BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1995 (Williams) - Community colleges: homeless students:
access to shower facilities
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|Version: August 1, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 8 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill requires the governing board of the
community college district to grant access to shower facilities
to enrolled homeless students, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
Potential ongoing reimbursable state mandate costs of up to
$1.7 million statewide to regulate the shower facilities for
at least two hours per weekday. (Proposition 98)
One-time reimbursable state mandate costs likely in the low
hundreds of thousands for each community college district to
determine a plan of action that includes the specified
AB 1995 (Williams) Page 1 of
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components. (Proposition 98)
Background: Existing federal law defines the term "homeless children and
youth" to mean individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence, as specified, including, but not
limited to, the following: a) children and youth who are sharing
the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic
hardship, or a similar reason; b) are living in motels, hotels,
trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative
adequate accommodations; c) are living in emergency or
transitional shelters; d) are abandoned in hospitals; e) are
awaiting foster care placement; f) have a primary nighttime
residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings; and, g) are living in cars, parks, public spaces,
abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations,
or similar settings: h) migratory children who qualify as
homeless for the purposes of this part because the children are
living in circumstances previously described. (42 United States
Code § 11434a(2))
This bill specifies that in addition to the definition above, a
homeless student for purposes of granting shower access reflects
the age of the homeless student population at the community
college campus.
Proposed Law:
This bill requires that if a community college campus has
shower facilities for student use on campus, the governing board
of the community college district must grant access to those
facilities to any homeless student, as defined, who is enrolled
in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing
without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses.
This bill also requires the governing board to determine a plan
of action that includes:
(1) The hours of operation for the shower facilities which
are to be consistent with hours of operation of the
facilities in which the showers are located, set at a
minimum of two hours per weekday, and not conflict with an
AB 1995 (Williams) Page 2 of
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athletic program of the campus;
(2) The minimum number of units a student must be enrolled
in to use the facilities; and
(3) A plan of action if hours of operation conflict with an
athletic program.
Staff Comments:
According to the California Community Colleges Chancellor's
Office, shower policies vary by campus. Some are tied to
physical education programs and others operate as a wellness
center that all students can use for a fee. This bill requires
the governing board of a community college district to grant
access to shower facilities to a homeless student for at least
two hours per weekday. The Chancellor's Office indicates that
costs would be attributed to staff time to monitor the students
accessing the facilities and any additional maintenance of the
facilities. In addition, this would likely include the costs to
verify that the students accessing the showers are enrolled in
coursework, have paid enrollment fees, and are in good standing.
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