AB 1155 would require law schools to allow law students to receive compensation from an externship while concurrently earning academic course credit beginning August 1, 2026. AB 115 applies to law schools accredited by California or by the American Bar Association that receive, or benefit from, state-funded student financial assistance or that enroll students who receive state-funded student financial assistance. However, AB 1155 only applies to law schools at the University of California to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by appropriate resolution, to make the provisions of AB 1155 applicable.
While AB 1155 requires that law schools allow students to be compensated for externships, it does not require that students actually be compensated for externships. Ultimately, whether to compensate and the amount of compensation are set by the externship employer.
(AB 1155 adds Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 66550) to Part 40 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code.)