|
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 23, 2026 |
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 16, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2392
| Introduced by Assembly Member Fong |
February 20, 2026 |
An act to add Article 14 (commencing with Section 66098) to Chapter 2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2392, as amended, Fong.
Public postsecondary education: generative artificial intelligence products: systems: procurement standards: training.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state.
This bill would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and would request the University of California, before providing an a generative artificial intelligence product
(GenAI) system to students, faculty, or staff, to (1) as specified, convene a joint working group to present recommendations for procurement standards and training, which the bill would require to be submitted on or before January 1, 2028, and (2) provide a the training to students, faculty, or staff on the use of the product, as provided. staff, as applicable. The bill would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and would request the University of California, to review the
training developed by the working group at least once per academic year, update the training as necessary, and maintain records of completed trainings for each student, faculty member, and staff member who receives a training, as provided. The bill would require the California Community Colleges and the California State University, and would request the University of California, before executing a contract to procure a GenAI system and until procurement standards are adopted, to submit a written report to the Legislature and certain legislative policy committees with a description of, among other things, the process used in evaluating and selecting the GenAI system, as provided.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 14 (commencing with Section 66098) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:Article 14. Artificial Intelligence
66098.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(a) “Artificial intelligence” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 11549.64 of the Government Code.
(b) “Generative artificial intelligence” or “GenAI” has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 11549.64 of the Government Code.
(c) “Sycophancy” means the tendency of a GenAI system to overly agree with, validate, or flatter a user even when the user is communicating factually inaccurate or illegal ideas or actions for the primary purpose of optimizing engagement.
66098.66098.1.
The California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and the University of California is requested to, before providing(a) Convene a joint working group to develop standards for responsible GenAI training and procurement, as follows:
(1) The purpose of the working group is to develop responsible training protocols and procurement standards for the purchase, development, and use of GenAI systems for educational purposes that are consistent with current law regarding the regulation, procurement, development, and use of GenAI systems.
(2) (A) The
working group shall include, but not be limited to, privacy experts, representatives from student and faculty advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, and civil society groups, and academic researchers focused on responsible GenAI procurement, design, and implementation.
(B) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California State University shall jointly convene the working group and designate a lead convener responsible for coordinating working group activities.
(C) The University of California is requested to join the working group.
(3) The working
group shall do all of the following:
(A) Develop procurement standards that ensure that any procured GenAI system meets all of the following minimum protections:
(i) The system has undergone a documented risk assessment that evaluated potential harms, misuses, abuses, and bias, and has demonstrably effective measures in place to ensure the system does not output harmful content or illegal content, including nonconsensual intimate imagery, suicide and suicidal ideation, disordered eating, and mental health therapy ordinarily administered by a licensed professional.
(ii) The system does not prioritize engagement over factual accuracy by using excessive sycophancy.
(iii) The system’s vendor has a safety monitoring protocol that detects a user’s intent to harm themselves or others, escalates to human review, and, in cases of imminent threat or grave bodily injury or death, makes appropriate referrals to authorities.
(iv) The vendor has a transparent incident reporting system to report and respond to harmful outputs.
(v) The system is subject to written policies governing data use, retention, sharing with third parties, and deletion timelines.
(vi) The system is configured to collect only data that is strictly necessary for the stated educational purpose and is subject to regular audits.
(vii) The system’s vendor discloses all training data sources, including whether copyrighted content, personally identifiable information, or student-generated content was used.
(viii) As it can be reasonably determined, the vendor does not contract with entities that have unlawfully undermined privacy or civil liberties.
(ix) As it can be reasonably determined, the vendor does not use exploitative labor practices.
(B) Develop a training on the use of any procured GenAI system that shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(i) Relevant policies of the institution concerning the use of a GenAI system, including policies related to academic integrity.
(ii) A disclosure of the privacy policies applicable to a GenAI system, including how user data and prompts may be collected, stored, or used to train the system.
(iii) Guidance on the limitations of a GenAI system, including the potential for inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading outputs.
(C) On or before January 1, 2028, present its recommendations for procurement standards and training developed pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) to the respective system leaders.
(b) (1) Provide the training developed pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) to students, faculty, or staff, as applicable.
(2) The California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California may develop distinct versions of a training required pursuant to this section that are tailored to reflect the distinct uses, responsibilities, and applicable policies that are relevant to students, faculty, and staff, respectively. This article shall not be construed to require a single uniform training for all recipients.
66098.2.
The California Community Colleges and the California State University shall, and the University of California is requested to, do both of the following:(a) (1) Review the training developed pursuant to Section 66098.1 at least once per academic year and update the training as necessary to reflect changes in institutional policy, applicable law, or the functionality or privacy practices of the GenAI system.
(2) An updated training shall be provided to students, faculty, or staff, as applicable, before their continued use of a product that has undergone a material change in functionality or privacy practices.
(b) Maintain records of completed trainings required pursuant to this article for each student, faculty member, and staff member who receives a training. Records shall include, at minimum, the name of the individual, the date of completion, and the version of the training delivered, and shall be retained for a minimum of four years following the date of completion.
66098.3.
The California Community Colleges and California State University shall, and the University of California is requested to, submit a written report to the Legislature and relevant policy committees of the Legislature with jurisdiction over higher education and privacy and consumer protection, consistent with Section 9795 of the Government Code, before executing a contract for the procurement of a GenAI system during the period beginning on January 1, 2027, and ending upon the adoption of procurement standards, as recommended by the working group established pursuant to Section 66098.1. The report shall include, but not be limited to, a description of all of the following:(a) The GenAI system to be procured, including the vendor name, the intended use, and the
population of students, faculty, or staff who will have access to the system.
(b) The process used in evaluating and selecting the system, including any risk assessments conducted, competing systems considered, and how the procurement decision was made.
(c) The training that will be provided to students, faculty, and staff before the deployment of the system, including the content of the training and the method of delivery.
(d) The data use, retention, and privacy practices of the vendor, including how user data and prompts may be collected, stored, or used to train the system.