Higher Education Budget Supports Economic Mobility, Falls Short of Protecting Vulnerable UC & CSU Students

(Sacramento, CA) – Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2025-26 proposed budget for California presents a balancing act: our state is in better financial health than in recent budget years, moving higher education towards stability, not restoration of full funding. Given the fiscal constraints, the Campaign for College Opportunity commends the Governor’s efforts to protect students and higher education. We appreciate his focus on expanding career pathways at community colleges, ensuring credit mobility, and setting the stage for vital intersegmental collaboration. Simultaneously, we recognize that while we move toward long-term budget stabilization and reinvestment in higher education, planned funding cuts to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) will lead to difficult decisions on campuses. We call upon the Governor, policymakers, and system leaders to work collaboratively to develop a plan to mitigate the dire impacts of one-time 8% budget cuts on Latinx, Black, Asian American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, low-income, first-generation, and undocumented student populations. California can be a beacon of light for the country when we recognize and invest in the talents of diverse communities and equitable opportunities to contribute to our evolving economy. Amidst unprecedented challenges, we must continue to offer bold leadership to counter mounting threats to students and higher education.

Governor Newsom’s budget proposal offers a promising commitment to supporting existing college pathways while offering new paths to achieving upward economic mobility and meeting the needs of today’s students, outlined in his Master Plan for Career Education. At the California Community Colleges (CCC), the budget invests in California’s first-ever Career Passport, dedicating $100 million to build students’ marketable skillsets by allowing them to document their skills earned in and out of the classroom. We are also heartened by other proposed community college investments, including a $30.4 million increase to meet enrollment growth; $330.5 million to standardize and streamline data collection across the community colleges and create a common data platform; and $30 million to expand the Rising Scholars Network, which provides educational opportunities to justice-impacted students.

We also applaud the Governor for setting the stage for strong intersegmental collaboration, allocating $5 million to establish a state planning and coordinating body for TK-12 education, higher education, and state economic and labor agencies—a longtime priority of the Campaign. We are additionally encouraged by the Governor’s renewed dedication to college affordability with a $3.1 billion allocation to the California Student Aid Commission with no cuts, $2.6 billion of which will be dedicated to funding for Cal Grant scholarships.

The 25-26 budget proposal also presents difficult decisions, particularly for the UC and CSU systems. While we thank the Governor for continuing to uphold the ideals of the multi-year funding compacts, we are disappointed to see funding deferrals of 7.95% for both systems until 2027-28. These compacts were designed to bring funding stability to the systems in exhange for meeting key student-centered and equity goals. This cut, though one-time in nature, is likely to have dire impacts on students, especialy amid a college affordability crisis, compounded by Better FAFSA issues, and an incoming presidential administration that is hostile to both equity and some of our most vulnerable students: undocumented and mixed-status students.

“The Campaign for College Opportunity thanks Governor Newsom for making good on many of our longtime priorities, such as establishing a statewide coordinating body and expanding credit mobility for students. These proposals help empower students with opportunities that strengthen our state. Mounting attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion and growing hostility toward undocumented and mixed-status communities worsen every budget cut. California must remain steadfast in its commitment to inclusion and urge policymakers to work with the CSU and UC to preserve vital resources for our most vulnerable students. Working together, we can reject the fear-driven attacks on our growing multiracial democracy and economy,” said Jessie Ryan, President of the Campaign for College Opportunity.