On Tuesday, October 7, Governor Newsom signed AB 1098 and SB 638 into law. This two-bill package establishes the California Education Interagency Council, a statewide coordinating entity that can help break down silos between the state’s higher education, workforce development, and social services systems by developing a clear vision for shared prosperity and building the infrastructure to maximize state investments.
Here’s what the new laws do:
- AB 1098 establishes the California Education Interagency Council, bringing together state leaders from education, business, labor, and finance.
- SB 638 outlines the Council’s responsibilities, including setting a strategic plan, conducting critical higher education and workforce analyses, and addressing key intersegmental and cross-sector issues.
- Budget alignment: The 2025–26 budget includes $1.5M in ongoing funding to support the Council and its staff.
California Competes has long advocated for coordination, so we appreciate the leadership that led to this progress, especially from the bills’ authors Assemblymember Fong and Senator Padilla. We also want to recognize SB 638’s principal coauthors Senators Archuleta, Arreguín, Becker, Cortese, Grayson, Hurtado, McGuire, Pérez, Rubio, Smallwood-Cuevas, and Weber Pierson, as well as coauthor Assemblymember Muratsuchi.
You can help amplify this win by:
- Thanking the governor on social media using our sample post.
- Sharing this update, the bill language, and the fact sheets with your networks
- Learning more about the importance of coordination on our podcast, Degrees of Change.
This would not have been possible without the support of advocates and partners like you. Thank you for helping us build a stronger, more coordinated future for California’s students and workforce. We look forward to supporting the creation and operation of the new coordinating entity. If you have questions about these laws, please contact California Competes’s Policy Director, AJ Johnson, at
