66025.82.
(a) Commencing with the 2025–26 academic year, the California State University shall, and the University of California is requested to, with respect to each campus in their respective jurisdictions that administers a priority enrollment system, grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment to a first responder.(b) (1) The priority registration for enrollment provided pursuant to this section shall apply to enrollment for all baccalaureate degree and certificate programs offered by the institution after the employment of the student as a first responder has been verified by the institution the student attends.
(2) A student requesting priority registration pursuant to this section shall provide the institution with documentation that shows proof of employment as a first responder upon an initial request for priority registration and annually upon the start of each subsequent academic year if priority registration is requested.
(c) For purposes of this section, “first responder” means an employee of the state or a local public agency who provides emergency response services, including any of the following:
(1) A peace officer.
(2) A firefighter who is a member of a fire department of cities, counties, cities and counties, districts, or other public or municipal corporations or political subdivisions, whether the members are volunteer, partly paid, or fully paid, excepting those whose principal duties are clerical, such as stenographers, telephone operators, and other workers not engaged in fire suppression or rescue operations or the protection or preservation of life or property.
(3) A paramedic.
(4) An emergency medical technician.
(5) A public safety dispatcher or public safety telecommunicator whose primary responsibility is to receive, process, transmit, or dispatch emergency and nonemergency calls for law enforcement, fire, emergency medical, and other public safety services by telephone, radio, or other communication device, and includes an individual who promotes from this position and supervises individuals who perform these functions.