How CA’s free online community college came back from the dead

I’m CalMatters reporter Mikhail Zinshtein, and I’m filling in for Lynn today.

Who doesn’t love a good come-from-the-dead story?

California’s only fully online community college appeared to support political life. Twice, the state Assembly has voted to close the school, only to be overruled by either Gov. Gavin Newsom or the state Senate, CalMatters’ Adam Echelman reports.

The legislative hostility shared by many community college educators stems in part from a 2021 state audit that found that after its first year in 2020, Calbright enrolled just over 900 students and only 12 graduated from a certificate program.

But thanks to the school’s unique academic and enrollment practices, Calbright is on a tear. It has grown to 6,000 students and has seen the largest increase in college enrollment in California between 2024 and 2025, according to preliminary state data. Calbright’s graduation rate is 13%, on par with the other 115 community colleges in the state, although comparisons are difficult given how different CalBright is.

What makes Calbright unusual in California public higher education is its competency-based approach to learning. “Students can enroll anytime and study whenever they want by watching pre-recorded lectures or arranging meetings with faculty,” Adam wrote. Nor does the school charge tuition. In contrast, traditional community colleges typically operate on a semester basis and are usually free only for low-income students.

The school’s growth coincides with Newsom’s desire to triple the college’s annual state support from $15 million to $53 million in his January budget proposal. But Calbraith’s enemies remain repulsive. Educators groups say California community colleges already offer courses similar to those at Calbright and that the money could be better spent on existing initiatives.

• Stephanie Goldman, executive director of the California Community College Faculty Association: “Our argument is the same as it is in 2018 — it’s just not a necessary college.”

The association opposes Newsom’s funding increase. The Legislative Analyst’s Office also released its concerns about Calbright this month, questioning its profitability and whether it meets its original mission.

Read on more than Adam here.

With oil prices soaring over Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iran, the president on Friday ordered offshore oil drilling near Santa Barbara to be restarted – even though the same site was responsible for an oil spill 11 years ago that killed hundreds of animals.

Like Alejandro Lazo of CalMatters reportsTrump’s Friday decision invoked emergency powers under the Defense Production Act. The ruling seeks to overturn court orders that blocked Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp from resuming drilling operations. Sable says it can produce 30,000 to 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Newsom said California will sue.

“Donald Trump started a war, admitted he was going to raise gas prices across the country and told Americans it was a small price to pay,” Newsom said. “Now he’s using this self-inflicted crisis to try what he’s wanted to do for years: open up the California coast to his friends in the oil industry so they can poison our beaches.”

Read on more from Alejandro here.

California continues to sue the Trump administration over its policies affecting colleges and universities, showing no signs of slowing down after 2025. a whirlwind of a state-initiated lawsuit against the White House.

Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of states led by Democrats sued The White House for requiring colleges to provide half a decade of data on applicants’ race and grades, among other information. Two days later, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, siding with the states. The hearing is on scheduled for March 24. The suit says Trump could use the data to punish states for alleged affirmative action practices.

And it is not only Bonta who leads the state charge. On March 6, California State University sued the Trump administration over its findings that San Jose State University violated women’s rights by allowing a transgender woman to compete on the women’s volleyball team between 2022 and 2024. Central to the White House’s argument is that the school violated Trump’s executive order banning transgender women from a school of athletics.

Cal State says it did nothing wrong.

• California State University Chancellor Mildred Garcia at the California state trustees meeting on Tuesday: “The executive order itself does not change statutory or legal precedent. Second, the executive order was issued after the time in question and cannot be applied retroactively.”

Several anti-transgender advocates spoke at the trustees meeting, prompting groans and rebuke from some professors in the public gallery.

“You have been lied to. It is impossible for a person to change your gender. There is no such thing as gender identity,” said one speaker.

Moments earlier, a Cal State sociology professor said that both sex and gender are social constructs, adding: “Shame on you for using lesbian politics as a cover for your transphobia because this lesbian has had a lot of friends with penises.”

The back-and-forth prompted the chairman of the trustees to warn the crowd to argue among themselves instead of directing comments to the board.

California ports, warehouses, and rail yards do not own the trucks and trains that move goods to and from them. So why should they be held responsible for the pollution these vehicles leave behind, ask business groups? It’s a question that’s at the heart of new legislative efforts to curb emissions at those sites after the Trump administration curtailed the ability of California and the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases and mandate electric vehicles.

Read CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde story here.