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For nearly a decade, California community colleges have been gradually increasing the number of ways students can earn college credit for their prior work experience. But the state is faces challenges in its goal of expanding access to these creditswrites Adam Echelman of CalMatters.
Credit for prior work experience allows students to bypass some classes, saving them time and money. In 2018, California passed a law that later required each college to adopt a policy for awarding students credit for prior education or work experience. The Office of the Chancellor of California Colleges also wants at least 250,000 students by 2030 to have earned credit for their prior work experience.
But state funding for widespread implementation of the 2018 law has been slow, and while the state has developed standardized systems for evaluating student work experience and making it easier for students to apply for credit, only half of the state’s 116 community colleges are actively adopting those methods.
The ad hoc administrative process can also be complex for faculty members, who can sometimes find it difficult to evaluate and translate students’ various work experiences into equivalent college courses.
Awareness is another problem: some students don’t know that their experiences can earn them college credit.
Leila Rivers was a paratrooper in the US Army before attending West Los Angeles College. Months after she enrolled, a college dean indicated she could get credit for her time in the military and various stints at tech companies. In the end, Rivers earned seven credits, the equivalent of two classes.
- rivers: “I think it should just be built into the registration process instead of people learning about it. It took me a whole semester to figure it out.”
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Other stories you should know
CalMatters talks CARE Court about trade-offs
How do you help a person who doesn’t want help?
Families of people with serious mental illness, behavioral health experts and policymakers have been asking this question for years.
In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a solution he hoped could finally give real hope to Californians struggling with mental illness and their families: CARE Court.
A CARE Court now operates in every county and allows families or first responders to petition the care courts on behalf of a person with a serious mental illness.
A little more than two years into the program, CalMatters collected the most comprehensive view yet in the program. This series includes first-hand accounts from family members, many of whom initially supported the CARE Court but then turned against it. It also features interviews with first responders, policy makers and mental health advocates.
Marissa Kendall of CalMatters, who assisted in this investigation, I dug into the findings this week with the health policy podcast, Tradeoffs.
MPs again disagree with local control
Democratic lawmakers argue on a new bill which aims to fix loopholes in the pro-housing law that creaked last year, CalMatters’ Nadia Lathan writes.
In 2025, lawmakers passed legislation making it easier for developers to building housing near major transit hubs. The law, backed by Democrats who want to speed up housing construction, has faced opposition from city governments and lawmakers from both political parties because it overrules local government planning decisions.
Some cities have been able to get around the law by claiming they don’t have a major transit station, much to the dismay of critics who disagree. This new bill aims to close the loophole — and some lawmakers aren’t happy about it.
Last week, seven Democratic senators joined Republicans in rejecting the bill, including Sen. Katherine Blakespear of Encinitas. It was a rare move on her part, as most of her votes on the bill were aligned with the housing group, California YIMBY.
The bill passed the Senate regardless.
Finally: Which laws work? 🤔
The leader of the California Assembly wants to hold a series of hearings to review roughly a dozen laws to see how well they’re working. While the move is touted as a push for accountability, lawmakers must choose which laws to revise. Read more by Yue Stella Yu at CalMatters.
California voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: California’s population is plateauing, and declining populations among other blue states could eventually shift congressional seats and electoral presidential votes.
CalMatters contributor Jim Newton: Rising liberalism, populist calls for taxing the rich, and opposition to the Trump administration serve as signals of The steady shift of LA to the left.
Other things worth your time:
Supreme Court allows CA to use its newdemocrat friendly congressional map // NPR
Dem CA gubernatorial candidates are looking daylight during the first debate // The Sacramento Bee
CA’s long-awaited water policy promises balance. Opponents call it the “extinction plan” // San Francisco Chronicle
Glowing fish are exempt from the proposed ban on gene-edited pets in California // The Sacramento Bee
Bay Area counties trade in immigrants’ personal data for millions of dollars // The San Francisco Standard
Super Bowl security is being beefed up as ICE is afraid to overshadow the festivities // The Mercury News
SF opens homeless shelter for people forced to move during the Super Bowl // KQED
LA County cuts nearly $200 million in homeless services to fill the budget hole // Los Angeles Times
The victims of the palisades will see exemption from building permit fees during recovery // Los Angeles Times