欧博allbetNew California law automatically admits st

CALIFORNIA, USA — A new California law automatically admits qualified graduating high school students into the California State University system starting in 2026.

The 16 CSUs part of the automatic enrollment program include CSU Bakersfield, CSU Channel Islands, Chico State, CSU Dominguez Hills, Cal State East Bay, Fresno State, Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal State LA, Cal State Monterey Bay, CSU Northridge, Sacramento State, Cal State San Bernardino, San Francisco State, Cal State San Marcos, Sonoma State and Stanislaus State.

Students may also apply to six other CSUs that already have high enrollment, including CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, Cal Poly Pomona, San Diego State, San Jose State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, though admission to those schools is not guaranteed in 2026, ABC10 previously reported.

Qualified students still need to submit an application to receive an official letter of acceptance, according to the school system. That process can be done through CaliforniaColleges.edu, where students choose which schools to apply to directly.

Lawmakers say the new program is designed to increase students’ opportunities as well as cut down on the stress and paperwork of the admissions process.

The change is also intended to address declining enrollment at CSU campuses, some of which are seeing sharp drops, legislators said. The California Colleges website will determine student eligibility, and the California Guidance Initiative would send direct letters of admission to students, informing them which CSU campuses they have been automatically accepted into.

State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-Yolo County) introduced the bill, and the law reportedly builds off programs he helped launch while serving as mayor of West Sacramento to secure tuition-free admission to Sacramento City College for local high school graduates.

WATCH MORE: New year, new laws in California

ABC10: Watch, Download, Read