BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1557
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1557 (Holden)
As Amended March 24, 2014
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 13-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Williams, Bloom, Fong, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | |Bradford, |
| |Linder, Medina, Olsen, | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Quirk-Silva, Weber, Wilk | |Eggman, Gomez, Holden, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Modifies the composition of the California Community
Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Adds a voting and a non-voting student member who are current
or former members of the Armed Forces to the CCC BOG.
2)Requires one of the 12 board members appointed by the Governor
and subject to confirmation by the Senate be a current or
former member of the Armed Forces with demonstrated expertise
and leadership in veterans' affairs.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the membership of the CCC BOG to consist of 16
voting members and one non-voting member (Education (EC) Code
Section 71000).
2)Specifies that except for student members, the faculty
members, and the classified employee member appointed by the
Governor, any vacancy in an appointed position on the board
shall be filled by appointment by the Governor, subject to
confirmation by two-thirds of the membership of the Senate;
and, that a vacancy in the office of a student member, a
faculty member, or the classified employee member shall be
filled by appointment by the Governor (EC Section 71003).
AB 1557
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs for this bill would be minor for the additional
student members to attend BOG meetings.
COMMENTS : Under current law, the CCC BOG consists of 16 voting
members, all appointed by the Governor. These include:
1)Twelve members appointed by the Governor with the advice and
consent of two-thirds of the membership of the Senate. These
members serve for six-year (staggered) terms. Two of the 13
members shall be current or former elected members of local
CCC district governing boards.
2)One voting student member and one non-voting student member,
as specified, to be appointed from a list of names of at least
three persons submitted to the Governor by the California
Student Association of Community Colleges.
3)Two tenured faculty members, for two-year terms, appointed
from a list of names of at least three persons furnished by
the Academic Senate of the CCCs.
4)One classified employee, for a two-year term, appointed from a
list of at least three persons furnished by the exclusive
representatives of classified employees of the CCCs.
The CCC BOG sets policy and provides guidance for the 72
districts and 112 colleges that constitute the system. They
formally interact with state and federal officials and other
organizations. Additionally, the board selects a chancellor for
the system. The chancellor, through a formal process of
consultation, brings recommendations to the board.
To note, the current BOG President, Manuel Baca, is a United
States Marine Corps veteran and BOG member, Lance Izumi, was a
reservist with the California State Military Reserve.
According to the author, CCCs enroll the vast majority of
California veterans seeking higher education opportunities. The
author believes that it is imperative that veterans are given
two seats on the CCC BOG in order to provide first-hand insight
as the BOG develops veteran-specific long- and short-term
AB 1557
Page 3
educational policies.
The author states, "With strategic planning, CCCs can play a
prominent role in providing our veterans as well as active duty
members with vocational training, career advancement training,
opportunities to achieve Associate Degrees, and a path to four
year colleges-that is why it is essential that we expand the CCC
BOG to include two representatives from this group." The author
goes on to state that, "Veterans returning to college face
unique challenges and colleges across the state are scrambling
to offer support. If campuses are not prepared to help these
soldiers transition from combat to college, we run the risk of
alienating thousands of returning vets; with this bill we are
saying, we are committed to helping our student veterans - you
are not alone, we hear you."
Joint hearing on student veteran issues: To prepare for the
influx of veterans, on February 28, 2012, the Assembly Higher
Education and Assembly Veterans Affairs Committees held a joint
oversight hearing on the challenges facing California student
veterans. Several students and representatives from the higher
education institutions spoke for the need for more resources for
veterans' services, including more transition assistance,
improving outreach and campus-based programs, and easing the
matriculation of prior military learning.
Outreach to current student veterans: According to the
California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), with an
estimated 1.8 million veterans residing in California, our state
has the largest population of veterans in the nation. According
to the CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO), many of the increasing
number of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will look
to one of the 112 community colleges as the most easily
accessible and affordable educational option available. More
than 44,000 veterans and active duty service members enrolled at
a CCC in 2012. The CCCs serve nearly five times the combined
number of student veterans enrolled at the University of
California (UC) and the California State University (CSU)
systems.
The CCCs are providing more services to a growing population of
student veterans; the CCCCO recognizes the need for continued
support of our student veterans and as such has been the lead on
several statewide projects, including:
AB 1557
Page 4
1)Veterans Resource Center Project: At Veterans Resource Centers
(VRCs) student veterans can interact with one another and obtain
information and services. The CCCCO partnered with the High Tech
Center Training Unit at De Anza College (in Cupertino, CA) to
offer free hardware, software and onsite training in assistive
technology to colleges that promote academics, camaraderie, and
wellness, provide a dedicated space for student veterans, and
offer coordinated services such as financial aid and counseling
to veterans. As a result, 24 addition2)al colleges have
established a VRC on their campus.
To note, because the individual campuses do not have to report
to the CCCCO as to if they have a VRC, it is presently unknown
the exact number of campuses that have VRCs, however, it is
estimated that at least half of the CCCs have a VRC.
Additionally, VRCs are staffed by either full-time employees or
a mix of volunteers and student mentors.
3)Zellerbach Family Foundation Project: "Welcome Home: Creating
a Campus Community of Wellness for Returning Veterans In March
2010, the CCCCO received a $75,000 grant from the Zellerbach
Family Foundation to support the development and implementation
of a training program for faculty and staff to increase
awareness on military culture, posttraumatic stress disor4)der
(PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and depression in order
that faculty and staff can better understand the challenges
faced by many community college student veterans. The training
has been provided at 13 colleges and six statewide conferences
since its inception and is scheduled to be delivered at an
additional eight colleges in 2014.
5)Veterans Summit: In December 2013, the CCCCO co-hosted the
third Veterans Summit held in Newport Beach, CA. Topics at the
summit included: VA Benefits and education plans, creating
VRCs, women veterans, academic counseling, best practices in
serving student veterans, mental health issues confronting
veterans, and accessing federal, state and local resources. For
the first time in the three year history of this event, veteran
service professionals from the UC and CSU systems participated.
Additionally, according to CalVet, they work very closely with
the CCCCO in the Veterans Summit and with several local campuses
on veteran issues, including the VRCs.
AB 1557
Page 5
6)Regional Representation Structure: The CCCCO has organized a
Veteran Services Regional Advisory Committee (Committee) and
hosts regular meetings of this group to better identify student
veteran needs across the system and encourage the exchange of
innovative ideas and effective practices for serving them. The
Committee met twice in 2012, three times in 2013 and is
scheduled to meet four times in 2014. In addition to meeting in
person quarterly, the Committee now holds recurring monthly
conference calls.
7)System-wide Email List: The CCCCO established an internal
system-wide email list, through which it communicates
information and reports relating to veterans and veterans'
services to each of the 112 CCCs and designated college staff.
This list provides a way to promptly disseminate urgent and
important information to all veteran programs and service
providers at each college, and serves as a forum for the
exchange of ideas between colleges about issues related to
student veterans.
Assembly Higher Education Committee staff comments: If the intent
of the author is to ensure that all student veterans receive the
various resources they need when matriculating through the CCC
system, it is presently unclear if this measure will truly address
the intention.
Presently, as has been with the last few administrations, there is
a large backlog in the appointments process. This backlog, in
part, is due to the sheer number of gubernatorial appointments and
the lengthy vetting process. The CCC BOG by statue is to have 17
members. There are currently 10 members with several having terms
expiring this year. To note, the administration just reappointed
two members of the BOG and appointed four new members; some
appointments are pending confirmation by the Senate. Should this
measure be enacted, it is unlikely that the additional veterans'
voices will be appointed to the BOG for some time.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0003150
AB 1557
Page 6