The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization aimed at advising state policymakers, launched a new educational initiative this month called CCST Legislative Academy that is intended to support the state Legislature.
The AI policy landscape differs by state, but experts argue state-level regulation offers clarity for those working with government. States’ ability to enact and enforce their own policies has been challenged recently as the federal government attempted to enact a moratorium on state-level AI policy; now, the president’s AI Action Plan revives the idea by restricting federal funding access. However, there is bipartisan agreement that states should have a role in AI regulation.
California is one state continuously exploring AI-related legislation, with more than 50 such bills introduced in the 2025 legislative session. Since 2024, more than 100 AI-related bills have been introduced in the state, CCST CEO Julianne McCall said via email. The organization, she said, was established by the state Legislature in 1988 and has since been a resource to policymakers.
The sheer amount of activity and information legislators need to follow in this area, which was illuminated by the Joint California Summit on Generative AI, catalyzed CCST’s work to offer more education and evidence-based resources to guide effective policymaking in the state.
“The CCST Legislative Academy on AI is a first-of-its-kind training program to help the California legislative staff better understand AI and the policy debates around it,” McCall said.
The academy is a partnership with the Omidyar Network and in collaboration with the Kapor Foundation. Its initial rollout will include seminars and policy roundtables on topics including AI fundamentals, algorithmic bias, workforce impacts, and data privacy.
It will start this fall with six events, including lectures, seminars, policy roundtables, site visits to innovation hubs, and a showcase of use cases. Participation in programming, open only to Legislature members and staff, is currently available at no cost, McCall said.
Following the preliminary launch, created to provide a way to test different teaching formats, CCST will determine what aspects of the initiative will be included in the future. Curriculum will be designed with feedback from state Senate and Assembly staff, McCall said.
CCST plans to present a draft curriculum and proposed guidelines for the staff participation selection process to legislative leadership by March, she said. The full launch of the academy will take place in 2026 and will introduce an annual program, build on existing curriculum and enhance cross-sector engagement.
The CCST Legislative Academy on AI is part of the organization’s AI Policy Initiative, which launched in 2024. While the Academy is intended to support the state Legislature specifically, CCST will provide other programming under this initiative for other audiences.
Academy on AI Offers Educational Resources to Lawmakers
What to Know:- The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) has launched the Legislative Academy on AI to provide nonpartisan, evidence-based education to legislative staff.
- The initiative, backed by partners like the Omidyar Network and Kapor Foundation, will begin this fall with seminars, roundtables and site visits — leading to a full launch in 2026 as part of CCST’s broader AI Policy Initiative.
