Homeless Students May Be Allowed To Sleep In Cars Overnight At California Community Colleges
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - California Community Colleges may need to start providing special parking for homeless students who live in their cars.
Assemblymember Marc Berman (D- Palo Alto) introduced AB 302 on Tuesday requiring campus administrators to "grant overnight access to those facilities (parking facilities) to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing with the community college, and would require the governing board of the community college district to determine a plan of action to implement this requirement."
Asm. Berman said, "Over the last two years, I've heard from too many students that they don't have stable housing and often end up sleeping in their cars. Unfortunately, this is all too common throughout California, with one in four community college students experiencing housing insecurities or homelessness. The long term solution is to build more housing, but while we work to make that a reality, AB 302 is a step that we can take now to ensure that homeless students have a safe place to sleep at night."
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The current law already requires California Community Colleges to provide showers for homeless students in good standing.
In 2016 Governor Brown signed AB 801, known as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act, into law. It gives priority enrollment for homeless and foster youth, and requires all California Community College and California State University campuses to have a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison in the financial aid office to assist homeless and foster students as they enroll and take classes. The bill also waives the California Community College enrollment fee for all homeless and foster youth.
