August 26, 2026 · Education · 3,822 words · 13 speakers · 81 segments
Welcome to the Senate Education Committee hearing. There are four bills on today's agenda. AB 1581 by Assemblymember Ramos. AB 1969 by Assemblymember Bonta. SB 549 by Senator Allen and SB 632 by Senator Adegeen. We are hearing these bills pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10 because they were substantially amended after they were initially heard. Witnesses are asked to limit their testimony to two minutes to ensure the committee is able to complete today's agenda in a timely fashion. Seeing as we do not have a quorum, we'll begin as a subcommittee with the first bill, and I see that we have Assemblymember Bonta here to present AB 1969.
So, Assemblymember, you can begin when you're ready. Thank you so much, and good evening, Chair and members. I am pleased today to present AB 1969, the It Takes a Village Act of 2026. We often say that it takes a village to raise a child, but too often the programs and systems serving our children and families are not structured to function together and as one. California has made historic investments in our children, from early learning and expanded learning opportunities to behavioral health, school meals, and community schools. This year, California took another major step by committing $1 billion in ongoing Proposition 98 funding to support the continued implementation of community schools. This investment recognizes something we have known all along. Schools are more than places where children learn. They are trusted community hubs where families can connect to the academic health, behavioral health, and other supports they need to be able to thrive. AB 1969 builds on California community schools' investment by strengthening the partnerships and coordination necessary to make that investment successful over the long term. Promise Neighborhoods, which I fervently believe in, are place-based, cradle-to-career partnerships that bring together school, community-based organizations, families, local governments, health providers, and other partners around a shared goal, improving outcomes for children and making sure that their families are strong in a community that can hold them. These partnerships enhance our efforts with community schools and ensure that our community schools are not just one single place where children are able to thrive, but our whole communities supporting our children. AB 1969 recognizes promised neighborhoods, lead organizations as cooperating agencies that can partner with local education agencies and community schools to coordinate services and supports. The bill also clarifies that an LEA may use existing community schools administrative funding to serve as a network lead for multiple eligible community school sites located within a promised neighborhood. This is important because effective place-based partnerships require sustainable infrastructure to coordinate services across schools, community organizations, and public systems. This work is deeply personal to me. It has been my life's work. I started doing cradle-to-career work when I was first out of college in 21, and certainly it is dear to me because I know all too well that it takes a village to raise a strong child, as it happened for me. AB 1969 helps ensure that California's historic investments in our children are supported by the village necessary to make them successful. I respectfully request your aye vote at the appropriate time.
Thank you for your presentation. Seeing as you don't have witnesses here, we'll turn it over to MeToo's. Would anybody like to register their support? Thank you so much, Assemblymember Bonta and Senators. Proud to say our sponsors and Child Poverty is in strong support. Also adding in Hayward Promise Neighborhood, Mission Economic Development Agency in San Francisco, as well as Marin Promise Neighborhood and the Strive Together Network. Thank you.
Tiffany Mock on behalf of CFT, Union of Educators and Classified Professionals in support.
Thank you. Great. Thank you so much. Seeing as we now have a quorum, I'm going to go ahead and have the committee register or call the roll. Secretary, if you could call the roll.
Senators Perez. Here. Perez here. Ochoa Bog. Here. Ochoa Bog here.
Cabaldon. Here. Cabaldon here.
Choi.
Cortese.
Gonzalez. Here. Gonzalez here.
Reyes.
And we have a quorum. We'll now shift over to anyone here to register their opposition. Do you have anyone here to register their opposition? Seeing nobody getting up, we'll turn it back to the committee. Do we have any comments or questions from committee members? We have a motion from Senator Gonzalez. Seeing no one else, I'll turn it back to you, Assemblymember Bonta.
Well, I want to thank the chair for and committee members for your belief in promised neighborhoods and community schools and recognizing the beautiful nexus that happens when we come together on behalf of our children. With that, I respectfully request your aye vote.
Thank you, Assemblymember, and the recommendation for this bill is an aye vote. Secretary, can you call the roll, please? We have a motion from Senator Gonzalez, and that motion is to be returned to the Senate floor for consideration.
Senators Perez? Aye. Perez, aye. Ochoa Bog? Aye. Ochoa Bog, aye.
Cobaldin? Aye. Cobaldin, aye.
Choi?
Cortese?
Gonzalez? Aye. Gonzalez, aye.
Reyes?
Great. And we will put that bill on call. Thank you so much, Assemblymember. Great, and I see that we have Assemblymember Ramos here to present AB 1581.
Assemblymember Ramos.
And you can begin whenever you're ready.
Thank you, Madam Chair and Senators. AB 1581 will require the Department of Education to report statewide outcome data for Native American students in our public schools Due to federal guidelines California is undercounting almost 90 of its Native American students This misclassification makes it difficult to allocate resources effectively or tailor educational programs to specific cultural and academic needs. By requiring this report, we can utilize important metrics such as graduation rates, suspension rates and an inclusive count of Native students which could help inform policy decisions. This inclusive count would ensure we are identifying all students who identify as Native American. Far too long Native American students have been overlooked and with this bill we can move forward in finding a way in which we can ensure we are reporting meaningful data to help those students succeed. me to testify today in support is Chad Mays representing the bill's sponsor, the Ceboba Band of Luceano Indians.
CHAD MAYS, MADAM CHAIR AND SENATORS, CHAD MAYS, PROUD SPONSOR OF AB 1581. This bill is about something very simple, making sure we have accurate data on Native American students in our schools. We've provided testimony to this committee before. We respectfully ask for your aye vote. Thank you.
We'll see if we have anyone else here to register support. Do we have any me-tos here? Seeing no one getting up, we'll turn it over to anyone here to register their opposition. Seeing no one rising, we'll turn it back to the committee. Do we have questions or comments from committee members? We have a motion from Senator Gonzalez. I'll turn it back to you, Assemblymember Ramos, to close.
Thank you, and request your aye vote.
Thank you. And my recommendation for this bill is an aye. And we have a motion from Senator Gonzalez. That motion is measured to be returned to the Senate floor for consideration. Secretary, can you call the roll? Senators Perez? Aye. Perez, aye. Ochoa Bog? Aye. Ochoa Bog, aye. Cabalden? Aye. Cabalden, aye. Choi? Cortese? Aye. Cortese, aye. Gonzalez? Aye. Gonzalez, aye. Reyes? Great, and we will put that bill on call. Thank you so much, Assemblymember.
Thank you so much.
We'll go ahead and lift calls on AB 1969. On AB 1969 Bonta current vote is four ayes no no's with the chair and vice chair voting aye. Senators Choi, Cortese on file item two AB 1969. Cortese aye. Reyes. Great and we will put that bill back on call. and we'll go ahead and we'll take a short recess while we wait for more authors to arrive Senator Allen has arrived he does not have the pony with him and he is here to present SB 549 so Senator Allen you can begin whenever you're ready
Well, thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate it. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to present SB 549, which will allow transitional kindergarten students to attend what are called heritage schools. These are out-of-school programs that offer activities and learning on culture and tradition and language. Many students attend them as an after-school program or on the weekends. Now, the minimum age to participate in such a program is four years and nine months since most students begin kindergarten as they approach five years old. in 2021. As everybody knows, the state instituted the universal TK program so that all four-year-olds are now guaranteed free access to TK out of public school, which is a wonderful thing. My family certainly availed ourselves of it, and it's been great. But as a result, I think it created a challenge in this area that I don't think was anticipated. TK students are now schoolchildren, but they're still prohibited from attending a heritage school program. So we've certainly seen lots and lots of good evidence suggesting the benefits of attending after-school programs, even in adulthood. Last, one report by the Public Policy Institute of California found that parents may base their decision to enroll their kid in TK based on the availability of aftercare, because we know most TK programs are only a few hours a day. just to give you an illustration of the problem Beth Shere Shalom which is a synagogue located in Santa Monica operates one of these programs. They've received high interest from parents who want to enroll their TK child in the program but the synagogue then has to turn those families away due to the minimum age requirements so this bill offers a very simple solution allowing TK students to attend these kinds of programs the bill then updates the existing notice that parents already received to ensure that they're aware that the Department of Education does not actively monitor the program's activities and curriculum. But it allows for these meaningful after-school programs to continue for TK students. And with that, I respectfully ask for my vote.
Thank you for your presentation. Seeing as you do not have witnesses, we'll see if we have Me Too's here in support. Any Me Too's? Seeing no one rising, we'll turn it to opposition. Do we have any opposition? Seeing no and rising, we'll turn it back to the committee. Do we have any questions or comments from committee members? We have a motion from Senator Ochoa Bogue. Senator Allen, I will turn it over to you to close.
Yeah, just really appreciate the work of the committee and the cooperation. This was something that I just became aware of recently. That's why we're in this situation. But this will make a difference for a lot of these programs around the state.
Respectfully asked for an idea All righty Thank you So we have a motion from Senator Ochoa Bogue and that motion is that the Assembly Amendments be concurred in Secretary, can you please call the roll? Senators Perez.
Aye.
Perez, aye. Ochoa Bogue.
Aye.
Ochoa Bogue, aye. Cabaldon.
Aye.
Cabaldon, aye. Choi. Cortese.
Aye.
Cortese, aye. Gonzalez.
Aye.
Gonzalez, aye. Reyes. Great. And we will put that bill on call. Thank you so much, Senator Allen.
Thank you, members.
Thank you. And I think we now have Senator Araguin here to present SB 632.
Senator, you can begin whenever you're ready. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Education Committee for the opportunity to present SB 632. This bill will allow part-time community college students enrolled in nine units to qualify for the California College Promise Program. Under current law, the California community colleges are authorized to waive tuition fees through the California College Promise Program. This initiative aims to increase access to higher education by providing financial relief to eligible students. The College Promise Program can manifest as a fee waiver that covers the tuition costs for qualifying students for up to two academic years after the waiver is granted. Currently, to qualify for this fee waiver, students must meet specified criteria. They must be enrolled in 12 or more units of coursework, and they must be first-time college students or returning community college students. The current criteria for the California College Promise Program leaves a significant majority of community college students ineligible for the current tuition fee waiver. Part-time students who often face the most significant challenges, working part-time or having other challenges that make it difficult for them to enroll in more than 12 or more units, are particularly affected by the current criteria. Many students choose part-time enrollment to maintain flexibility needed for work, to care for their families, or to meet other unique circumstances. And the restrictions on eligibility to full-time students only results in missing a vital opportunity to support the most underserved students in our state. SB 632 will make the California College Promise accessible to part-time community college students by allowing the California Community Colleges to waive fees for all students, regardless of whether they're enrolled part-time or full-time, expanding the promise of the Promise Program to ensure that more students have access to critical resources they need to succeed in higher education. With me to testify in support is Tiffany Mock with the California Federation of Teachers, and Mark McDonald representing the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild, AFT Local 1540.
Hi. Thank you, Chair and members.
Mark McDonald on behalf of the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild, as well as the Los Angeles and San Diego and Foothill De Anza Community College districts in support of SB 632. The vast majority of students that attend community colleges attend part-time. Students oftentimes must balance workloads and family and could be put in a situation where they are precluded from attending full-time, yet due to their workload and the amount of income that they make, may be not qualified for the income-based fee waiver. These students are still low-income. They are supporting their families while trying to balance work and education. This bill provides an option to the local community college districts to waive part or all of the fees for those students. And I would urge your support for this important bill. Thank you.
Tiffany Mock on behalf of CFT, a union of educators and classified professionals. CFD faculty have long recognized that the affordability of college is a factor in helping students graduate. By allowing districts the ability to offer students who are taking six units a financial incentive to take nine units, our faculty hopes to encourage students to further their educational journey on a timeline that accommodates their life responsibilities. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your presentation. We'll now hear from Me Too's and support. If anybody would like to use the mic at the railing. Yesenia Rubancho with N Child Poverty California in support. Also as a proud former PCC Lancer could have used this bill. Thank you. Thank you. We'll now hear from opposition. Do we have anyone here to register opposition? Seeing no one rising, I will turn it back to the committee. Do we have any questions or comments from committee members? Senator Cabaldon.
Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. I remain opposed to this bill. I've spoken to the author about it. I think the committee is aware. I served as President Obama's appointee. I actually still serve on the National College Promise Board. I've devoted a lot of my career to the College Promise. And the full-time nature of that promise is an essential design element. And that's because the nudge from 12, the difference between 12 units of enrollment and 9 units in terms of completion rates, That nudge between 12 and 9 is the difference between completing it all for the vast majority of students. Completion rates at community colleges are, I mean, the highest correlate of any factor is part-time versus full-time enrollment. The community college completion rates for part-time students are extremely low. And for full-time students, they're pretty darn good. And so the point, as the College Promise Program has been designed, it's been designed to assure that it recognizes that nudge. And to make not completing a degree cheaper is not in the student's interest. It's really important that that design nudge remains. So I didn't support the bill with its prior author or when it was on the suspense file and didn't make it out of appropriations. I continue to feel that way. understand the reason for it appreciate the author's work on this but i but i think it is we often forget the the purpose here the equity purpose here is to assure that students complete and earn a degree or certificate or transfer and and and our policies need to undergird that based on the evidence that shows what works so thanks Chair Thank you Senator Cabaldon Are there any other questions or comments
Seeing none, I wanted to just make a couple of comments as, you know, someone that's done work in this space as well. And I know Senator Aarons, or Assemblymember Aarons, introduced this bill last year, and I appreciate that you're bringing it back this year, Senator Adeguene. I think the points that Senator Cabaldon raised are obviously fair points that we want to be mindful of, right? Encouraging more of our students to be full-time is very key in helping them to complete their two-year degree in a timely manner. We know that most community college students do not graduate even in six years, and it is a number that we have continued to work on, many of us in the higher education space for a very long time now, for decades. But at the same time, recognize that there are so many students that are not fully enrolled that have the full 12 units that many of them are not able to access this College Promise Benefit. That's part of the reason why I appreciate you taking the amendment that we also gave to Assemblymember Aaron's last year to communicate to students to make sure they understand what a full course, a unit course looks like and that that is 12 units. And completing in a timely manner would require one to enroll in a full course of units, 12 units for two years, in order for them to complete their associate's degree. Should this bill be signed, I think for me what will be most important is to make sure that we're monitoring the potential impacts that this has on completion rates. I know we've had many conversations with the community college district, both in my role here as well as before I came to this body, about the importance of us improving college completion rates and transfer rates for our community college institutions. It's something that we've struggled with for many years, and it is something that we're going to need to continue to work on. And so I am happy to support the bill today, but this is one that we'll have to closely monitor. I want to make sure that our students have more access to financial aid and obviously lowering the cost to accessing that degree. But making sure they're completing in a timely manner so they actually achieve their educational dreams, which is getting their associate's degree and their bachelor's at the end of the day, I think, is the ultimate goal that we all share and want. I will now turn it over to you to close, Assemblymember or Senator.
Oh, sorry. Oh, my gosh. I'm all over the place today. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Senator Cabaldon, for those comments. I think I share, I think, the goal of making sure that students complete their degree or certificate programs and they're on a path to a career or they're on their path to a four-year institution. And I'll just note what the chair did mention, which is part of the bill does include, as a condition of receiving funding, that a written notification is provided to a student, one about the conditions of being a Promise Scholar, as well as a description of the units the student needs to complete per semester or the quarterly equivalent, the number of semester quarterly units the student needs to complete per academic year, to complete an associate degree or certificate program. So they're aware of what does it take for them to be on track to complete the degree. And I agree with the chair that we're monitoring this and seeing how are completion rates going. If this is signed into law, I think it's an important metric we should look at and consider if we need to make changes if this bill is signed into law. But at the end of the day, recognizing that not every student can do full 12 or more course units per semester because of work or caregiving responsibilities or other challenges, making sure that there's a flexibility for them to take advantage of this program, and also helping the community colleges increase in their enrollment as well, I think, is another component of this. I thank the committee for the thoughtful discussion. I respectfully ask for that. Thank you.
And do we have a motion? I have a motion from Senator Choi, and that motion is that the assembly amendments be concurred in. Secretary, can you call the roll? Senators Perez?
Aye.
Perez, aye. Ochoa Bog?
No.
Ochoa Bog, no. Cabalden?
No.
Cabalden, no. Choi?
Aye.
Choi, aye. Cortese?
Aye.
Cortese, aye. Gonzalez?
Aye.
Gonzalez, aye. Reyes?
Aye.
Reyes, aye. And that bill is out 5-2. Thank you so much, Senator Adeguene. We will now lift the call for the other bills. Secretary, if you can call the roll. File item 1, AB 1581, Ramos. Motion is measure B returned to the Senate floor for consideration. Current vote is 5 ayes, no nos with the chair and vice chair voting aye. Senators Choi?
Aye.
Choi, aye. Reyes?
Aye.
Reyes, aye. That bill is out 7-0. File item 2, AB 1969 Bonta. Motion is that the measure be returned to the Senate floor for consideration. Current vote is 5 ayes and no noes with the chair and vice chair voting aye. Senators Choi?
Aye.
Choi, aye. Reyes?
Aye.
Reyes, aye. That bill is out 7-0. File item 3, SB 549 Allen. The motion is that the assembly amendments be concurred in. Current vote is 5 ayes and no nos with the chair and vice chair voting aye. Senators Choi. File item 3, SB 549.
Choi, aye.
Reyes?
Aye.
Reyes, aye. That bill is out 7-0. All righty. That concludes our business for today's agenda. Thank you so much for all participating. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you.