WHEREAS, The California Community College Classified Senate represents all classified professionals within California’s community college system, and plays a vital role in promoting transparent, equitable, and effective governance by ensuring that the concerns and recommendations of classified professionals are considered in the decision-making processes of community colleges but Title 5 does not recognize local classified senates, nor does it include classified staff areas of purview appropriate to classified professionals and analogous to those delineated for academic senates in §53200 and student leadership in §51023.7, leaving classified senates without a formalized position within the structure of local colleges and districts that could reinforce the principles of participatory, accountability, and inclusivity within California’s educational institutions;
WHEREAS, California Community Colleges classified professionals make up 60% of the system’s full-time workforce yet but are often under recognized for their roles and responsibilities within participatory governance since they do not have a formally recognized representative body within the college governance structures;
WHEREAS, The inclusion of the California Community College Classified Senate into Title 5 along with a delineation of the purview of classified senates would bring consistency among participatory governance practices that are already institutionalized by the long time existence of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) and the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC); Now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community College in collaboration with system partners advocate for the formal recognition of of the California Community College Classified Senate in Title 5, with a focus on ensuring that their roles and contributions are explicitly acknowledged alongside those of the Student Senate and the Academic Senate;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community College reaffirm our commitment to fostering a culture of participatory governance, ensuring that the insights and expertise of local classified senates and the California Community College Classified Senate are integrated into policy-making and institutional decision-making processes;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community College in collaboration with system partners, advocate for formal recognition of the California Community Colleges Classified Senate as the official voice of classified professionals in participatory governance at the state level to safeguard the interests of classified professionals and enhancing the collaborative framework of the California Community College system.