WHEREAS, AB 705 (Irwin)[1] signed into law in 2017 aimed to reduce lengthy remedial pathways within the California Community Colleges (CCC), by establishing the need for a pathway to complete transfer-level math and English courses within a year;
WHEREAS, Title 5 § 55522[2] was enacted, going beyond the stated goals of AB 705 (Irwin, 2017) to increase access to transfer level courses and resulting in the effective banning of access to stand-alone pre-transfer classes, with subsequent Chancellor’s Office guidance memorandum leading to the elimination of stand-alone transfer courses;
WHEREAS, In 2022, AB 1705 (Irwin, 2022) [3] was signed into law codifying the aforementioned Title 5 regulations, expanding beyond pre-transfer pathways and legislating transfer and degree pathways in STEM which has no longer allowed California community college districts to offer stand-alone foundational courses in mathematics and English, preventing students from enrolling in these courses even if it would be beneficial in their academic journeys, resulting in disproportionate drop and failure rates for historically underrepresented students; and
WHEREAS, The prescribed corequisite model, while helpful to many students, is too accelerated and high-unit to be an adequate substitute for stand-alone foundational coursework which can help to prepare some students for academic success and the California Community College system is an open-access institution dedicated to addressing community needs and supporting local educational advancement and are, at their core, committed to equity, which requires flexibility in offering pathways to meet students where they are; Now, therefore be it resolved
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate that every California Community College provides students with the option to enroll in stand-alone pre-transfer coursework in math and English and that the agency for making decisions regarding curricular and enrollment matters be returned to the individual students and faculty experts, who are most able to determine their needs to continue their own educational journeys;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for any piece of legislation that will reform AB 1705 and AB 705;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, if no bill is introduced or passed to reform A.B. 1705 and AB 705 in the 2025 session of this legislature, the Student Senate will make the reforming of A.B. 1705 and AB 705 a legislative priority for the 25-26 SSCCC term.
[1]https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB705
[2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/5-CCR-55522
[3]https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1705