WHEREAS, California community college students face severe and compounding financial pressures due to persistent inflation, rising housing and food costs, and declining job availability, with statewide and national research indicating that nearly half of community college students experience food insecurity, over half experience housing insecurity, and a majority must work while enrolled—often exceeding 30 to 40 hours per week—thereby creating structural conditions in which unpaid student leadership roles are increasingly inaccessible [2][4][7][15][16];

WHEREAS, The California Community Colleges system serves over 2.1 million students annually, with more than 70% identifying as students of color [1, 2], and has committed through its systemwide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement to ensuring equal educational opportunity for all students and to eradicating institutional discrimination and implicit bias from the system [3, 4]; 

WHEREAS, California is home to approximately one million individuals reporting Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) ancestry, with over 112,000 individuals in San Diego County, including 28,000 in East County [2][3][4] and in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 3,275 students (16% of the total student population) reported Middle Eastern race/ethnicity [5]; however, all of these numbers are undercounted due to delayed and inconsistent data collection standards, for instance, the California Community College system only began offering a “Middle Eastern” race/ethnicity catego

WHEREAS, "Catalog rights" are a critical protection that allow California Community College students to finish their degrees based on the requirements in place when they first started, ensuring they do not have to take extra classes if graduation rules change later;

WHEREAS, To keep these rights, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and other districts require "continuous attendance," which usually means a student must attend at least one term every calendar year;

WHEREAS, More than 17,000 international students are enrolled in the California Community College system across campuses statewide [1], making up a large and vital part of the California Community College system;

WHEREAS, Art programs are available at most California Community Colleges [1];

WHEREAS, Other majors have the opportunity to study spaces that allows them to prepare and progress on assignments on campus [2]; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Education states that students should spend about 2-3 hours of study time per credit hour, the lack of dedicated study spaces makes this difficult for art students to meet [3]; Now, therefore, be it

WHEREAS, AB 1705 (Irwin, 2022) mandates that California Community College STEM majors be placed directly into transfer-level Calculus I beginning July 1, 2025, as the point after which colleges may not recommend/require transfer-level preparatory courses based on placement rules unless they have validated those sequences; colleges must also ensure STEM students have access to STEM Calculus I, thereby significantly increasing the demand for concurrent academic support services [1][6];

WHEREAS, The California Community Colleges (CCC) system serves a significant population of English as a Second Language (ESL) students, including Adult Education and English Language Learners, who represent approximately 13% enrolled students statewide and are disproportionately impacted by linguistic barriers in academic testing environments [1]; 

WHEREAS, First-Generation Dependent Students (F1D Students) are California Community College students who are the first in their families to attend college and are classified as financially dependent for financial aid purposes while being financially dependent on one or more undocumented parents or guardians, comprising a distinct and unrecognized student population facing equity barriers within the California Community Colleges [1][2][3]; 

WHEREAS, A significant number [as per the first source provided 53.8% of average adults] of California community college students live with chronic illnesses, such as but not limited to, autoimmune disorders, asthma, diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, and chronic pain, and these conditions can have a significant impact on attendance and overall academic performance; and