Updates From Yesterday's Board of Trustees Meetings

on
At yesterday's meeting of the Legislative and Public Affairs Committee of the LACCD Board of Trustees, members reviewed several key pieces of State legislation that could ultimately have a direct impact on West Los Angeles College.  Tenets of each item are summarized below, drawing directly from status reports provided by the District's lobbying firms.  (Please note:  AB indicates "Assembly Bill;" SB indicates "Senate Bill.")

  •  AB 59:  Polling places on college campuses.  Requires election officials to designate a vote center or satellite office on college campuses with a preference to locations on California community college campuses with an annual enrollment of at least 10,000 students.  LACCD will support if the legislation is amended to clarify who bears the costs.
  • AB 302:  Parking for homeless students.  Requires districts to allow any homeless student to park overnight in the campus's parking facility.  LACCD will support if the bill is amended to make the program optional based on the unique circumstances at each school (e.g., neighbor concerns, capacity, etc.).  Still unanswered is the source of funding for such a program.
  • AB 891.  Public property safe parking program.  Requires each city with a population of more than 330,000 and each county to establish a safe parking program by June 1, 2022.  LACCD will support, but will watch its progress to see if the bill can serve as an alternative to AB 302.
  • AB 1774:  Student Aid Commission/extension of application deadlines.  Authorizes the CA Student Aid Commission to postpone an application deadline for student financial aid up to 30 calendar days for regions that have experienced natural disasters, states of emergency, or labor actions.  LACCD will support.
  • SB 52:  Cal Grant C Awards.  Establishes an application deadline of September 2 for students to apply for a Cal Grant C award effective with the fall term or semester of the 2020-2021 year. LACCD will support, because Cal Grant C is not fully utilized despite the substantial demand for career technical education programs.  The current March 2 application deadline is not aligned with a time period in which students actually decide to enroll in programs.
  • AB 188:  Discrimination/hairstyles.  Specifies that race, a category protected against workplace discrimination under the CA Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), includes traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture, braids, locks, and twists.  LACCD will support.
  • SB 1096:  Student financial aid/immigrants seeking asylum.  Extends eligibility for the Cal Grant Program to student who are non-citizens that have filed the specific application for asylum.  LACCD will support.