalent of three full-time years accrued after completion of the psychiatric residency program.

(B) A psychologist licensed by the California Board of Psychology who has at least the equivalent of five full-time years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders, including the equivalent of three full-time years accrued postdoctorate.

The physician and surgeon or psychologist shall also have met any applicable education and training procedures set forth by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training designed for the conduct of preemployment psychological screening of peace officers.

(g) This section shall not be construed to preclude the adoption of additional or higher standards, including age.

(h) This section shall be interpreted and applied consistent with federal law and regulations. This section shall not be construed to permit an employer to override or bypass work authorization requirements stated in Section 274a.2 of Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

SEC. 2.

Section 1031.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:

1031.5.

(a) (1) In addition to the standards in Section 1031, commencing January 1, 2031, each state officer and employee designated as a peace officer as described in Section 830.1, with the exception of those described in subdivision (c) of that section, 830.2, with the exception of those described in subdivision (d) of that section, 830.3, 830.32, or 830.33 of the Penal Code, or any other peace officer employed by an agency that participates in the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) program shall attain one or more of the following degrees or certificates no later than 36 months after receiving their basic certificate by the commission:

(A) An associate’s degree from a community college that is accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

(B) A bachelor’s degree or other advanced degree from a college or university that is accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

(D) A professional policing certificate, as described in subdivision (c).

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a person who is either of the following shall attain one or more of the degrees or certificates set forth in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) no later than 48 months after receiving their basic certificate by the commission:

(A) An individual with experience as a sworn peace officer from another state who served as a peace officer for less than eight years and with a separation in good standing.

(B) An individual with experience serving in the Armed Forces of the United States who served for less than eight years and with an honorable discharge if their military service has concluded.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply to either of the following:

(A) An individual with at least eight years of experience as a sworn peace officer from another state and with a separation in good standing.

(B) An individual with at least eight years of military service in the Armed Forces of the United States and with an honorable discharge if military service has concluded.

(b) A modern policing degree shall meet all of the following criteria:

(1) Require at least 60 semester units or 90 quarter units of degree-applicable credit coursework from a college or university that is accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

(2) Award credits for required commission-certified academy course instruction.

(3) Offer courses that include, but are not limited to, the following list of subjects:

(A) Communications.

(B) Psychology.

(D) Ethics.

(E) Criminal Justice.

(c) A professional policing certificate may be offered by any accredited college or university, and shall meet all of the following criteria:

(1) Require at least 16 semester units or 24 quarter units of degree-applicable credit coursework from a college or university that is accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

(2) Offer courses that include, but are not limited to, the following list of subjects:

(A) Communications.

(B) Psychology.

(D) Ethics.

(E) Criminal Justice.

(d) (1) Coursework completed as part of the commission-certified academy shall count toward the modern policing degree and professional policing certificate and may count toward any associate degree or bachelor’s degree described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(2) Coursework completed as part of military or law enforcement training that is within the curriculum of a modern policing degree as described in subdivision (b) or a professional policing certificate as described in subdivision (c) by an individual during prior employment in the military or in law enforcement in another state may count toward a modern policing degree as described in subdivision (b) or a professional policing certificate as described in subdivision (c).

(3) Coursework completed as part of the commission-certified academy shall not solely satisfy the unit requirement for a professional policing certificate.

(e) This section does not apply to any person who, as of December 31, 2030, is currently enrolled in a basic academy or is employed as a peace officer by a public entity in California.

(f) This section does not apply to any person who is employed as a peace officer by the State Department of State Hospitals.

SEC. 3.

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.