Support AB 302 (Berman, as of March25,2019) and Identify Housing Assistance Representatives

Spring
2019
Resolution Number
06.04
 
Contact
Assigned to
Legislative and Advocacy Committee
Category
State and Legislative Issues
Status
Completed
Status Report

A letter of support was submitted on May 6, 2019.

Whereas, A recent study [1] showed that California community college students are increasingly housing insecure, with 1 in 5 students, or roughly 400,000 students in the system, currently being homeless, and that 60 percent of community college students in California have experienced recent housing insecurity and 50 percent have struggled with food insecurity in the last year;

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ mission and values are firmly grounded in equity and reflect support for all students in reaching their goals, regardless of their backgrounds, and housing and food insecurity negatively impact the mental and physical health and wellbeing of community college students, especially for “…some vulnerable or disadvantaged groups. Thirty-one percent of black students reported being without permanent shelter, while 34% of transgender students and 27% of gay and lesbian students lacked stable homes” [2] thereby reducing their opportunities for success;

Whereas, Research of all 114 California community colleges’ websites found that 23 colleges allow overnight parking for at least some permitted situations; and

Whereas, AB 302 (Berman, as of March 25, 2019) “would require a community college campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college, for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight,” and

“would require the governing board of the community college district to determine a plan of action to implement this requirement, as specified” [3];

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges support AB 302 (Berman, as of March 25, 2019) and communicate that support to the legislature and other constituents as appropriate; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommend that local senates work with their colleges and districts to identify a housing assistance representative as part of student support programs and services, whose focus would be to help students locate emergency shelter and affordable student housing.

MSC


1. Goldrick-Rab, S, et al. (March 2019). California Community Colleges #RealCollege Survey. Hope Center. Retrieved from https://hope4college.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/RealCollege-CCCCO-Report.pdf
2. Chabria, A. (2019, March 7). Community Colleges Can Cost More than Universities, Leaving Neediest Students Homeless. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/local/education/higher-ed/la-pol-ca-community-college-homeless-students-20190307-story.html
3. AB 302: Parking, Homeless Students. (Berman, as of March 25, 2019). Retrieved from https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB302