The California Senate Passes Senator Cortese’s Bill to Create a Law School At San Jose State University

SACRAMENTO –Senator Dave Cortese’s (D-Silicon Valley) SB 550 authorizing San Jose State University to create the first public law school in the California State University system today passed the Senate and now moves forward to the Assembly.

“It is a victory for working adults and others wanting to change careers or better themselves by having access to law school. SB 550 opens the door to a law school in San Jose that is affordable, community-based, and designed for the next generation of leaders and first-generation students,” said Senator Dave Cortese (D-Silicon Valley). “Cost and geographic barriers drive talent away from public service careers and prevent first-generation and underrepresented students from entering the legal profession. We must lower these barriers to entry and create a public legal education option where it’s needed most.”

California is facing a crisis in affordable legal education. Law school remains out of reach for many due to cost, limited public options, and geographic disparities. Santa Clara County is home to nearly 2 million residents, but has no public law school. In a region where over 65% of the population identifies as Asian or Latino, both groups remain severely underrepresented among licensed attorneys statewide.

Lincoln Law School of San José, the only nonprofit state-accredited law school in San José, supports SB 550 and has expressed interest in integrating with San José State University to help establish California’s first public law school in the CSU system as well as the first public law school in San José.

The average law school debt in private schools now exceeds $130,000, and 67% of young lawyers report financial stress—deterring many from pursuing legal careers.

SB 550 helps close these gaps, by enabling the development of an affordable public law school to serve the heart of Silicon Valley and diversify California’s legal pipeline.

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