University of California

The Campus Opioid Safety Act required colleges and universities to put the power of reversing fentanyl overdoses directly into the hands of students. Some campuses are giving out the life-saving nasal spray Narcan, while others are not.

When parents without Social Security numbers try to fill out the aid application on behalf of their children, they are blocked from continuing. Federal officials are offering no information about when the problem will be fixed.

The proposal would have meant challenging a federal law that bars employers from hiring undocumented immigrants. Advocates requesting the change argue that the University of California, as a state agency, is exempt from that law.

Successive state audits of the University of California and the California State University found both systems have failed to comply with decades old state and federal laws mandating the return of Native ancestral remains and cultural artifacts, an act known as repatriation. Only UCLA and Cal State Long Beach have returned a majority of their collections back to local tribes.

While the UC and Cal State systems received more money in 2023, they still face financial challenges. And they also must address labor strife.

Gov. Gavin Newsom greenlit 56 bills Wednesday to help ease the state’s affordable housing crisis. And with three days left to take action, he’s gone through most major bills on other pressing issues as well. But there are still a handful of significant ones he has yet to decide. Perhaps the most contentious is Senate […]

The final, frenetic week of the Legislature is as much about bills that don’t get through — or get watered down significantly — as those that do pass and reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, or the big, last-minute deals: A reminder that CalMatters is tracking bills that are being sent to Newsom. Tuesday, that list […]

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks proposed legislation to help get around a court's rejection of a UC Berkeley housing plan. But even if the law is approved, its fate is in the hands of the state Supreme Court.

From CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang:  If Gov. Gavin Newsom was hoping amendments introduced to his mental health overhaul last week would sufficiently appease critics, Tuesday’s back-to-back committee hearings only revealed how much further he has to go to reach a compromise. The big idea: Newsom wants counties to prioritize behavioral health spending on homeless […]

California adopted a master plan for its higher education system more than six decades ago, but its vision has never materialized. It's time to square the plan with 21st-century realities.