Plain English Breakdown
The official text does not define which specific degrees or certificates satisfy the requirement, only that they must be 'specified' in future rules.
New Education Rules for Peace Officers
This law removes the requirement for the state training commission to approve specific education criteria and sets new deadlines starting in 2031 for most peace officers to earn a degree or certificate.
What This Bill Does
- Removes the rule that requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to approve education criteria based on a report from community colleges.
- Allows approved services to check if foreign college degrees match California degree requirements.
- Requires most new peace officers starting in January 2031 to earn a specific degree or certificate within 36 months of getting their basic certification.
- Gives some officers with less than 8 years of prior military or out-of-state police experience up to 48 months to finish their degrees.
- Allows training from the military or law enforcement academies in other states to count toward degree requirements.
Who It Names or Affects
- Peace officers who begin working on or after January 1, 2031
- Officers with prior experience as police in another state or service in the U.S. Armed Forces
- The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training within the Department of Justice
Terms To Know
- Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
- A state group inside the Department of Justice that sets rules for police training.
- Basic certificate
- The official document given to a person after they finish their initial peace officer academy training.
- Credential evaluation services
- Approved groups that check if degrees from schools outside the U.S. are equal to California college degrees.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not list which specific colleges or certificates officers must choose.
- Officers working in prisons, certain county jails performing custodial duties, state hospitals, or those already employed as of December 31, 2030, are exempt from the new degree deadlines.