SACRAMENTO – The California Community Colleges in partnership with the State Bar of California through California LAW, a nonprofit organization, have expanded a statewide program for community college students offering a pathway to some of the state’s top law schools.

Two new law schools, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, have joined the program, bringing the number of law schools involved in the program to eight. Twenty-two high school law academies have also been added.

The Community Colleges Pathway to Law School initiative launched in 2014 with a goal of enhancing opportunities and advancement in the legal profession for diverse populations, particularly those who have traditionally been underrepresented.

More than 700 community college students are currently enrolled in the program statewide, with more than 250 graduated Cal LAW Scholars already.

“Expanding this program proves it has been a successful venture for everyone involved,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley. “We’ve long known California community colleges are filled with gifted and capable students who would benefit the legal profession across California. This program gives those students a direct path to some of the finest law schools in the country, and gives those schools a pipeline of diverse students from across the state.”

The remaining participating law schools are University of Southern California Gould School of Law, University of San Francisco School of Law, UC Davis School of Law, UC Irvine School of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law and Loyola Law School.

The Community Colleges Pathway to Law School initiative requires students to complete courses based on a defined set of “success factors” that help make effective lawyers. Students in the program receive early exposure to the law school experience, individual advisement and mentoring from law school advisors, financial aid counseling, LSAT preparation and waived application fees for admission to the participating law schools.

To learn more, visit http://californialawinc.com/ .

Community colleges participating in the program are Antelope Valley College (Lancaster), Bakersfield College, Chabot College (Hayward), Chaffey College (Rancho Cucamonga), College of Alameda , College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita), College of the Sequoias (Visalia), East Los Angeles College, Fresno City College, Gavilan College (Gilroy), Hartnell College (Salinas), Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles Mission College (Sylmar), Merritt College (Oakland), Rio Hondo College (Whittier), Riverside City College, Sacramento City College, Saddleback College (Mission Viejo), San Joaquin Delta College (Stockton), San Jose City College, Santa Ana College, Santa Monica College, Solano Community College (Fairfield), Southwestern College (Chula Vista), Ventura College, Victor Valley College (Victorville) and West Los Angeles College.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 114 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year.

For more information about the community colleges, please visit http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/, https://www.facebook.com/CACommColleges or https://twitter.com/CalCommColleges.