{"id":7521,"date":"2026-06-18T12:31:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/no-robot-or-ai-instructors-bill-would-mandate-csu-courses-be-taught-by-humans-2\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T12:31:45","slug":"no-robot-or-ai-instructors-bill-would-mandate-csu-courses-be-taught-by-humans-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegorelocationnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/no-robot-or-ai-instructors-bill-would-mandate-csu-courses-be-taught-by-humans-2\/","title":{"rendered":"No robot or AI instructors: Bill would mandate CSU courses be taught by humans"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n

A new bill seeks to restrict who can and cannot teach a course at the California State University\u2019s 22 campuses. The criterion, though, is pretty simple: to be a professor, you must be human.<\/p>\n

Read more Legislature keeps \u2018hand grenade\u2019 corporate tax proposal alive for next governor<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 928, authored by state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, and sponsored by the California Faculty Association, would mandate that the instructor of record for every CSU course be a person who is qualified to serve as a faculty employee. As artificial intelligence makes its way into university classrooms, the operative word in the bill is \u201cperson,\u201d not \u201cqualified.\u201d The goal? To prevent faculty employees from being replaced by AI tutors. The bill clarifies that it will not prohibit employees from using AI tools to assist in their work.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cFaculty are irreplaceable,\u201d Cervantes said. \u201cAI should support educators, not replace them. SB 928 protects the human connection that helps CSU students succeed. (The bill) proactively ensures that CSU students will have access to teachers who are expert scholars in their fields.\u201c<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After its unanimous passage by the California Senate in April, the bill must now pass with a majority vote in the Assembly before it can be sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s desk for final approval. It is modeled after legislation authored by Cervantes in 2024 and 2025 to create similar protections for faculty in the California Community Colleges system.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis (bill) is entirely prophylactic,\u201d said Kevin Wehr, bargaining chair of the California Faculty Association which represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors and coaches in the CSU system. \u201cWe are really wary about closing the barn door after the horse has already gotten out. We\u2019re trying to be very proactive in all realms regarding AI in higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The push for the bill comes amid the CSU system\u2019s attempt to position itself as a global leader for the \u201cimpactful, responsible and equitable adoption of artificial intelligence\u201d in higher education. Last year, the system announced a \u201cfirst-of-its-kind public-private initiative\u201d with leading tech companies including Google, Intel, NVIDIA and OpenAI to create an \u201cAI-empowered higher education system.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 2025, it entered into a $17 million agreement with OpenAI to provide access to ChatGPT Edu to its 470,000 students and 63,000 faculty and staff for 18 months. Last month, the CSU renewed the controversial contract for three years at an annual price of $13 million. The system also entered into an agreement with OpenAI to pilot the company\u2019s certification courses on AI skills at its campuses.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

According to union leaders, the CSU has already attempted to outsource some faculty work to AI agents.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n