The California Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling requiring UC Berkeley to freeze enrollment at 2020-21 levels. However, contrary to prior statements from the university, UC Berkeley now says it will not have to rescind 3,000 enrollment offers. Instead, it will ask roughly 1,000 new students to take all their classes online this fall. Another 650 will have to start the academic year in spring of 2023.
The Supreme Court decision will have major implications for schools and universities across the state. This is the first time the California Environmental Equality Act (CEQA) was used to cap campus enrollment.
“This is an enormous limit on what any UC school, any Cal State school, any public school system can do,” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley’s law school, told CalMatters.
The decision is also likely to add urgency to the push for CEQA reform. CEQA has often been blamed for exacerbating the state’s housing crisis; now it is blamed for depriving countless students of an education.
UC Berkeley had received support from Mayor Jesse Arreguin, as well as Governor Gavin Newsom in its legal fight against Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods, which filed the initial lawsuit. Supporters of UC Berkeley say diminishing opportunities for higher education could have devastating impacts on the state’s economy and future.