FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 4, 2019
Contact: Danny Thirakul, President; Amine El Moznine VP Legislative Affairs
E-Mail: President@studentsenateccc.org ; VPLA@studentsenateccc.org
Statement from SSCCC on the passage of AB 1504 (Medina)
Sacramento, CA - Earlier this morning, the Governor signed the SSCCC-sponsored AB 1504 (Medina). The bill requires a California Community College (CCC) campus to collect a student representation fee of $2 per semester/quarter if the CCC has a student body association. By signing this legislation into law, Governor Newsom and the legislature have acknowledged the need for California community college students to have a strong organized voice advocating on their behalf. The SSCCC is appreciative of Assemblymember Jose Medina for carrying this legislation. His support for funding an organized student voice demonstrates his belief in empowering students to participate in policy decisions affecting their education.
AB 1504 marks the first step in funding the historically underrepresented students of the California Community College System by providing them with resources to organize and advocate on the issues affecting them. The funding provided will allow the SSCCC to better represent the 2.1 million California community college students and will grant funding parity for students across all public higher education systems in California. The new funding source increases the per student funding for the SSCCC from $.16 to approximately $2 per student, thus supporting the most diverse population in the United States. AB 1504 represents a paradigm shift in the typical manner in which student government for California community colleges operates and the first step towards equity for a student group that has not had an effective role in the decision making at a policy level in the past.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 115 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. The Student Senate for California Community College works to promote and safeguard access for current and future students to California public higher education in accordance with the Master Plan for Higher Education through system participatory governance, legislative and policy advocacy, and regional support and development and is the official voice of California community college students statewide.
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