The Governor Gavin Newsom announced this Friday the signing of legislation to increase graduation and transfer rates, while California will offer the cancellation of student debt at community colleges.
"California is increasing resources, adding services and promoting equity to boost graduation and transfer rates across our higher education systems," the Newsom said.
"Today marks a groundbreaking moment in the future of higher education as we finally turn the page on outdated placement tests that pressure students to attend classes that don't count toward their graduation requirements," said Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin.
The official specified that since the implementation of bill AB 705 in 2018, of her authorship, there have been significant improvements to close gaps in racial equity, especially for Afro-descendant and Latino students who have historically been overrepresented in remedial courses.
The signing of AB 1705 and AB 1187, along with investing $64 million in tutoring students for college credit, will ensure that students and faculty receive the resources they need to help students succeed, Irwin said.
The bills signed Friday ensure that students attending California community colleges are directly enrolled in transfer-level English and math courses.
In addition, they are expanding supervised tutoring offered for foundational skills and transfer-level courses, and offering debt cancellation to encourage students to re-enroll and enroll in community colleges, based on budget allocations.
"California Community Colleges are grateful to Governor Newsom's leadership for signing transformative legislation that will promote student success and further the goals of the Roadmap for the Future," said California Community Colleges Acting Chancellor Daisy Gonzales, Ph.D.
"Reforming remedial education and expanding access to tutoring will help millions of Californians complete their education faster, and many more continue to pursue their dreams because of the new opportunities made possible when we remove the burden of old debt," he added.
For her part, the president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, Michele Siqueiros, explained that "along with the historic pacts with our public colleges and universities, addressing placement practices in our colleges is good news for students."
You may be interested in: Undocumented Californians will be able to obtain a state identification card
