Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges and the California State University as 2 of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requests the campuses of the California Community Colleges, and requires the campuses of the California State University, to give priority housing to current and former homeless youth, as specified.

This bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California State University to establish pilot programs to allow overnight parking by eligible students, as defined, and would require the chancellors, with the participation of student representatives, and, for the community college pilot program, with the additional participation of community college district leaders, to determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, among other things, the issuance of an overnight parking permit. The bill would require the chancellors to implement the above-described provisions on or before August 1, 2025.

This bill would also require an eligible student who participates in the pilot program to be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, among other things, a hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization. The bill would provide that a campus selected to participate in the pilot program is not civilly liable for a campus employees good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking, as provided.

This bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University, on or before July 1, 2025, University to select 5 campuses to participate in the pilot program and program. The bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2025, Colleges to select 20 campuses to participate in the pilot program, as provided. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require campuses that participate in the pilot program to report to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges or the Chancellor of the California State University, as applicable, on or before July 1, 2027, certain information, including, among other information, the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating students, and would additionally require, on or before January 31, 2028, the chancellors to report to the Legislature and the Governor on the pilot program, as provided. The

The bill would provide for implementation of the above-described provisions only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2029.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges and the California State University as 2 of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requests the campuses of the California Community Colleges, and requires the campuses of the California State University, to give priority housing to current and former homeless youth, as specified.

This bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California State University to establish pilot programs to allow overnight parking by eligible students, as defined, and would require the chancellors, with the participation of student representatives, and, for the community college pilot program, with the additional participation of community college district leaders, to determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, among other things, the issuance of an overnight parking permit. The bill would require the chancellors to implement the above-described provisions on or before August 1, 2025.

This bill would also require an eligible student who participates in the pilot program to be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, among other things, a hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization. The bill would provide that a campus selected to participate in the pilot program is not civilly liable for a campus employees good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking, as provided.

This bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University, on or before July 1, 2025, to select 10 5 campuses to participate in the pilot program and would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2025, to select 20 campuses to participate in the pilot program, as provided. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require campuses that participate in the pilot program to report to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges or the Chancellor of the California State University, as applicable, on or before July 1, 2027, certain information, including, among other information, the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating students, and would additionally require, on or before January 31, 2028, the chancellors to report to the Legislature and the Governor on the pilot program, as provided. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2029.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges and the California State University as 2 of the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requests the campuses of the California Community Colleges, and requires the campuses of the California State University, to give priority housing to current and former homeless youth, as specified.

This bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California State University to establish pilot programs to allow overnight parking by eligible students, as defined, and would require the chancellors, with the participation of student representatives, and, for the community college pilot program, with the additional participation of community college district leaders, to determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, among other things, the issuance of an overnight parking permit. The bill would require the chancellors to implement the above-described provisions on or before August 1, 2025.

This bill would also require an eligible student who participates in the pilot program to be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, among other things, a hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization. The bill would provide that a campus selected to participate in the pilot program is not civilly liable for a campus employees good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking, as provided.

This bill would require the Chancellor of the California State University, on or before July 1, 2025, to select 10 campuses to participate in the pilot program and would require each community college district, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, on or before July 1, 2025, to select a campus 20 campuses to participate in the pilot program, as provided. By imposing To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require campuses that participate in the pilot program to report to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges or the Chancellor of the California State University, as applicable, on or before July 1, 2027, certain information, including, among other information, the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating students, and would additionally require, on or before January 31, 2028, the chancellors to report to the Legislature and the Governor on the pilot program, as provided. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2029.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requests campuses of the California Community Colleges, requires campuses of the California State University, and requires campuses of the University of California, subject to the Regents of the University of California making it apply by resolution, to give priority for housing to current and former homeless youth, as specified.

This bill would require each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges, and would request the University of California, to allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if the student uses the vehicle as housing, the student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus, and the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. The bill would additionally prohibit each campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges from citing or otherwise penalizing, and would request each campus of the University of California to not cite or otherwise penalize, a student attending its campus for using a vehicle as housing if specified circumstances apply. To the extent the bill would impose new requirements on community colleges, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Anna Caballero, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

AB 1818 (Jackson) - Public postsecondary education: overnight student parking: pilot program

Bill Summary:

This bill requires the California Community College (CCC) Chancellor’s Office and the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office to each establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking on select campuses by students.

Fiscal Impact:

• While the pilot programs would be contingent upon an appropriation, this bill would result in Proposition 98 General Fund and General Fund cost pressures in the low tens of millions of dollars for the duration of the program to fund the pilot programs at CCC and CSU campuses.
  • The CCC Chancellor’s office estimates that the cost to provide verification method, security, liability, sanitation, restrooms and reporting would be $542,000 to $694,000 for each participating community college campus, or statewide costs of $10 million to $13 million.
  • The CSU estimates ongoing General Fund costs of $350,000 per campus for two additional university police and one custodial employee for a total cost of $1.7 million each year for the five pilot campuses. It also estimates $400,000 in ongoing administrative costs for the five campuses ($80,000 each) to administer the programs and develop and update procedures, and an additional $150,000 for the campuses ($30,000 each) to provide restrooms and showers for participating students. There would also be one-time infrastructure costs of $500,000 to ensure the parking lots are safe and secure, and unknown costs for liability.
• The CCC Chancellor’s Office estimates General Fund workload costs of between $32,500 and $53,000 to establish the pilot program in consultation with student representatives, issue guidance, and provide technical assistance, and additional General Fund workload costs of approximately $59,000 to create a new data element for districts to report data and produce the required legislative report.

Background:

Existing law requires that CSU and the University of California (UC), and requests that the CCCs, in order to ensure current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth have stable housing, give priority for housing to these students.

Existing law requires campuses of the CSU and UC, and requests campuses of the CCCs, that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster and homeless youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation.

Existing law extends priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCCs to homeless

youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks.

Existing law defines “homeless youth” as a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth (as defined by Federal law). It also provides that a student who is verified as a former homeless youth retains that status for a period of six years from the date of admission.

Proposed Law:

This bill requires the CCC Chancellor to establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking at selected community college campuses by an eligible student, and with the participation of student representatives and community college district leaders, to determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

1. The monitoring of overnight parking facilities and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a participating student.
2. A mandatory overnight parking form that is to be completed by an eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities. The bill requires that the form clearly and conspicuously indicate that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a participating student.
3. The designation of one or more specific parking areas on each pilot campus for overnight parking.
4. An authorization that allows a student from any campus in a community college district to use the parking area of the pilot campus, provided that the participating student applies for an overnight parking permit.
5. Overnight parking rules that a participating student is required to follow when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol.
6. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the student to correct the student’s behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis.
7. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information is to be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking and cannot be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized, court-issued warrant.
8. Daily time of use or hours of operation requirements for overnight parking.
9. Requirements establishing the validity of an overnight parking permit for a period of two weeks and a procedure for the subsequent renewal of an overnight parking permit.

This bill provides that recreational vehicles shall not access an area designated for overnight parking.

This bill requires that the Chancellor to select 20 campuses to participate in the pilot program using criteria established by the CCC Chancellor, and upon establishing a plan of action, develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures and requires that the document be provided to participating students and be made available as specified.

This bill requires that an eligible student who participates in the pilot program be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, but not limited to, any of the following: a grant that is necessary to secure, or prevent the imminent loss of housing; hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization; or rapid rehousing referral services and placement.

This bill states that a CCC pilot campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of the plan of action and rules and procedures is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other laws.

This bill requires, by July 1, 2027, a CCC pilot campus to report specified information to the CCC Chancellor, including the use of the overnight parking facilities by participating students, the number of participating students served by the overnight parking facilities, and the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating students.

This bill requires, by January 31, 2028, the CCC Chancellor to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report based on the data and information reported by the pilot campuses.

This bill provides that the pilot program would sunset on January 1, 2029 and shall only be implemented upon an appropriation by the Legislature.

This bill requires the CSU Chancellor to establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking by an eligible student and with the participation of student representatives, to determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

1. The monitoring of overnight parking facilities and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a participating student.
2. The requirement for an overnight parking form to be completed by an eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities and that the form clearly and conspicuously indicate that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a participating student.
3. The designation of one or more specific parking areas on each pilot campus for overnight parking.
4. Overnight parking rules that a participating student shall follow when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol.
5. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the student to correct the student’s behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis.
6. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information shall be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized, court-issued warrant.
7. Daily time of use or hours of operation requirements for overnight parking.
8. Requirements establishing the validity of an overnight parking permit for a period of two weeks and a procedure for the subsequent renewal of an overnight parking permit.

This bill requires the CSU Chancellor select five campuses to participate in the pilot program using criteria established by the CSU Chancellor and upon establishing a CSU plan of action, develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the established rules and procedures and that the document be provided to participating students and be available, as specified.

This bill requires that an eligible student who participates in the pilot program be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, but not limited to, any of the following: a grant that is necessary to secure, or prevent the imminent loss of housing; hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization; or rapid rehousing referral services and placement.

This bill provides that a pilot campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of the plan of action and the development of rules and procedures as specified is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other laws.

This bill requires, by July 1, 2027, a CSU pilot campus to report specified information to the CSU Chancellor, including the use of the overnight parking facilities by participating students, the number of participating students served by the overnight parking facilities, and the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating students.

This bill requires the CSU Chancellor, by January 31, 2028, to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report based on the data and information reported by a pilot CSU campus.

This bill provides that the pilot program would sunset on January 1, 2029 and shall only be implemented upon an appropriation by the Legislature.

Related Legislation:

AB 302 (Berman, 2019), would have required a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight. This bill was moved to the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

Staff Comments:

The CCC consists of 72 community college districts and 114 campuses statewide, serving about 1.8 million students each year. About 64 percent of these students are considered low-income based on federal standards. Current law requires a CCC campus that has shower facilities for student use to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees and is in good standing with the community college district.

The CSU consists of 23 campuses statewide, serving about 455,000 students each year. About 40 percent of these students are considered low-income based on federal standards.

The author states that, “AB 1818 seeks to provide a backstop and an alternative for emergency shelter, by allowing California college students to stay overnight in their personal vehicles while parked on the campus of their college or university where they are a registered student. While emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution."

-- END --

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair

2023-2024 Regular Session

Bill No: AB 1818 (Author:Jackson)

Version: June 24, 2024

Hearing Date: July 2, 2024

Fiscal: Yes

Urgency: No

Consultant: ID

SUBJECT

Public postsecondary education: overnight student parking: pilot program

DIGEST

This bill requires the California State University and California Community Colleges to develop a pilot program for overnight parking on campus for eligible students.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Housing insecurity and homelessness is a serious problem for many students in California’s public universities. When a student has lost their housing, they may resort to sleeping in their car while they find new housing. However, currently, students are forced to shelter in their vehicles overnight off campus, where doing so may pose greater risks to the student’s safety. In order to provide students a safer, monitored option that is on campus when students must resort to sleeping in their cars, this bill requires the California State University (CSU) and the California Community College (CCC) systems to develop a pilot program for allowing eligible students to utilize monitored, on-campus overnight parking. This bill requires the CCC to select 20 campuses, and the CSU to select 5 campuses by July 1, 2025 for the pilot program, and requires that the pilot program is implemented by August 1, 2025. This bill also specifies a number of requirements for the pilot programs, and prohibits recreational vehicles from parking in overnight parking areas. This bill also requires pilot campuses to report specified information about the pilot program to their respective Chancellors by July 1, 2027, and requires the Chancellor of the CCC and the Chancellor of the CSU to develop and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by January 31, 2028. This bill includes a sunset date for its provisions of January 1, 2029. AB 1818 is author-sponsored, and is supported by the California State University Employees Union and various faculty, youth, and pro-housing organizations. It is opposed by the California State University and a number of other organizations. AB 1818 passed out of the Senate Education Committee by a vote of 5 to 0.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW

Existing law:

1. Requires that CSU and the CCC, and requests that the UC, give priority for housing to current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth in order to ensure that they have stable housing. (Ed. Code §§ 76010, 90001.5 and 92660.)
2. Requires CSU and CCC campuses, and requests UC campuses, to maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster and homeless youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation. (Ed. Code §§ 76010, 90001.5, and 92660.)
3. Extends priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCC campuses to homeless youth, and requests that campuses develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks. (Ed. Code §§ 76010, 90001.5, and 92660.)
4. Defines “homeless youth” as a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth (as defined by Federal law). Provides that a student who is verified as a former homeless youth retains that status for a period of six years from the date of admission. (Ed. Code §§ 76010, 90001.5, and 92660.)
5. Requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use on campus to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing with the community college district, without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses. (Ed. Code § 76011.)
6. Provides that no community college district, or any officer or employee of such district or board, is responsible or in any way liable for the conduct or safety of any student of the public universities and colleges at any time when such student is not on school property, unless such district has provided transportation for such student to and from the school premises, has undertaken a school-sponsored activity off the premises of such university or college, has otherwise specifically assumed such responsibility or liability, or has failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. In the event of such a specific undertaking, the district is liable or responsible for the conduct or safety of any student only while such student is or should be under the immediate and direct supervision of an employee of such district or board. (Ed. Code § 87706.)
7. Requires the governing board of a community college district to procure insurance against liability to the district for damages for death, injury to person, or damage or loss or property, including such liability arising from officers or employees of the district acting within the scope of their employment. (Ed. Code § 72506(a).)

This bill:

1. Defines, for the purposes of the following sections, the following:
   1. “Eligible student” to mean a student who attends a pilot campus; is enrolled in coursework; has paid their enrollment fees, if they are not waived; and is in good standing with the pilot campus.
   2. “Recreational vehicle” to mean a motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupation.
2. Requires the Chancellors of the CSU and the CCC to establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking on campus. Prohibits a recreational vehicle from accessing an area designated for overnight parking.
   1. Requires the Chancellor of the CSU to select five campuses to participate in the pilot program by July 1, 2025.
   2. Requires the Chancellor of the CCC to select 20 campuses to participate in the pilot program.
3. Requires the Chancellors of the CSU and CCC to, with the participation of student representatives and community college district leaders for the CCC, determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program, to include, but not be limited to:
   1. Monitoring of overnight parking facilities and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a participating student;
   2. Creating an overnight parking form to be completed by an eligible student seeking access to the overnight parking facilities, that conspicuously and clearly indicates that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a participating student;
   3. Designating one or more specific parking areas on each campus for overnight parking;
   4. Designing overnight parking rules that participating students must follow when using overnight parking, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol;
   5. Establishing a procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students, and for, as necessary, warning the student to correct the behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking permanently or temporarily;
   6. Establishing a procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit, the information of which may only be used for the purpose of implementing overnight parking.
4. Requires that the Chancellors of the CSU and CCC, upon establishing a plan of action, develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures, and requires that the document be provided to participating students and be made available as specified.
5. Requires that an eligible student who participates in the pilot program be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
   1. a grant that is necessary to secure, or prevent the imminent loss of, housing;
   2. a hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization; or
   3. rapid rehousing referral services and placement.
6. States that a CCC or CSU pilot campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements in (3), above, is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. Specifies that this immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other laws.
7. Requires, by July 1, 2027, a CCC and CSU pilot campus to report all of the following to their respective Chancellor:
   1. The use of the overnight parking facilities by participating students.
   2. The number of participating students served by the overnight parking facilities.
   3. The socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating students.
   4. Other housing services offered to its students.
   5. Challenges and best practices in the operation of the overnight parking facilities.
   6. Whether participating students remained enrolled or graduated from a campus maintained by the community college district.
8. Requires, by January 31, 2028, the CCC and CSU Chancellors to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report based on the data and information reported by the pilot campuses.
9. Requires that the CCC and CSU Chancellors implement the pilot program and plan of action by August 1, 2025.
10. Sunsets the pilot program on January 1, 2029.

COMMENTS

1. Author’s statement

According to the author:

While emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution.

1. Housing insecurity and homelessness among California’s public college and university students

The cost of college has increased significantly over the last few decades.^[1] Tremendous increases in the price of tuition, course books and supplies, and student housing has contributed to this historic increase in the cost of college. For many students, meeting these costs has become exceedingly difficult. At the same time, the cost of living and the cost of housing of many university cities have also increased significantly in recent years. These increases have pushed many university students to demand “cost-of-living” increases in their student worker pay.^[2] Still, many students struggle to keep and afford housing. As is highlighted in the Senate Education Committee’s analysis:

According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), "housing—not tuition—is the key driver of rising costs at public colleges”. A recent report by the Hope Center and the California Community Colleges highlighted that 19% of students experienced homelessness, and 60% felt housing insecurity. The report also revealed that 30% of students bear the sole responsibility for housing expenses. Additionally as noted by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), within the last decade, student homelessness has increased by 48%. In fact, in a 2021 State Assembly Budget Sub #2 Committee analysis, homelessness was prevalent across its public colleges finding that: 1 in 20 students at the UC, 1 in 10 at CSU, and 1 in 5 at CCC were experiencing homelessness. Finally, in 2020, it was found 16% of UC students reported sleeping in nontraditional housing arrangements, including vehicles.”^[3]

A 2023 report by the Community College League of California found that almost three out of every five CCC students are housing insecure, and that about 25% of CCC students experience homelessness.^[4] This report found that African American, Native American, and LGBTQ+ students are much more likely to report experiencing homelessness. It further found that half of the CCC students surveyed worried about running out of food before being able to afford more, and that 60% were housing insecure and concerned about being able to pay their housing expenses due to increases in rent, mortgage payments, and utility rates.

1. Universities’ current obligations to housing insecure students

Universities and the Legislature have taken some steps in recent years to help ensure that the state’s public university students have housing. The Middle Class Scholarship program was reformed in 2021 to be based on total cost of attendance of college, thereby factoring in the costs of housing. (SB 169, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Ch. 262, Stats. 2021.) In addition, the Student Success Completion Grant program provides CCC students grants of up to $8,000 per school year to help offset the total cost of community college attendance.^[5] In 2020, the state provided the CSU and UC with funding to create rapid rehousing programs to provide students who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of experiencing homelessness with support like emergency grants and emergency housing. (SB 74, Mitchell, Ch. 6, Stats. 2020.) The state continues to provide ongoing funding for these programs. In addition, the Legislature created the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program as part of the 2022-2023 budget agreement to provide $1.5 billion in funding for grants to support the construction of affordable student housing at the state’s public universities. (SB 169, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Ch. 262, Stats. 2021.)

1. AB 1818 proposes a pilot program for CSUs and Community Colleges to provide monitored overnight parking for students experiencing homelessness

Notwithstanding these efforts, housing security and homelessness continues to be an issue on the campuses of the state’s public universities. As the state continues to implement its initiatives to fund more affordable student housing and help students cover their housing, students are still experiencing homelessness in the now. When a student experiences homelessness, they may be forced to sleep in their car. While sleeping in one’s car presents some risks, it presents considerably more risk for students when they must do it off campus on public streets where they may be ticketed or questioned by police.

AB 1818 attempts to provide a place for students to more safely temporarily shelter in their cars if they need, by creating a pilot project by which certain CSU and CCC campuses will implement a student overnight parking program. It provides a general framework for the pilot program, generally specifying that a participating campus’s plan for the program include: monitoring of the overnight parking facilities; an overnight parking form for students in need of overnight parking to submit to a pilot campus; designation of one or more specific parking areas for overnight parking; authorization for a student to use the parking area if they apply; rules for the use of overnight parking, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol; procedures for identifying participating students who have engaged in behaviors threatening to others in the program; and procedures for registering and verifying the identity of a student and their vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. An eligible student is one who is enrolled in coursework, has paid or had waived their enrollment fees, and who is in good standing with the campus. A student participating in the program must be allowed access to the overnight parking until they are provided access to a suitable alternative, like a grant to secure housing, a hotel voucher, or rapid rehousing referral services and placement. As AB 1818 is aimed at temporary shelter for students, it prohibits the parking of recreational vehicles (RVs) in an overnight parking area. To ensure that the outcomes and impact of the pilot program created by AB 1818 can be evaluated, AB 1818 requires participating campuses to report certain information to the Chancellor, and requires the Chancellors of the CCC and CSU to report to the Governor and Legislature regarding the program by January 31, 2028. AB 1818 sunsets its provisions on January 1, 2029.

Some concerns have been raised about the liability that CSU and CCC campuses would be assuming in creating such a program. To address this concern, AB 1818 specifies that a campus running an overnight parking pilot program compliant with AB 1818’s requirements shall not be civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in or near, and during the operating hours of, the overnight parking. However, the campus may still be liable for any injury that results from gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other laws. These provisions would shield the universities from some level of liability in operating overnight parking areas, while ensuring that students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity can still have a place that is safer and has at least some facilities to shelter in their vehicles when they need to.

1. Amendments

The author committed to various amendments in the Senate Education Committee that will be taken in this Committee. The amendments primarily change provisions of the bill outside of this Committee’s jurisdiction. Generally, they require: that the pilot program be upon appropriation; that the pilot program establish hours of operation requirements for the overnight parking; and that overnight parking permits be valid for two-week periods, with a process to renew. The completed RN for those amendments are attached at the end of this analysis.

1. Arguments in support

According to the California State University Employees Union, which represents 35,000 non-faculty staff and student assistants at CSU campuses and supports AB 1818:

Housing is the largest non-tuition cost of attending a higher education institution in California, and with housing costs across the state continuing to skyrocket, many are struggling to find and hold on to housing they can afford near their campus. While not a safe or viable long-term option, vehicles are already used as last resort emergency shelters. AB 1818 simply provides students experiencing homelessness with a safe place to park their vehicle to use as housing until they find a suitable alternative.

Housing is a basic need that influences physical and mental health more than any other [need]. Housing insecurity also has a direct negative impact on academic success, leading to students missing or dropping classes, missing necessary materials, withdrawing from school, and/or developing mental health issues. The dedicated staff and faculty at the CSU are invested in student wellness and success and this measure will provide support when students need it most.

1. Arguments in opposition

According to the California State University, which is opposed to AB 1818:

In 2019-20, the legislature created rapid rehousing programs at the CSU, University of California (UC), and CCC to aid students who experience housing insecurity, and then in 2021-22, the legislature funded programs to address students' basic needs. Most recently, in 2023-24, the state invested a combined $33.1 million into basic needs and rapid rehousing programs. Since the creation of these programs, the CSU and each of our universities have made significant progress in building partnerships with community organizations, which has resulted in students having access to a variety of housing assistance programs that fit their specific needs. In 2022-23, the CSU reported that about 14,000 students received housing assistance through these programs.

Currently, 22 CSU universities have on-campus emergency housing programs, and all 23 universities offer emergency housing grants. On average, a student has access to 14 days of housing, with extensions being granted on a case-by-case situation. Support is also provided to students to assist with the transition from emergency housing to stable housing. These services are administered through each university’s basic needs office, case managers, and community-based organizations. Financial support is also made available to assist students with a deposit and the first month's rent if off-campus housing is chosen as a long-term housing option. Additionally, 16 CSU universities have off-campus emergency housing programs through housing partners, hotel vouchers, or rapid rehousing programs.

The pilot program proposed under AB 1818 would cost the CSU approximately $3.5 million per year to administer. Funding to operate the pilot program would have to be diverted from the existing emergency housing and basic needs programs, which would jeopardize the long-term success of those programs and harm the students who rely on them.

In addition, if students are allowed to sleep in their cars overnight in a parking lot, the university would be liable for activities that are currently prohibited, just as they are for other campus activities. This bill intrudes into CSU’s ability to control its campus grounds and does not address any health and safety issues posed by allowing parking lots and parking structures to be used as housing. Campus parking lots are not designed to safely accommodate overnight parking. For example, in winter months, students would be exposed to rain and cold temperatures without heat and in summer months, students would be exposed to extreme heat without air conditioning. Universities would have to retrofit parking lots with proper lighting, restrooms, privacy measures, security, and accompanying services – all of which carry additional expenses.

The CSU and our universities have many programs that support students who are experiencing financial issues, including financial aid, emergency loans, emergency housing, CalFresh enrollment and food pantries. These state funded programs have been designed to address meeting students’ basic needs with dignity. All of these supportive services help students secure long-term housing, have access to healthy food, and make progress toward their degree. Permitting students to live in their cars in unsafe and outdoor conditions would be a substantial change from the successful programs that the CSU and our universities operate, while not creating a safe environment that fosters student success and well-being. In addition, it would fiscally impact existing basic needs and emergency housing programs, and add significant liability risk for each university.

SUPPORT

Alliance for Children's Rights

California Coalition for Youth

California Faculty Association

California State University Employees Union (CSUEU)

Cft- a Union of Educators & Classified Professionals, Aft, Afl-cio

Glide

Powerca Action

Public Advocates

OPPOSITION

Allan Hancock College

Antelope Valley Community College District

Association of California Community College Administrators

Bakersfield College

Berkeley City College

Butte-glenn Community College District

Cabrillo College

California Mobility and Parking Association

California State University, Office of The Chancellor

Cerritos College

Chabot- Las Positas Community College District

Chabot-las Positas Community College District

Citrus College

Clovis Community College

Coalinga College

College of Alameda

College of The Canyons

College of The Redwoods

College of The Sequoias

College of The Siskiyous

Community College League of California

Compton Community College District

Contra Costa Community College District

Copper Mountain College

Cuesta College

Foothill-de Anza Community College District

Fresno City College

Grossmont-cuyamaca Community College District

Irvine Valley College

Kern Community College District

Laney College

Lemoore College

Madera Community College

Mendocino-lake Community College District

Merced College

Merritt College

Miracosta College

Mt. San Antonio College

Napa Valley College

North Orange County Community College District

Palo Verde College

Peralta Community College District

Reedley College

Rio Hondo College

Riverside Community College District

Saddleback College

San Bernardino Community College District

San Diego City College

San Diego College of Continuing Education

San Diego Community College District

San Diego Mesa College

San Diego Miramar College

South Orange County Community College District

State Center Community College District

Victor Valley College

West Hills Community College District

Woodland Community College

Yuba College

Yuba Community College District

RELATED LEGISLATION

Pending Legislation: AB 2707 (Fong, 2024) requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) to conduct a study evaluating the demographics and unique issues and barriers faced by housing-insecure CCC students 25 years of age or older, and requires the LAO to submit a report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2025 with the results of the study and policy recommendations. AB 2707 is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Prior Legislation:

AB 2416 (Gabriel, Ch. 285, Stats. 2020) required institutions of higher education to consider homelessness as an extenuating circumstance for considering if the student has met “satisfactory academic progress” requirements for student financial aid, and allowed students to appeal their loss of student financial aid if they fail to meet "satisfactory academic progress" due to homelessness.

AB 806 (Bloom, Ch. 163, Stats. 2019) removed the January 1, 2020 sunset in AB 1228 (Gipson, Ch. 571, Stats. 2015) that provided former homeless youth priority enrollment at campuses of the CCC, CSU, and the UC, aligned the definition of “homeless youth” to other provisions of existing law; and specified that current or former homeless youth are eligible for the CCC fee waiver.

AB 302 (Berman, 2019) would have required, on or before July 1, 2020, a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight to any student experiencing homelessness who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college. This bill died on the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

AB 2784 (Caballero, 2018) would have established a program to provide loans for housing expenses to students experiencing homelessness at three CSU campuses. AB 2784 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1228 (Gipson, Ch. 571, Stats. 2015) extended priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCC to homeless youth, and requested campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks.

AB 1393 (Skinner, Ch. 391, Stats. 2009) required CCC and CSU campuses to give priority for housing to current and former foster youth, and required that CCC and CSU campuses keep student housing open during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster youth for residence for year-round occupation.

PRIOR VOTES:

Senate Education Committee (Ayes 5, Noes 0)

Assembly Floor (Ayes 63, Noes 0)

Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 12, Noes 0)

Assembly Higher Education Committee (Ayes 10, Noes 0)

**************

AMENDMENTS TO ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 1818 (JACKSON)

AS AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 2024

Amendment 1

On page 4, between lines 21 and 22, insert:

(8) Daily time of use or hours of operation requirements for overnight parking under the pilot program.

(9) Requirements establishing the validity of an overnight parking permit for a period of two weeks and a procedure for the subsequent renewal of an overnight parking permit.

Amendment 2

On page 4, in line 22, strike out “On or before July 1, 2025, the” and insert:

The

Amendment 3

On page 5, strike out lines 26 and 27 and insert:

(j) This section shall only be implemented upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of this section.

Amendment 4

On page 7, between lines 3 and 4, insert:

(7) Daily time of use or hours of operation requirements for overnight parking under the pilot program.

(8) Requirements establishing the validity of an overnight parking permit for a period of two weeks and a procedure for the subsequent renewal of an overnight parking permit.

Amendment 5

On page 7, in line 4, strike out “On or before July 1, 2025, the” and insert:

The

Amendment 6

On page 8, strike out lines 7 and 8 and insert:

(j) This section shall only be implemented upon an appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of this section.

- 0 -

1. Emma Karr and Sarah Wood, “A look at 20 years of tuition costs at national universities,” U.S. News & World Report (Sept. 22, 2023), https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/see-20-years-of-tuition-growth-at-national-universities. ↑

2. Kim Kelly, “UCSC grad students are on strike for a living wage, Teen Vogue (Feb. 24, 2020), available at https://www.teenvogue.com/story/why-university-california-santa-cruz-grad-students-strike. ↑

3. Senate Education Committee, Committee Analysis of AB 1818 (Jun. 17, 2024). ↑

4. Community College League of California, Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community College Students, Affordability, Food, and Housing Access Taskforce Report (Sept. 2023), available at https://ccleague.org/about-us/press-releases-statements/basic-needs-among-california-community-college-students-2023. ↑

5. Coast Community College District, “Student Success Completion Grant (SSCG)” (Apr. 10, 2023), https://www.cccd.edu/students/financial-aid/student-success-completion-grant.html. ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Josh Newman, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: June 19, 2024

Subject: .

Note: This bill has been referred to the Committees on Education and Judiciary. A “do pass” motion should include referral to the Committee on Judiciary.

SUMMARY

This bill requires the California Community College (CCC) Chancellor's Office and the California State University (CSU) Chancellor's Office to each establish a pilot program at 20 CCCs and 10 CSUs to allow overnight parking on their respective campuses by eligible students, as specified.

BACKGROUND

Existing law:

Federal law

1) Establishes the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which

defines homeless youths as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” who:

a) Are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;

b) May be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters;

c) Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

d) Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or

e) Are migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above. (42 U.S.C. Section 11434a(2)

State law

2) Requires that CSU and the UCs, and requests that the CCC, in order to ensure current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth have stable housing, give priority for housing these students. (Education Code (EC) § 76010, 90001.5 and 92660)

3) Requires campuses of the CSU and UC, and requests campuses of the CCC, that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster and homeless youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation. (EC § 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)

4) Extends priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCCs to homeless

youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks. (EC § 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)

5) Defines “homeless youth” as a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth (as defined by Federal law). Provides that a student who is verified as a former homeless youth retains that status for a period of six years from the date of admission. (EC § 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)

6) Requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use on campus to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing with the community college district without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses. (EC § 76011)

7) Provides that no community college district, or any officer or employee of such

district or board is responsible or in any way liable for the conduct or safety of any student of the public schools at any time when such student is not on school property, unless such district has provided transportation for such student to and from the school premises, has undertaken a school-sponsored activity off the premises of such school, has otherwise specifically assumed such responsibility or liability or has failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. In the event of such a specific undertaking, the district is liable or responsible for the conduct or safety of any student only while such student is or should be under the immediate and direct supervision of an employee of such district or board. (EC § 87706)

8) Requires the governing board of a community college district to procure insurance against liability of the district for damages for death, injury to person, or damage or loss or property, including such liability arising from officers or employees of the district acting within the scope of their employment. (EC § 72506(a))

ANALYSIS

This bill:

1. Requires that the CCC Chancellor establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking at selected community college campuses by an eligible student.
2. Requires, the CCC Chancellor, with the participation of student representatives and community college district leaders, determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
   1. The monitoring of overnight parking facilities and a procedure for reporting

and responding to threats to the safety of a participating student.

• 1. A mandatory overnight parking form that is to be completed by an eligible

student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities. The bill requires

that the form clearly and conspicuously indicate that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a participating student.

• 1. The designation of one or more specific parking areas on each pilot

campus for overnight parking.

• 1. An authorization that allows a student from any campus in a community

college district to use the parking area of the pilot campus, provided that the participating student applies for an overnight parking permit.

• 1. Overnight parking rules that a participating student is required to follow

when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol.

• 1. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in

behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the student to correct the student’s behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis.

• 1. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student

and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information is to be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking and cannot be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized, court-issued warrant.

1. Requires that the CCC Chancellor, by July 1, 2025, select 20 campuses to participate in the pilot program using criteria established by the CCC Chancellor.
2. Requires that the CCC Chancellor, upon establishing a plan of action, develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures and requires that the document be provided to participating students and be made available as specified.
3. Requires that an eligible student who participates in the pilot program be granted access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
   1. A grant that is necessary to secure, or prevent the imminent loss of,

housing.

• 1. A hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization.
  2. Rapid rehousing referral services and placement.

1. States that a CCC pilot campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of the plan of action and rules and procedures is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other laws.
2. Requires, by July 1, 2027, a CCC pilot campus to report all of the following to the CCC Chancellor:
   1. The use of the overnight parking facilities by participating students.
   2. The number of participating students served by the overnight parking

facilities.

• 1. The socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating

students.

• 1. Other housing services offered to its students.
  2. Challenges and best practices in the operation of the overnight parking

facilities.

• 1. Whether participating students remained enrolled or graduated from a

campus maintained by the community college district.

1. Requires, by January 31, 2028, the CCC Chancellor to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report based on the data and information reported by the pilot campuses.
2. Requires that the CCC Chancellor implement the pilot program and plan of action by August 1, 2025.
3. Sunsets the CCC pilot program on January 1, 2029.
4. Defines all of the following terms for purposes of the CCC pilot program:
   1. “Chancellor” means the Chancellor of the California State University.
   2. “Eligible student” means a student who meets all of the following

requirements:

• • 1. The student attends a CCC pilot campus.
    2. The student is enrolled in coursework.
    3. If not waived, the student has paid their enrollment fees.
    4. The student is in good standing with the pilot campus. “Good

standing” does not include requirements related to the number of units in which the student is enrolled.

• 1. “Participating student” means an eligible student who uses overnight

parking facilities pursuant to the CCC pilot program.

• 1. “Pilot campus” means a campus selected to participate in the CCC pilot

program.

California State University

1. Requires the CSU Chancellor to establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking by an eligible student.
2. Requires the CSU Chancellor, with the participation of student representatives, to determine a plan of action for implementing the pilot program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
   1. The monitoring of overnight parking facilities and a procedure for reporting

and responding to threats to the safety of a participating student.

• 1. The requirement for an overnight parking form to be completed by an

eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities and that the form clearly and conspicuously indicate that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a participating student.

• 1. The designation of one or more specific parking areas on each pilot

campus for overnight parking.

• 1. Overnight parking rules that a participating student shall follow when using

the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol.

• 1. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in

behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the student to correct the student’s behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis.

• 1. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student

and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information shall be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized, court-issued warrant.

1. Requires the CSU Chancellor to, by July 1, 2025, select 10 campuses to participate in the pilot program using criteria established by the CSU Chancellor.
2. Requires the CSU Chancellor, upon establishing a CSU plan of action develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the established rules and procedures and that the document be provided to participating students and be available, as specified.
3. Requires that an eligible student who participates in the pilot program have access to overnight parking until the student is provided access to a suitable alternative, including to any of the following:
   1. A grant that is necessary to secure, or prevent the imminent loss of,

housing.

• 1. A hotel voucher through a public agency or community organization.
  2. Rapid rehousing referral services and placement.

1. Specifies that a pilot campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of the plan of action and the development of rules and procedures as specified is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other laws.
2. Requires, by July 1, 2027, a pilot campus report all of the following to the CSU, Chancellor:
   1. The use of the overnight parking facilities by participating students.
   2. The number of participating students served by the overnight parking

facilities.

• 1. The socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of participating

students.

• 1. Other housing services offered to its students.
  2. Challenges and best practices in the operation of the overnight parking

facilities.

• 1. Whether participating students remained enrolled or graduated from a

CSU campus.

1. Requires the CSU Chancellor, by January 31, 2028, to develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature a report based on the data and information reported by a pilot CSU campus.
2. Requires that the CSU Chancellor implement the pilot program and plan of action by August 1, 2025.
3. Defines all of the following terms for purposes of the CSU pilot program:
   1. “Chancellor” means the Chancellor of the California State University.
   2. “Eligible student” means a student who meets all of the following

requirements:

• • 1. The student attends a CSU pilot campus.
    2. The student is enrolled in coursework.
    3. If not waived, the student has paid their enrollment fees.
    4. The student is in good standing with the pilot campus. “Good

standing” does not include requirements related to the number of units in which the student is enrolled.

• 1. “Participating student” means an eligible student who uses overnight

parking facilities pursuant to the CSU pilot program.

• 1. “Pilot campus” means a campus selected to participate in the CSU pilot

program.

1. Sunsets the CSU pilot program on January 1, 2029.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. According to information provided by the author, “California's college students are grappling with exorbitant costs of attending college, primarily attributed to housing. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), "housing—not tuition—is the key driver of rising costs at public colleges”. A recent report by the Hope Center and the California Community Colleges highlighted that 19% of students experienced homelessness, and 60% felt housing insecurity. The report also revealed that 30% of students bear the sole responsibility for housing expenses. Additionally as noted by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), within the last decade, student homelessness has increased by 48%. In fact, in a 2021 State Assembly Budget Sub #2 Committee analysis, homelessness was prevalent across its public colleges finding that: 1 in 20 students at the UC, 1 in 10 at CSU, and 1 in 5 at CCC were experiencing homelessness. Finally, in 2020, it was found 16% of UC students reported sleeping in nontraditional housing arrangements, including vehicles.”

The author further asserts that, “AB 1818 seeks to provide a backstop and an alternative for emergency shelter, by allowing California college students to stay overnight in their personal vehicles while parked on the campus of their college or university where they are a registered student. While emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution."

1. Potential liability concerns. This bill has also been referred to the Committee on Judiciary, which has jurisdiction over legislation relating to courts, liens, claims, privacy and consumer protection and can more appropriately address issues relative to potential liability for colleges. Staff notes that several colleges have raised concerns about potential liability and their capacity to guarantee student safety.
2. Recent changes to financial aid attempt to address housing costs. As noted in the Legislative Analyst’s Office 2022-2023 budget briefing on student housing, for many decades, the state’s primary strategy for promoting college affordability was to keep student tuition charges low across the public higher education segments, while also providing full tuition coverage for students with financial need through the Cal Grant program.

Over the past several years, the state has begun providing more financial aid coverage for non-tuition costs, including housing, food, and transportation costs. Specifically, for university students, the state recently revamped the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) program to be based on total cost of attendance. As a result of the expansion, many more CSU and UC students are now receiving MCS awards to cover a portion of their living costs. For community college students, the state created the Student Success Completion Grant program in 2018-19 (building off a predecessor program). This program covers $8,000 of living costs annually for students with financial need who are enrolled in 15 or more units per term and $2,596 annually for students taking between 12 and 14 units per term. Should the Legislature focus its efforts on financial aid reform so that students with the most financial need receive a greater benefit for things like housing costs?

1. Rapid rehousing grants and basic needs assistance. In 2019-20, the state provided all three segments with ongoing General Fund augmentations to create rapid rehousing programs in partnership with community organizations. These programs provide students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with various services, including case management, emergency housing, and emergency grants.

Beyond rapid rehousing programs, all three public segments also have received ongoing state funds in recent years to address students’ basic needs, including food and housing insecurity. Basic needs assistance provided on each campus varies but can include on-campus food pantries, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers for short-term housing needs, on-campus emergency housing, security deposit assistance, rental subsidies, and a case manager to help students secure long-term housing. Colleges have also built referral pipelines with local organizations that provide housing assistance.

In addition to these ongoing program expansions, the state provided a substantial amount of one-time funding for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program. As part of the 2022-23 budget agreement, the state provided a total of $1.5 billion one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the first round of student housing grants.

1. Other services and resources available to help homeless students. In addition to the rapid rehousing grants, financial aid awards and basic needs centers. Existing law provides the following services and priorities for students who are currently or formerly homeless:
   
   1. Requires a campus of the CSU and requests campuses of the CCC, to give priority housing.
      
   2. Requires a CSU campus and requests a CCC campus, to give first priority for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation.
      
   3. Requires CSU and each community college district to grant priority in that system for registration for enrollment.
   4. Requires campuses of the CCC to grant access to shower facilities.
   5. Requires CSU and CCC campuses to designate a Homeless and Foster Youth Liaison to assist these students in applying for and receiving federal and state financial aid and available services.
   6. Requires CSU and CCC a position of basic needs coordinator to serve students experiencing basic needs insecurity including housing.

The Committee may wish to consider whether it is appropriate for the state to mandate that colleges establish and manage overnight parking facilities that serve as temporary housing, or whether an alternative solution, comparable to the student services or resources mentioned in this analysis, is merited.

1. Is it best to leave the decision up to local leaders? This bill mandates that a significant portion of CSU’s 23 campuses, and numerous community colleges within the CCC system to designate parking areas for student use overnight thereby diminishing the discretion of a campus to determine how to best to allocate resources to address the lack of affordable housing options that cater to the unique needs of the campus community and the surrounding area. The CSU and community college districts through their respective governance structures have the power to establish overnight parking facilities to fit local circumstances if they so choose. It is worth noting that some community colleges allow overnight parking under special circumstances. Despite being a pilot program, this bill would require participation in the program as specified.
2. Amendment. Under this measure, about 40 percent of CSUs and 17 percent of colleges within the CCC system must be selected for the overnight parking facilities pilot program. Staff recommends that the bill be amended to scale down the CSU pilot program from 10 to five campuses to coincide with the percentage of the CCCs selected for the pilot program.

Additionally, if the intent of this measure is to provide a temporary or emergency housing option by means of allowing students to park their vehicles on campus overnight, staff recommends that the bill be amended for both the CCC and CSU pilot programs to prohibit a recreational vehicle from accessing overnight parking areas of the pilot programs. Staff further recommends that the bill be amended to include a definition of recreational vehicle that consists of “a motor home, travel trailer, truck camper, or camping trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation for recreational, emergency, or other occupancy.”

1. Prior legislation.

AB 806 (Bloom, Chapter 163, Statutes of 2019), removes the January 1, 2020 sunset, whereby current and former homeless youth are eligible for priority enrollment at campuses of the CCC, CSU, and the UC; aligns the definition of “homeless youth” to other provisions of existing law; specifies that current or former homeless youth are eligible for the CCC fee waiver; and, makes technical and clarifying changes to existing law.

AB 2416 (Gabriel, Chapter 285, Statutes of 2020), requires institutions of higher education to allow students to appeal their loss of student financial aid if they fail to meet "satisfactory academic progress" due to homelessness.

AB 302 (Berman, 2019), would have required a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight. This bill was moved to the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

AB 2784 (Caballero, 2018) would have established a program to provide loans for housing expenses to students experiencing homelessness at three California State University campuses. AB 2784 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1228 (Gipson, Atkins, Chapter 571, Statutes of 2015), extended priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCC to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks.

SUPPORT

Alliance for Children's Rights

California Coalition for Youth

California Faculty Association

California Federation of Teachers

California State University Employees Union

GLIDE

Powerca Action

Public Advocates

University of California Student Association

OPPOSITION

Allan Hancock College
Antelope Valley Community College District
Association of California Community College Administrators
Bakersfield College
Berkeley City College
Butte-Glenn Community College District
Cabrillo College
California State University, Office of the Chancellor
Cerritos College
Chabot-Las Positas Community College District
Citrus College
Clovis Community College
Coalinga College
College of Alameda
College of the Canyons
College of the Redwoods
College of the Sequoias
College of the Siskiyous
Community College League of California
Compton Community College District
Contra Costa Community College District
Copper Mountain College
Cuesta College
Foothill-De Anza Community College District
Fresno City College
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
Irvine Valley College
Kern Community College District
Laney College
Lemoore College
Madera Community College
Mendocino-Lake Community College District
Merced College
Merritt College
Miracosta College
Mt. San Antonio College
Napa Valley College
North Orange County Community College District
Palo Verde College
Peralta Community College District
Reedley College
Rio Hondo College
Riverside Community College District
Saddleback College
San Bernardino Community College District
San Diego City College
San Diego College of Continuing Education
San Diego Community College District
San Diego Mesa College
San Diego Miramar College
South Orange County Community College District
State Center Community College District
Victor Valley College
West Hills Community College District
Woodland Community College
Yuba College
Yuba Community College District

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1818

Author:(Jackson and Quirk-Silva)

As Amended Ver:May 16, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires the California Community College (CCC) Chancellor's Office and the California State University (CSU) Chancellor's Office to each establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking on campuses by eligible students, as specified.

Major Provisions

1. Requires the CCC Chancellor to determine a plan for implementing the pilot. The plan is to include a form that an eligible student seeking to access the overnight facilities must complete, information about monitoring of overnight parking for safety, and procedures for reporting and responding to threats, the designation of one or more parking areas on each pilot campus, overnight parking rules, and other requirements.
2. The bill defines an eligible student as a student that attends a pilot campus, is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing. The bill also requires the plan to provide an authorization that allows a student from any campus in a CCC district to use the parking area of the pilot campus, provided that the participating student applies for an overnight parking permit.
3. The bill also requires, by July 1, 2025, the CCC Chancellor to select 20 to participate in the pilot. The bill specifies a pilot campus is not to be civilly liable for injury related to the pilot, except in certain circumstances.
4. The bill requires a CCC pilot campus to report certain information related to the pilot to the CCC Chancellor by July 1, 2027, including challenges and best practices in operating overnight parking facilities. T
5. The bill requires the CCC Chancellor, by January 31, 2028, to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature based on the data provided.
6. The bill mirrors these requirements for the CSU Chancellor's Office and CSU campuses, with the exception of developing an authorization for a CSU campus to allow other students from their district to park in the parking lot overnight as CSUs do not have districts. In addition, the bill requires the CSU Chancellor's Office to select 10 campuses to participate in the pilot.
7. The bill repeals its provisions January 1, 2029.

COMMENTS

Background. Housing and food insecurity, also known as basic needs insecurity, among college students is a harsh reality that only recently has been brought to light.

Basic needs insecurity has a direct impact on student academic success. These students are much more likely not to buy textbooks, to miss, drop, or fail classes, and to withdraw from school entirely. In addition, these students consistently report high levels of stress and other mental health issues, which negatively impact academic performance and health in general.

California's housing crisis has left hundreds of thousands of community college students either homeless or facing the threat of being homeless. In spring 2023, The Research and Planning Group for CCC partnered with the CEO Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce of the Community College League of California to assist in survey data collection efforts and provide updated data trends regarding CCC students' food and housing security. They released a report titled Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community College Students.

Over 66,000 students from 88 California Community Colleges responded to the survey, revealing that two out of every three CCC students grapple with at least one basic needs insecurity. Nearly half of CCC students are food insecure, almost 3 out of 5 are housing insecure, and about 1 in 4 are homeless - up from 19% in 2019.

Additionally, the report noted students African American/Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native students are more likely to report basic needs insecurities than students of other races/ethnicities. LGBTQ+ students are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-LGBTQ+ students. Students aged 21-30 experienced the highest rates of basic needs insecurities relative to younger and older students. Food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness rates were substantially higher among transgender students in 2023 compared to 2019. Homelessness rates were higher across students of all demographics in 2023 than in 2019. However, the most significant increases were seen among transgender students (+27 % points), gay and lesbian students (+9 % points), American Indian/Alaskan Native students (+14), Middle Eastern/North African students (+11 % points), and Pacific Islander students (+11 % points).

The report also found that who have been in foster care, in the military, and have been convicted of a crime are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities, as are students whose parents/guardians do not claim them as dependents. Additionally, while not assessed in prior years, in 2023, students identifying as single parents were much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-single parents (and the population as a whole), with nearly 9 in10 single parents reporting housing insecurity.

While federal Pell grants can be used for non-tuition expenses, a July 2018 report from the Assembly Speaker's Office of Research and Floor Analysis titled College Ready, Hungry, and Homeless found that federal Pell grants cover "less than a third of average non-tuition costs, leaving a sizable gap that these students must fill."

The report also noted that housing accounts for 43% of the cost of being a CCC student, and 30% of students are solely responsible for their housing costs. Grant aid at CCCs covers a third of the total cost of attendance, and relatively few students have access to loans. In recent years, about 40% of students had very low food security, and a quarter of students experienced homelessness.

Recent aid and housing policies. As noted in the Legislative Analyst's Office 2022-2023 budget briefing on student housing, for many decades, the state's primary strategy for promoting college affordability was to keep student tuition charges low across the public higher education segments, while also providing full tuition coverage for students with financial need through the Cal Grant program.

Over the past several years, the state has begun providing more financial aid coverage for non-tuition costs, including housing, food, and transportation costs. Specifically, for university students, the state recently revamped the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) program to be based on total cost of attendance. As a result of the expansion, many more CSU and UC students are now receiving MCS awards to cover a portion of their living costs. For community college students, the state created the Student Success Completion Grant program in 2018-19 (building off a predecessor program). This program covers $8,000 of living costs annually for students with financial need who are enrolled in 15 or more units per term and $2,596 annually for students taking between 12 and 14 units per term.

Rapid Rehousing & Housing Grants. In 2019-20, the state provided all three segments with ongoing General Fund augmentations to create rapid rehousing programs in partnership with community organizations. These programs provide students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with various services, including case management, emergency housing, and emergency grants.

Beyond rapid rehousing programs, all three public segments also have received ongoing state funds in recent years to address students' basic needs, including food and housing insecurity. Basic needs assistance provided on each campus varies but can include on-campus food pantries, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers for short-term housing needs, on-campus emergency housing, security deposit assistance, rental subsidies, and a case manager to help students secure long-term housing.

In addition to these ongoing program expansions, the state provided a substantial amount of one-time funding for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program. As part of the 2022-23 budget agreement, the state provided a total of $1.5 billion one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the first round of student housing grants.

According to the Author

According to information provided by the author, AB 1818 seeks to provide a backstop and an alternative for emergency shelter, by allowing California college students to stay overnight in their personal vehicles while parked on the campus of their college or university where they are a registered student. According to the author, "while emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution."

Arguments in Support

According to the University of California Student Association, AB 1818 is an "…essential piece of legislation aims to require campuses to allow their students who are experiencing homelessness overnight parking. This allowance will only be if the student uses their vehicle as housing, they have a valid parking permit that had been issued by the campus, and if the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Currently, all UC students are experiencing a major housing crisis due to over enrollment, lack of affordable housing, and scarce housing options."

"As the official voice of students on behalf of their rights and basic needs, UCSA takes the problem of housing insecurity very seriously. It is our mission to advocate on behalf of current and future students for the accessibility, affordability, and quality of the University of

California system. However, this is not just a problem for UC's system of campuses. In 2021, a memo presented by the state legislature found that almost 20% of students in California community colleges reported experiencing homelessness. Additionally, 10% of students attending CSU's and 5% of students attending UC's reported experiencing homelessness too.

These are just the numbers that have been reported in 2021, not taking into account those who do not report their situation and those who have experienced homelessness since major inflation over the past couple years."

"Housing insecurity can be caused by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, poor finances, interpersonal violence, discrimination, and immigration status. On top of their studies, jobs, and personal lives, students experiencing homelessness have minimal options as they must stay in the vicinity of the campus. Currently, 8% of UC undergraduates are houseless, and far more are experiencing immense housing insecurity. Sleeping in one's vehicle on the street has been an option that many students have had to result to because of this unfortunate situation."

Arguments in Opposition

The Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) wrote in opposition, noting that, "While we appreciate the bill's intent to provide support to one of our most vulnerable student populations, AB 1818 does not fix the real housing and affordability challenges that our students face. Our colleges are already launching programs to assist homeless students, and a "one size fits all" mandate does not make sense for the diverse community college system and would result in significant incurred costs and increased liability implications."

"We believe a safer and more feasible approach is for the state to invest another round of funding into the Affordable Student Housing Construction Grant Program. While we understand that the current State Budget deficit will not allow for another investment into the program this year, we believe a more prudent approach in the short term is for the Legislature to work with the Newsom Administration on developing a statewide lease revenue bond or other statewide financing or fiscal approach to support affordable student housing projects."

"ACCCA opposes AB 1818 because it is not a feasible solution for our homeless students, would increase liability for community college districts, and would create a new costly mandate while our districts are already facing tightening budgets and increased operating costs."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:

1. Ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund costs of $600,000 per CCC pilot campus for various costs related to operating the pilot. In total, ongoing costs until the pilot expires in 2029 would be about $12 million annually across the 20 CCC pilot campuses. One-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs of about $1 million.
2. One-time General Fund workload costs to the CCC Chancellor's Office of about $200,000 to establish the pilot program.
3. Ongoing General Fund costs of $350,000 per CSU pilot campus for various costs related to operating the pilot. In total, ongoing costs until the pilot expires in 2029 would be about $3.5 million annually across the 10 CSU pilot campuses. One-time General Fund costs of $300,000.
4. One-time General Fund workload costs to the CSU Chancellor's Office of about $80,000 to establish the pilot program.

VOTES

ASM HIGHER EDUCATION: 10-0-1

YES: Mike Fong, Ta, Arambula, Boerner, Alanis, Irwin, Jackson, Addis, Muratsuchi, Quirk-Silva

ABS, ABST OR NV: Chen

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 12-0-3

YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Ta, Villapudua

ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Dixon, Jim Patterson

UPDATED

VERSION: May 16, 2024

CONSULTANT: Kevin J. Powers / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0003386

Date of Hearing: May 8, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1818

Author:(Jackson) – As Amended Ver:April 18, 2024

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the California Community College (CCC) Chancellor’s Office and the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office to each establish a pilot program to allow overnight parking on campuses by eligible students.

Specifically, this bill requires the CCC Chancellor to determine a plan for implementing the pilot. The plan is to include a form that an eligible student seeking to access the overnight facilities must complete, information about monitoring of overnight parking for safety, and procedures for reporting and responding to threats, the designation of one or more parking areas on each pilot campus, overnight parking rules, and other requirements. The bill defines an eligible student as a student that attends a pilot campus, is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing. The bill also requires the plan to provide an authorization that allows a student from any campus in a CCC district to use the parking area of the pilot campus, provided that the participating student applies for an overnight parking permit.

The bill also requires, by July 1, 2025, each of the state’s 72 CCC districts to select a pilot campus using criteria established by the CCC Chancellor. The bill specifies a pilot campus is not to be civilly liable for injury related to the pilot, except in certain circumstances.

The bill requires a CCC pilot campus to report certain information related to the pilot to the CCC Chancellor by July 1, 2027, including challenges and best practices in operating overnight parking facilities. The bill requires the CCC Chancellor, by January 31, 2028, to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature based on the data provided.

The bill mirrors these requirements for the CSU Chancellor’s Office and CSU campuses, with the exception of developing an authorization for a CSU campus to allow other students from their district to park in the parking lot overnight as CSUs do not have districts. In addition, the bill requires the CSU Chancellor’s Office to select 10 campuses to participate in the pilot.

The bill repeals its provisions January 1, 2029.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund costs of $600,000 per pilot campus for various costs related to operating the pilot. Specifically, about $300,000 to hire three to four security guards, about $150,000 per campus for sanitation and custodial services, about $60,000 per campus for data collection, about $50,000 per campus for increased liability insurance, and about $45,000 in administrative costs to collect and oversee overnight parking forms. In total, ongoing costs until the pilot expires in 2029 would be about $43 million annually across the 72 CCC pilot campuses.
2. One-time Proposition 98 General Fund costs of $50,000 per pilot campus to select and launch its parking program, update security features of parking lots, and produce a report. In total, one-time costs would be about $3.6 million across the 72 CCC pilot campuses.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill’s requirements to be a reimbursable state mandate, the state would need to reimburse these costs to CCCs.

1. One-time General Fund workload costs to the CCC Chancellor’s Office of about $150,000 to establish the pilot program in consultation with student representatives, issue guidance, provide technical assistance, collect data, and produce the required report.
2. Ongoing General Fund costs of $350,000 per CSU pilot campus for various costs related to operating the pilot. Specifically, about $200,000 to hire two to three security guards, about $50,000 per campus for sanitation and custodial services, about $40,000 per campus for data collection, about $30,000 per campus for increased liability insurance, and about $20,000 in administrative costs to collect and oversee overnight parking forms. In total, ongoing costs until the pilot expires in 2029 would be about $3.5 million annually across the 10 CSU pilot campuses. To the extent CSU has existing staff who could absorb responsibilities related to security and custodial services, costs would be lower.
3. One-time General Fund costs of $30,000 per pilot campus to select and launch its parking program, update security features of parking lots, and produce a report. In total, one-time costs would be about $300,000 million across the 10 CSU pilot campuses.
4. One-time General Fund workload costs to the CSU Chancellor’s Office of about $80,000 to establish the pilot program in consultation with student representatives, issue guidance, provide technical assistance, collect data, and produce the required report.

According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to Disability Rights, a supporter of this bill:

California’s college students are facing unprecedented costs to attend college, driven by a historic rise in the price of housing. Far too many students report being homeless or housing insecure, inhibiting their ability to perform to the best of their abilities or complete their education… Those unable to maintain permanent housing should not be harassed, penalized, criminalized, or stigmatized for conditions outside of their control. Meanwhile, it is imperative for governments to create such housing to meet the needs of the student body and general public.

1. Background. The CCC consists of 72 community college districts with 114 campuses and serves about 1.8 million students annually. About 64% of students are considered low-income based on federal standards. While community colleges have traditionally provided little on-campus housing, the state recently has taken action to provide funding for community college housing projects. According to the CCC Chancellor’s Office, a recent report by the Chief Executive Officers of the CCC Affordability, Food and Housing Access Taskforce and the RP Group, 24% of CCC student survey respondents indicated that they were homeless. For the 2022-23 academic year, 1.9 unduplicated students attended a CCC, which means that approximately 462,000 students considered themselves homeless.

Current law requires a CCC campus that has shower facilities for student use to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees and is in good standing with the community college district.

The CSU consists of 23 campuses and serves about 455,000 students annually. About 40% of students are considered low-income based on federal standards. CSU campuses offer on-campus housing to a portion of students and the state recently has taken action to provide additional funding for CSU housing projects.

1. Opposition. This bill is opposed by various organizations, including the Community College League of California, which writes:

The League is in strong agreement with the author’s intentions to address student basic needs…Unfortunately, AB 1818 does not provide a comprehensive solution to the problem…Homeless students deserve a safe, clean, and decent place to sleep at night. As the lowest funded system of education in California, community colleges do not have the resources available to cover the expenses of converting campus parking lots into safe living quarters.

1. Prior Legislation. AB 302 (Berman), of the 2019-20 Legislative Session, would have required a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college, for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight. This bill was moved to the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

Analysis Prepared by: Natasha Collins / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 16, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Mike Fong, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1818 (

Author:Jackson) – As Introduced Ver:January 11, 2024

SUBJECT: Public postsecondary education: homeless students: parking

SUMMARY: Requires each campus of the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC), and would request the University of California (UC), to allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if the student uses the vehicle as housing, the student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus, and the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Specifically, this bill:

1. Specifies that each campus of the CSU and the CCC must, and each campus of the UC is requested to, allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if all of the following circumstances apply:
   1. The student uses the vehicle as housing;
   2. The student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus; and,
   3. The vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure.
2. Requires that campus of the CSU and the CCC will not, and each campus UC is requested to not, cite or otherwise penalize a student attending its campus for using a vehicle as housing if both of the following circumstances apply:
   1. The student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus; and,
   2. The vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure.
3. Specifies that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs will be issues.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which defines homeless youths as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” who:
   1. Are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
   2. May be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters;
   3. Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
   4. Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or
   5. Are migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above. (42 U.S.C. Section 11434a(2).)

Existing state law:

1. Requires that CSU and the UCs, and requests that the CCC, in order to ensure current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth have stable housing, give priority for housing these students. (Education Code (EDC) Sections 76010, 90001.5 and 92660)
2. Requires campuses of the CSU and UC, and requests campuses of the CCC, that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster and homeless youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
3. Extends priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCCs to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
4. Defines “homeless youth” as a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth (as defined by Federal law). Provides that a student who is verified as a former homeless youth retains that status for a period of six years from the date of admission. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
5. Requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use on campus to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing with the community college district without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses. (EDC Sections 76011)
6. Provides that no community college district, or any officer or employee of such district or board is responsible or in any way liable for the conduct or safety of any student of the public schools at any time when such student is not on school property, unless such district has provided transportation for such student to and from the school premises, has undertaken a school-sponsored activity off the premises of such school, has otherwise specifically assumed such responsibility or liability or has failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. In the event of such a specific undertaking, the district is liable or responsible for the conduct or safety of any student only while such student is or should be under the immediate and direct supervision of an employee of such district or board. (EDC Section 87706)
7. Requires the governing board of a community college district to procure insurance against liability of the district for damages for death, injury to person, or damage or loss or property, including such liability arising from officers or employees of the district acting within the scope of their employment. (EDC Section 72506(a))

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: Purpose. According to information provided by the author, AB 1818 seeks to provide a backstop and an alternative for emergency shelter, by allowing California college students to stay overnight in their personal vehicles while parked on the campus of their college or university where they are a registered student. According to the author, “while emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution.”

Background. Housing and food insecurity, also known as basic needs insecurity, among college students is a harsh reality that only recently has been brought to light.

Basic needs insecurity has a direct impact on student academic success. These students are much more likely not to buy textbooks, to miss, drop, or fail classes, and to withdraw from school entirely. In addition, these students consistently report high levels of stress and other mental health issues, which negatively impact academic performance and health in general.

California’s housing crisis has left hundreds of thousands of community college students either homeless or facing the threat of being homeless. In spring 2023, The Research and Planning Group for CCC partnered with the CEO Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce of the Community College League of California to assist in survey data collection efforts and provide updated data trends regarding CCC students’ food and housing security. They released a report titled Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community College Students.

Over 66,000 students from 88 California Community Colleges responded to the survey, revealing that two out of every three CCC students grapple with at least one basic needs insecurity. Nearly half of CCC students are food insecure, almost 3 out of 5 are housing insecure, and about 1 in 4 are homeless - up from 19% in 2019.

Additionally, the report noted students African American/Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native students are more likely to report basic needs insecurities than students of other races/ethnicities. LGBTQ+ students are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-LGBTQ+ students. Students aged 21-30 experienced the highest rates of basic needs insecurities relative to younger and older students. Food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness rates were substantially higher among transgender students in 2023 compared to 2019. Homelessness rates were higher across students of all demographics in 2023 than in 2019. However, the most significant increases were seen among transgender students (+27 % points), gay and lesbian students (+9 % points), American Indian/Alaskan Native students (+14), Middle Eastern/North African students (+11 % points), and Pacific Islander students (+11 % points).

The report also found that who have been in foster care, in the military, and have been convicted of a crime are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities, as are students whose parents/guardians do not claim them as dependents. Additionally, while not assessed in prior years, in 2023, students identifying as single parents were much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-single parents (and the population as a whole), with nearly 9 in10 single parents reporting housing insecurity.

While federal Pell grants can be used for non-tuition expenses, a July 2018 report from the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Research and Floor Analysis titled College Ready, Hungry, and Homeless found that federal Pell grants cover “less than a third of average non-tuition costs, leaving a sizable gap that these students must fill.”

The report also noted that housing accounts for 43% of the cost of being a CCC student, and 30% of students are solely responsible for their housing costs. Grant aid at CCCs covers a third of the total cost of attendance, and relatively few students have access to loans. In recent years, about 40% of students had very low food security, and a quarter of students experienced homelessness.

Recent aid and housing policies. As noted in the Legislative Analyst’s Office 2022-2023 budget briefing on student housing, for many decades, the state’s primary strategy for promoting college affordability was to keep student tuition charges low across the public higher education segments, while also providing full tuition coverage for students with financial need through the Cal Grant program.

Over the past several years, the state has begun providing more financial aid coverage for non-tuition costs, including housing, food, and transportation costs. Specifically, for university students, the state recently revamped the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) program to be based on total cost of attendance. As a result of the expansion, many more CSU and UC students are now receiving MCS awards to cover a portion of their living costs. For community college students, the state created the Student Success Completion Grant program in 2018-19 (building off a predecessor program). This program covers $8,000 of living costs annually for students with financial need who are enrolled in 15 or more units per term and $2,596 annually for students taking between 12 and 14 units per term.

Rapid Rehousing & Housing Grants. In 2019-20, the state provided all three segments with ongoing General Fund augmentations to create rapid rehousing programs in partnership with community organizations. These programs provide students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with various services, including case management, emergency housing, and emergency grants.

Beyond rapid rehousing programs, all three public segments also have received ongoing state funds in recent years to address students’ basic needs, including food and housing insecurity. Basic needs assistance provided on each campus varies but can include on-campus food pantries, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers for short-term housing needs, on-campus emergency housing, security deposit assistance, rental subsidies, and a case manager to help students secure long-term housing.

In addition to these ongoing program expansions, the state provided a substantial amount of one-time funding for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program. As part of the 2022-23 budget agreement, the state provided a total of $1.5 billion one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the first round of student housing grants.

Possible reductions. Several housing programs contain proposed reductions in order to help address California’s budget deficit. To begin aligning available funding with overall state costs, the Governor proposes budget solutions involving one‑time spending reductions, reserve withdrawals, fund shifts, cost shifts, revenue increases, and funding delays.

The largest of the non‑Proposition 98 proposals is removing one‑time funding for a recently created higher education housing revolving loan program. This budget proposal achieves one‑time General Fund savings of nearly $1.7 billion.

The 2023‑24 budget agreement included $61.5 million ongoing non‑Proposition 98 General Fund to debt finance 16 CCC student housing projects. Though the administration is committed to using a state lease revenue bond to finance 13 of these projects, the associated state program has not yet been established. The Governor intends to submit a proposal designing the new program at the May Revision. Until the new lease revenue bond program is enacted and housing projects have been completed, the state would incur no associated borrowing costs. The Governor therefore proposes to remove the entire $61.5 million in associated funding in 2024‑25. In examining the standard criteria for qualifying for state lease revenue bonds, the administration also has determined that three of the CCC projects (in the Napa, Santa Rosa, and Imperial Valley areas) are not good candidates for this type of financing. The Governor proposes to fund these three projects up‑front with cash. Specifically, the Governor proposes using $50.6 million of the $61.5 million provided in 2023‑24 for debt service for these three projects, generating $10.9 million in 2023‑24 savings.

Arguments in support. According to the University of California Student Association, AB 1818 is an “…essential piece of legislation aims to require campuses to allow their students who are experiencing homelessness overnight parking. This allowance will only be if the student uses their vehicle as housing, they have a valid parking permit that had been issued by the campus, and if the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Currently, all UC students are experiencing a major housing crisis due to over enrollment, lack of affordable housing, and scarce housing options.”

“As the official voice of students on behalf of their rights and basic needs, UCSA takes the problem of housing insecurity very seriously. It is our mission to advocate on behalf of current and future students for the accessibility, affordability, and quality of the University of

California system. However, this is not just a problem for UC’s system of campuses. In 2021, a memo presented by the state legislature found that almost 20% of students in California community colleges reported experiencing homelessness. Additionally, 10% of students attending CSU’s and 5% of students attending UC’s reported experiencing homelessness too.

These are just the numbers that have been reported in 2021, not taking into account those who do not report their situation and those who have experienced homelessness since major inflation over the past couple years.”

“Housing insecurity can be caused by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, poor finances, interpersonal violence, discrimination, and immigration status. On top of their studies, jobs, and personal lives, students experiencing homelessness have minimal options as they must stay in the vicinity of the campus. Currently, 8% of UC undergraduates are houseless, and far more are experiencing immense housing insecurity. Sleeping in one’s vehicle on the street has been an option that many students have had to result to because of this unfortunate situation.”

Arguments in opposition. The Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) wrote in opposition, noting that, “While we appreciate the bill’s intent to provide support to one of our most vulnerable student populations, AB 1818 does not fix the real housing and affordability challenges that our students face. Our colleges are already launching programs to assist homeless students, and a “one size fits all” mandate does not make sense for the diverse community college system and would result in significant incurred costs and increased liability implications.”

“We believe a safer and more feasible approach is for the state to invest another round of funding into the Affordable Student Housing Construction Grant Program. While we understand that the current State Budget deficit will not allow for another investment into the program this year, we believe a more prudent approach in the short term is for the Legislature to work with the Newsom Administration on developing a statewide lease revenue bond or other statewide financing or fiscal approach to support affordable student housing projects.”

“ACCCA opposes AB 1818 because it is not a feasible solution for our homeless students, would increase liability for community college districts, and would create a new costly mandate while our districts are already facing tightening budgets and increased operating costs.”

Proposed amendments. To address prior policy concerns, the author has proposed amendments to AB 1818 that will make the program a pilot, and will include 10 CSU campuses and one campus per community college district. Specifically, the amendments:

1. Requires the Chancellor of the CSU to create a pilot program to allow overnight parking by a student attending a participating campus, provided that the student is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees if not waived, and is in good standing with the participating campus without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses.
   1. Requires, no later than July 1, 2025, that 10 campuses be selected using criteria established by the Chancellor of the CSU;
   2. Requires the Chancellor of the CSU, with the participation of student representatives, to determine a plan of action to implement subdivision a) above that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
      1. Overnight parking facilities monitoring and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a student participating in overnight parking;
      2. An overnight parking form that must be completed by any eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities. The form shall clearly and conspicuously indicate on the form that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a student who participates in overnight parking;
      3. Designation of a specific parking area or areas on each campus for overnight parking;
      4. Overnight parking rules that a participating student shall follow when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol;
      5. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the identified student to correct their behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis; and,
      6. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information shall be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking, and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized court-issued warrant.
   3. Requires that, upon establishing a plan of action pursuant to subdivision b), the Chancellor of the CSU will develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures established pursuant to b) above. This document will be provided to participating students. This document will be available at the overnight parking facility in paper form, or posted conspicuously on the internet website of the community college campus in which the facility is located; and,
   4. Specifies that a campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of b) and c) is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other provisions of law.
2. Requires the Chancellor of the CCC to create a pilot program to allow overnight parking by a student attending a participating campus, provided that the student is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees if not waived, and is in good standing with the participating campus without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses.
   1. Requires, no later than July 1, 2025, each community college district to select a pilot campus using criteria established by the Chancellor of the CCC;
   2. Requires the Chancellor of the CCC, with the participation of community college district leaders and student representatives, to determine a plan of action to implement a) that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
      1. Overnight parking facilities monitoring and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a student participating in overnight parking;
      2. An overnight parking form that must be completed by any eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities. The form shall clearly and conspicuously indicate on the form that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a student who participates in overnight parking;
      3. Designation of a specific parking area or areas on each campus for overnight parking;
      4. Authorization that allows a student from any campus in a community campus district to use the parking area of the pilot campus, provided they participate in the pilot by applying for an overnight parking permit.
      5. Overnight parking rules that a participating student shall follow when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol;
      6. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the identified student to correct their behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis; and,
      7. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information shall be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking, and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized court-issued warrant;
   3. Requires that, upon establishing a plan of action pursuant to subdivision b), the Chancellor of the CCC will develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures established pursuant to b). This document will be provided to participating students. This document will be available at the overnight parking facility in paper form, or posted conspicuously on the internet website of the community college campus in which the facility is located; and,
   4. Specifies that a campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of b) and c) is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other provisions of law.
3. Requires that participants in both pilot programs be granted access to overnight parking until students are provided access with a suitable alternative, including but not limited to:
   1. Grants that are necessary to secure, or prevent, the imminent loss of housing;
   2. Hotel vouchers through a public agency or community organization; and;
   3. Rapid Rehousing referral services and placement.
4. Requires, commencing on or before August 1, 2025, the Chancellor of the CSU and the Chancellor of the CCC will implement 1) and 2) above, respectively.
5. Requires. on or before 1 July 2027, participating campuses to report to their respective Chancellor’s Offices on the use of the overnight parking facilities by its students, the number of students served by the overnight parking facilities, the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of these students, other housing services offered to its students, challenges and best practices in the operation of the overnight parking facilities, and whether students who used the overnight parking facilities remained enrolled or graduated from a campus maintained by the district.
6. On or before January 31, 2028, the CCC and CSU chancellors’ offices shall develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, report based on the data and information reported by districts pursuant to 5) above.
7. Specified that the provisions remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

Prior legislation. AB 806 (Bloom), Chapter 163, Statutes of 2019, removes the January 1, 2020 sunset, whereby current and former homeless youth are eligible for priority enrollment at campuses of the CCC, CSU, and the UC; aligns the definition of “homeless youth” to other provisions of existing law; specifies that current or former homeless youth are eligible for the CCC fee waiver; and, makes technical and clarifying changes to existing law.

AB 2416 (Gabriel), Chapter 285, Statutes of 2020, requires institutions of higher education to allow students to appeal their loss of student financial aid if they fail to meet "satisfactory academic progress" due to homelessness.

AB 302 (Berman, 2019), would have required a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight. This bill was moved to the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

AB 2784 (Caballero, 2018) would have established a program to provide loans for housing expenses to students experiencing homelessness at three California State University campuses. AB 2784 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1228 (Gipson, Atkins), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2015, extended priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCC to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Alliance for Children's Rights
California Faculty Association
Disability Rights California
Glide
Individual
Power CA Action
Power California
University of California Student Association

Oppose

Association of California Community College Administrators
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
Community College League of California

Analysis Prepared by: Kevin J. Powers / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960

Date of Hearing: April 16, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Mike Fong, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1818 (

Author:Jackson) – As Introduced Ver:January 11, 2024

SUBJECT: Public postsecondary education: homeless students: parking

SUMMARY: Requires each campus of the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC), and would request the University of California (UC), to allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if the student uses the vehicle as housing, the student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus, and the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Specifically, this bill:

1. Specifies that each campus of the CSU and the CCC must, and each campus of the UC is requested to, allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if all of the following circumstances apply:
   1. The student uses the vehicle as housing;
   2. The student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus; and,
   3. The vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure.
2. Requires that campus of the CSU and the CCC will not, and each campus UC is requested to not, cite or otherwise penalize a student attending its campus for using a vehicle as housing if both of the following circumstances apply:
   1. The student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus; and,
   2. The vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure.
3. Specifies that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs will be issues.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which defines homeless youths as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” who:
   1. Are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
   2. May be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters;
   3. Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
   4. Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or
   5. Are migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above. (42 U.S.C. Section 11434a(2).)

Existing state law:

1. Requires that CSU and the UCs, and requests that the CCC, in order to ensure current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth have stable housing, give priority for housing these students. (Education Code (EDC) Sections 76010, 90001.5 and 92660)
2. Requires campuses of the CSU and UC, and requests campuses of the CCC, that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster and homeless youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
3. Extends priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCCs to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
4. Defines “homeless youth” as a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth (as defined by Federal law). Provides that a student who is verified as a former homeless youth retains that status for a period of six years from the date of admission. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
5. Requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use on campus to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing with the community college district without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses. (EDC Sections 76011)
6. Provides that no community college district, or any officer or employee of such district or board is responsible or in any way liable for the conduct or safety of any student of the public schools at any time when such student is not on school property, unless such district has provided transportation for such student to and from the school premises, has undertaken a school-sponsored activity off the premises of such school, has otherwise specifically assumed such responsibility or liability or has failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. In the event of such a specific undertaking, the district is liable or responsible for the conduct or safety of any student only while such student is or should be under the immediate and direct supervision of an employee of such district or board. (EDC Section 87706)
7. Requires the governing board of a community college district to procure insurance against liability of the district for damages for death, injury to person, or damage or loss or property, including such liability arising from officers or employees of the district acting within the scope of their employment. (EDC Section 72506(a))

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: Purpose. According to information provided by the author, AB 1818 seeks to provide a backstop and an alternative for emergency shelter, by allowing California college students to stay overnight in their personal vehicles while parked on the campus of their college or university where they are a registered student. According to the author, “while emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution.”

Background. Housing and food insecurity, also known as basic needs insecurity, among college students is a harsh reality that only recently has been brought to light.

Basic needs insecurity has a direct impact on student academic success. These students are much more likely not to buy textbooks, to miss, drop, or fail classes, and to withdraw from school entirely. In addition, these students consistently report high levels of stress and other mental health issues, which negatively impact academic performance and health in general.

California’s housing crisis has left hundreds of thousands of community college students either homeless or facing the threat of being homeless. In spring 2023, The Research and Planning Group for CCC partnered with the CEO Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce of the Community College League of California to assist in survey data collection efforts and provide updated data trends regarding CCC students’ food and housing security. They released a report titled Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community College Students.

Over 66,000 students from 88 California Community Colleges responded to the survey, revealing that two out of every three CCC students grapple with at least one basic needs insecurity. Nearly half of CCC students are food insecure, almost 3 out of 5 are housing insecure, and about 1 in 4 are homeless - up from 19% in 2019.

Additionally, the report noted students African American/Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native students are more likely to report basic needs insecurities than students of other races/ethnicities. LGBTQ+ students are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-LGBTQ+ students. Students aged 21-30 experienced the highest rates of basic needs insecurities relative to younger and older students. Food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness rates were substantially higher among transgender students in 2023 compared to 2019. Homelessness rates were higher across students of all demographics in 2023 than in 2019. However, the most significant increases were seen among transgender students (+27 % points), gay and lesbian students (+9 % points), American Indian/Alaskan Native students (+14), Middle Eastern/North African students (+11 % points), and Pacific Islander students (+11 % points).

The report also found that who have been in foster care, in the military, and have been convicted of a crime are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities, as are students whose parents/guardians do not claim them as dependents. Additionally, while not assessed in prior years, in 2023, students identifying as single parents were much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-single parents (and the population as a whole), with nearly 9 in10 single parents reporting housing insecurity.

While federal Pell grants can be used for non-tuition expenses, a July 2018 report from the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Research and Floor Analysis titled College Ready, Hungry, and Homeless found that federal Pell grants cover “less than a third of average non-tuition costs, leaving a sizable gap that these students must fill.”

The report also noted that housing accounts for 43% of the cost of being a CCC student, and 30% of students are solely responsible for their housing costs. Grant aid at CCCs covers a third of the total cost of attendance, and relatively few students have access to loans. In recent years, about 40% of students had very low food security, and a quarter of students experienced homelessness.

Recent aid and housing policies. As noted in the Legislative Analyst’s Office 2022-2023 budget briefing on student housing, for many decades, the state’s primary strategy for promoting college affordability was to keep student tuition charges low across the public higher education segments, while also providing full tuition coverage for students with financial need through the Cal Grant program.

Over the past several years, the state has begun providing more financial aid coverage for non-tuition costs, including housing, food, and transportation costs. Specifically, for university students, the state recently revamped the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) program to be based on total cost of attendance. As a result of the expansion, many more CSU and UC students are now receiving MCS awards to cover a portion of their living costs. For community college students, the state created the Student Success Completion Grant program in 2018-19 (building off a predecessor program). This program covers $8,000 of living costs annually for students with financial need who are enrolled in 15 or more units per term and $2,596 annually for students taking between 12 and 14 units per term.

Rapid Rehousing & Housing Grants. In 2019-20, the state provided all three segments with ongoing General Fund augmentations to create rapid rehousing programs in partnership with community organizations. These programs provide students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with various services, including case management, emergency housing, and emergency grants.

Beyond rapid rehousing programs, all three public segments also have received ongoing state funds in recent years to address students’ basic needs, including food and housing insecurity. Basic needs assistance provided on each campus varies but can include on-campus food pantries, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers for short-term housing needs, on-campus emergency housing, security deposit assistance, rental subsidies, and a case manager to help students secure long-term housing.

In addition to these ongoing program expansions, the state provided a substantial amount of one-time funding for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program. As part of the 2022-23 budget agreement, the state provided a total of $1.5 billion one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the first round of student housing grants.

Possible reductions. Several housing programs contain proposed reductions in order to help address California’s budget deficit. To begin aligning available funding with overall state costs, the Governor proposes budget solutions involving one‑time spending reductions, reserve withdrawals, fund shifts, cost shifts, revenue increases, and funding delays.

The largest of the non‑Proposition 98 proposals is removing one‑time funding for a recently created higher education housing revolving loan program. This budget proposal achieves one‑time General Fund savings of nearly $1.7 billion.

The 2023‑24 budget agreement included $61.5 million ongoing non‑Proposition 98 General Fund to debt finance 16 CCC student housing projects. Though the administration is committed to using a state lease revenue bond to finance 13 of these projects, the associated state program has not yet been established. The Governor intends to submit a proposal designing the new program at the May Revision. Until the new lease revenue bond program is enacted and housing projects have been completed, the state would incur no associated borrowing costs. The Governor therefore proposes to remove the entire $61.5 million in associated funding in 2024‑25. In examining the standard criteria for qualifying for state lease revenue bonds, the administration also has determined that three of the CCC projects (in the Napa, Santa Rosa, and Imperial Valley areas) are not good candidates for this type of financing. The Governor proposes to fund these three projects up‑front with cash. Specifically, the Governor proposes using $50.6 million of the $61.5 million provided in 2023‑24 for debt service for these three projects, generating $10.9 million in 2023‑24 savings.

Arguments in support. According to the University of California Student Association, AB 1818 is an “…essential piece of legislation aims to require campuses to allow their students who are experiencing homelessness overnight parking. This allowance will only be if the student uses their vehicle as housing, they have a valid parking permit that had been issued by the campus, and if the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Currently, all UC students are experiencing a major housing crisis due to over enrollment, lack of affordable housing, and scarce housing options.”

“As the official voice of students on behalf of their rights and basic needs, UCSA takes the problem of housing insecurity very seriously. It is our mission to advocate on behalf of current and future students for the accessibility, affordability, and quality of the University of

California system. However, this is not just a problem for UC’s system of campuses. In 2021, a memo presented by the state legislature found that almost 20% of students in California community colleges reported experiencing homelessness. Additionally, 10% of students attending CSU’s and 5% of students attending UC’s reported experiencing homelessness too.

These are just the numbers that have been reported in 2021, not taking into account those who do not report their situation and those who have experienced homelessness since major inflation over the past couple years.”

“Housing insecurity can be caused by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, poor finances, interpersonal violence, discrimination, and immigration status. On top of their studies, jobs, and personal lives, students experiencing homelessness have minimal options as they must stay in the vicinity of the campus. Currently, 8% of UC undergraduates are houseless, and far more are experiencing immense housing insecurity. Sleeping in one’s vehicle on the street has been an option that many students have had to result to because of this unfortunate situation.”

Arguments in opposition. The Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) wrote in opposition, noting that, “While we appreciate the bill’s intent to provide support to one of our most vulnerable student populations, AB 1818 does not fix the real housing and affordability challenges that our students face. Our colleges are already launching programs to assist homeless students, and a “one size fits all” mandate does not make sense for the diverse community college system and would result in significant incurred costs and increased liability implications.”

“We believe a safer and more feasible approach is for the state to invest another round of funding into the Affordable Student Housing Construction Grant Program. While we understand that the current State Budget deficit will not allow for another investment into the program this year, we believe a more prudent approach in the short term is for the Legislature to work with the Newsom Administration on developing a statewide lease revenue bond or other statewide financing or fiscal approach to support affordable student housing projects.”

“ACCCA opposes AB 1818 because it is not a feasible solution for our homeless students, would increase liability for community college districts, and would create a new costly mandate while our districts are already facing tightening budgets and increased operating costs.”

Proposed amendments. To address prior policy concerns, the author has proposed amendments to AB 1818 that will make the program a pilot, and will include 10 CSU campuses and one campus per community college district. Specifically, the amendments:

1. Requires the Chancellor of the CSU to create a pilot program to allow overnight parking by a student attending a participating campus, provided that the student is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees if not waived, and is in good standing with the participating campus without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses.
   1. Requires, no later than July 1, 2025, that 10 campuses be selected using criteria established by the Chancellor of the CSU;
   2. Requires the Chancellor of the CSU, with the participation of student representatives, to determine a plan of action to implement subdivision a) above that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
      1. Overnight parking facilities monitoring and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a student participating in overnight parking;
      2. An overnight parking form that must be completed by any eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities. The form shall clearly and conspicuously indicate on the form that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a student who participates in overnight parking;
      3. Designation of a specific parking area or areas on each campus for overnight parking;
      4. Overnight parking rules that a participating student shall follow when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol;
      5. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the identified student to correct their behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis; and,
      6. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information shall be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking, and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized court-issued warrant.
   3. Requires that, upon establishing a plan of action pursuant to subdivision b), the Chancellor of the CSU will develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures established pursuant to b) above. This document will be provided to participating students. This document will be available at the overnight parking facility in paper form, or posted conspicuously on the internet website of the community college campus in which the facility is located; and,
   4. Specifies that a campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of b) and c) is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other provisions of law.
2. Requires the Chancellor of the CCC to create a pilot program to allow overnight parking by a student attending a participating campus, provided that the student is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees if not waived, and is in good standing with the participating campus without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses.
   1. Requires, no later than July 1, 2025, each community college district to select a pilot campus using criteria established by the Chancellor of the CCC;
   2. Requires the Chancellor of the CCC, with the participation of community college district leaders and student representatives, to determine a plan of action to implement a) that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
      1. Overnight parking facilities monitoring and a procedure for reporting and responding to threats to the safety of a student participating in overnight parking;
      2. An overnight parking form that must be completed by any eligible student seeking to access the overnight parking facilities. The form shall clearly and conspicuously indicate on the form that the campus cannot ensure the safety of a student who participates in overnight parking;
      3. Designation of a specific parking area or areas on each campus for overnight parking;
      4. Authorization that allows a student from any campus in a community campus district to use the parking area of the pilot campus, provided they participate in the pilot by applying for an overnight parking permit.
      5. Overnight parking rules that a participating student shall follow when using the overnight parking facilities, including a zero tolerance policy for the use of drugs or alcohol;
      6. A procedure for identifying a participating student who has engaged in behavior that poses a substantial threat to the physical safety of other participating students and, as necessary, warning the identified student to correct their behavior or revoking the student’s eligibility to participate in overnight parking on a temporary or permanent basis; and,
      7. A procedure for registering and verifying the identity of an eligible student and the student’s vehicle through the issuance of an overnight parking permit. This information shall be used exclusively for the purpose of implementing overnight parking, and shall not be disclosed for any other purpose, except pursuant to a particularized court-issued warrant;
   3. Requires that, upon establishing a plan of action pursuant to subdivision b), the Chancellor of the CCC will develop a document that clearly and concisely describes the rules and procedures established pursuant to b). This document will be provided to participating students. This document will be available at the overnight parking facility in paper form, or posted conspicuously on the internet website of the community college campus in which the facility is located; and,
   4. Specifies that a campus that implements overnight parking that complies with the requirements of b) and c) is not civilly liable for a campus employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a participating student that occurs in, or in close proximity to, and during the hours of operation of, overnight parking. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other provisions of law.
3. Requires that participants in both pilot programs be granted access to overnight parking until students are provided access with a suitable alternative, including but not limited to:
   1. Grants that are necessary to secure, or prevent, the imminent loss of housing;
   2. Hotel vouchers through a public agency or community organization; and;
   3. Rapid Rehousing referral services and placement.
4. Requires, commencing on or before August 1, 2025, the Chancellor of the CSU and the Chancellor of the CCC will implement 1) and 2) above, respectively.
5. Requires. on or before 1 July 2027, participating campuses to report to their respective Chancellor’s Offices on the use of the overnight parking facilities by its students, the number of students served by the overnight parking facilities, the socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds of these students, other housing services offered to its students, challenges and best practices in the operation of the overnight parking facilities, and whether students who used the overnight parking facilities remained enrolled or graduated from a campus maintained by the district.
6. On or before January 31, 2028, the CCC and CSU chancellors’ offices shall develop and submit to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code, report based on the data and information reported by districts pursuant to 5) above.
7. Specified that the provisions remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

Prior legislation. AB 806 (Bloom), Chapter 163, Statutes of 2019, removes the January 1, 2020 sunset, whereby current and former homeless youth are eligible for priority enrollment at campuses of the CCC, CSU, and the UC; aligns the definition of “homeless youth” to other provisions of existing law; specifies that current or former homeless youth are eligible for the CCC fee waiver; and, makes technical and clarifying changes to existing law.

AB 2416 (Gabriel), Chapter 285, Statutes of 2020, requires institutions of higher education to allow students to appeal their loss of student financial aid if they fail to meet "satisfactory academic progress" due to homelessness.

AB 302 (Berman, 2019), would have required a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight. This bill was moved to the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

AB 2784 (Caballero, 2018) would have established a program to provide loans for housing expenses to students experiencing homelessness at three California State University campuses. AB 2784 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1228 (Gipson, Atkins), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2015, extended priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCC to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Alliance for Children's Rights

Power California

University of California Student Association

Opposition

Association of California Community College Administrators

Analysis Prepared by: Kevin J. Powers / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960

Date of Hearing: March 12, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Mike Fong, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1818 (

Author:Jackson) – As Introduced Ver:January 11, 2024

SUBJECT: Public postsecondary education: homeless students: parking

SUMMARY: Requires each campus of the California State University (CSU) and the California Community Colleges (CCC), and would request the University of California (UC), to allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if the student uses the vehicle as housing, the student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus, and the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Specifically, this bill:

1. Specifies that each campus of the CSU and the CCC must, and each campus of the UC is requested to, allow overnight parking by a student attending its campus if all of the following circumstances apply:
   1. The student uses the vehicle as housing;
   2. The student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus; and,
   3. The vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure.
2. Requires that campus of the CSU and the CCC will not, and each campus UC is requested to not, cite or otherwise penalize a student attending its campus for using a vehicle as housing if both of the following circumstances apply:
   1. The student has a valid parking permit issued by the campus; and,
   2. The vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure.
3. Specifies that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs will be issues.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which defines homeless youths as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” who:
   1. Are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
   2. May be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters;
   3. Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
   4. Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or
   5. Are migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above. (42 U.S.C. Section 11434a(2).)

Existing state law:

1. Requires that CSU and the UCs, and requests that the CCC, in order to ensure current and former homeless youth and current and former foster youth have stable housing, give priority for housing these students. (Education Code (EDC) Sections 76010, 90001.5 and 92660)
2. Requires campuses of the CSU and UC, and requests campuses of the CCC, that maintain student housing facilities open for occupation during school breaks, or on a year-round basis, to give first priority to current and former foster and homeless youth for residence in the housing facilities that are open for uninterrupted year-round occupation. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
3. Extends priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCCs to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
4. Defines “homeless youth” as a student under 25 years of age, who has been verified as a homeless child or youth (as defined by Federal law). Provides that a student who is verified as a former homeless youth retains that status for a period of six years from the date of admission. (EDC Sections 76010, 90001.5, and 92660)
5. Requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use on campus to grant access to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees, and is in good standing with the community college district without requiring the student to enroll in additional courses. (EDC Sections 76011)
6. Provides that no community college district, or any officer or employee of such district or board is responsible or in any way liable for the conduct or safety of any student of the public schools at any time when such student is not on school property, unless such district has provided transportation for such student to and from the school premises, has undertaken a school-sponsored activity off the premises of such school, has otherwise specifically assumed such responsibility or liability or has failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances. In the event of such a specific undertaking, the district is liable or responsible for the conduct or safety of any student only while such student is or should be under the immediate and direct supervision of an employee of such district or board. (EDC Section 87706)
7. Requires the governing board of a community college district to procure insurance against liability of the district for damages for death, injury to person, or damage or loss or property, including such liability arising from officers or employees of the district acting within the scope of their employment. (EDC Section 72506(a))

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS: Purpose. According to information provided by the author, AB 1818 seeks to provide a backstop and an alternative for emergency shelter, by allowing California college students to stay overnight in their personal vehicles while parked on the campus of their college or university where they are a registered student. According to the author, “while emergency shelter in a vehicle is not ideal, it seems just a student knowing they may have a place to shelter, will go a long way to stabilizing their health and providing additional time to find a long term housing solution.”

Background. Housing and food insecurity, also known as basic needs insecurity, among college students is a harsh reality that only recently has been brought to light.

Basic needs insecurity has a direct impact on student academic success. These students are much more likely not to buy textbooks, to miss, drop, or fail classes, and to withdraw from school entirely. In addition, these students consistently report high levels of stress and other mental health issues, which negatively impact academic performance and health in general.

California’s housing crisis has left hundreds of thousands of community college students either homeless or facing the threat of being homeless. In spring 2023, The Research and Planning Group for CCC partnered with the CEO Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce of the Community College League of California to assist in survey data collection efforts and provide updated data trends regarding CCC students’ food and housing security. They released a report titled Real College California: Basic Needs Among California Community College Students.

Over 66,000 students from 88 California Community Colleges responded to the survey, revealing that two out of every three CCC students grapple with at least one basic needs insecurity. Nearly half of CCC students are food insecure, almost 3 out of 5 are housing insecure, and about 1 in 4 are homeless - up from 19% in 2019.

Additionally, the report noted students African American/Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native students are more likely to report basic needs insecurities than students of other races/ethnicities. LGBTQ+ students are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-LGBTQ+ students. Students aged 21-30 experienced the highest rates of basic needs insecurities relative to younger and older students. Food insecurity, housing insecurity, and homelessness rates were substantially higher among transgender students in 2023 compared to 2019. Homelessness rates were higher across students of all demographics in 2023 than in 2019. However, the most significant increases were seen among transgender students (+27 % points), gay and lesbian students (+9 % points), American Indian/Alaskan Native students (+14), Middle Eastern/North African students (+11 % points), and Pacific Islander students (+11 % points).

The report also found that who have been in foster care, in the military, and have been convicted of a crime are much more likely to report basic needs insecurities, as are students whose parents/guardians do not claim them as dependents. Additionally, while not assessed in prior years, in 2023, students identifying as single parents were much more likely to report basic needs insecurities than non-single parents (and the population as a whole), with nearly 9 in10 single parents reporting housing insecurity.

While federal Pell grants can be used for non-tuition expenses, a July 2018 report from the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Research and Floor Analysis titled College Ready, Hungry, and Homeless found that federal Pell grants cover “less than a third of average non-tuition costs, leaving a sizable gap that these students must fill.”

The report also noted that housing accounts for 43% of the cost of being a CCC student, and 30% of students are solely responsible for their housing costs. Grant aid at CCCs covers a third of the total cost of attendance, and relatively few students have access to loans. In recent years, about 40% of students had very low food security, and a quarter of students experienced homelessness.

Recent aid and housing policies. As noted in the Legislative Analyst’s Office 2022-2023 budget briefing on student housing, for many decades, the state’s primary strategy for promoting college affordability was to keep student tuition charges low across the public higher education segments, while also providing full tuition coverage for students with financial need through the Cal Grant program.

Over the past several years, the state has begun providing more financial aid coverage for non-tuition costs, including housing, food, and transportation costs. Specifically, for university students, the state recently revamped the Middle Class Scholarship (MCS) program to be based on total cost of attendance. As a result of the expansion, many more CSU and UC students are now receiving MCS awards to cover a portion of their living costs. For community college students, the state created the Student Success Completion Grant program in 2018-19 (building off a predecessor program). This program covers $8,000 of living costs annually for students with financial need who are enrolled in 15 or more units per term and $2,596 annually for students taking between 12 and 14 units per term.

Rapid Rehousing & Housing Grants. In 2019-20, the state provided all three segments with ongoing General Fund augmentations to create rapid rehousing programs in partnership with community organizations. These programs provide students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with various services, including case management, emergency housing, and emergency grants.

Beyond rapid rehousing programs, all three public segments also have received ongoing state funds in recent years to address students’ basic needs, including food and housing insecurity. Basic needs assistance provided on each campus varies but can include on-campus food pantries, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers for short-term housing needs, on-campus emergency housing, security deposit assistance, rental subsidies, and a case manager to help students secure long-term housing.

In addition to these ongoing program expansions, the state provided a substantial amount of one-time funding for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant program. As part of the 2022-23 budget agreement, the state provided a total of $1.5 billion one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the first round of student housing grants.

Possible reductions. Several housing programs contain proposed reductions in order to help address California’s budget deficit. To begin aligning available funding with overall state costs, the Governor proposes budget solutions involving one‑time spending reductions, reserve withdrawals, fund shifts, cost shifts, revenue increases, and funding delays.

The largest of the non‑Proposition 98 proposals is removing one‑time funding for a recently created higher education housing revolving loan program. This budget proposal achieves one‑time General Fund savings of nearly $1.7 billion.

The 2023‑24 budget agreement included $61.5 million ongoing non‑Proposition 98 General Fund to debt finance 16 CCC student housing projects. Though the administration is committed to using a state lease revenue bond to finance 13 of these projects, the associated state program has not yet been established. The Governor intends to submit a proposal designing the new program at the May Revision. Until the new lease revenue bond program is enacted and housing projects have been completed, the state would incur no associated borrowing costs. The Governor therefore proposes to remove the entire $61.5 million in associated funding in 2024‑25. In examining the standard criteria for qualifying for state lease revenue bonds, the administration also has determined that three of the CCC projects (in the Napa, Santa Rosa, and Imperial Valley areas) are not good candidates for this type of financing. The Governor proposes to fund these three projects up‑front with cash. Specifically, the Governor proposes using $50.6 million of the $61.5 million provided in 2023‑24 for debt service for these three projects, generating $10.9 million in 2023‑24 savings.

Arguments in support. According to the University of California Student Association, AB 1818 is an “…essential piece of legislation aims to require campuses to allow their students who are experiencing homelessness overnight parking. This allowance will only be if the student uses their vehicle as housing, they have a valid parking permit that had been issued by the campus, and if the vehicle is parked in or on a campus-owned and controlled parking lot or parking structure. Currently, all UC students are experiencing a major housing crisis due to over enrollment, lack of affordable housing, and scarce housing options.”

“As the official voice of students on behalf of their rights and basic needs, UCSA takes the problem of housing insecurity very seriously. It is our mission to advocate on behalf of current and future students for the accessibility, affordability, and quality of the University of

California system. However, this is not just a problem for UC’s system of campuses. In 2021, a memo presented by the state legislature found that almost 20% of students in California community colleges reported experiencing homelessness. Additionally, 10% of students attending CSU’s and 5% of students attending UC’s reported experiencing homelessness too.

These are just the numbers that have been reported in 2021, not taking into account those who do not report their situation and those who have experienced homelessness since major inflation over the past couple years.”

“Housing insecurity can be caused by a variety of factors including, but not limited to, poor finances, interpersonal violence, discrimination, and immigration status. On top of their studies, jobs, and personal lives, students experiencing homelessness have minimal options as they must stay in the vicinity of the campus. Currently, 8% of UC undergraduates are houseless, and far more are experiencing immense housing insecurity. Sleeping in one’s vehicle on the street has been an option that many students have had to result to because of this unfortunate situation.”

Arguments in opposition. The Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA) wrote in opposition, noting that, “While we appreciate the bill’s intent to provide support to one of our most vulnerable student populations, AB 1818 does not fix the real housing and affordability challenges that our students face. Our colleges are already launching programs to assist homeless students, and a “one size fits all” mandate does not make sense for the diverse community college system and would result in significant incurred costs and increased liability implications.”

“We believe a safer and more feasible approach is for the state to invest another round of funding into the Affordable Student Housing Construction Grant Program. While we understand that the current State Budget deficit will not allow for another investment into the program this year, we believe a more prudent approach in the short term is for the Legislature to work with the Newsom Administration on developing a statewide lease revenue bond or other statewide financing or fiscal approach to support affordable student housing projects.”

“ACCCA opposes AB 1818 because it is not a feasible solution for our homeless students, would increase liability for community college districts, and would create a new costly mandate while our districts are already facing tightening budgets and increased operating costs.”

Is this the appropriate remedy? Concerns have been raised that bill’s provisions fall short of addressing financial need or of enacting a sustainable housing solution for students and may distract from the types of reforms missing from student aid programs. The committee may wish to consider whether having institutions of higher education an overnight parking program is an appropriate remedy or whether alternative solutions such as expanding financial aid programs or connecting students with entities that are equipped to offer wrap-around services is merited.

Prior legislation. AB 806 (Bloom), Chapter 163, Statutes of 2019, removes the January 1, 2020 sunset, whereby current and former homeless youth are eligible for priority enrollment at campuses of the CCC, CSU, and the UC; aligns the definition of “homeless youth” to other provisions of existing law; specifies that current or former homeless youth are eligible for the CCC fee waiver; and, makes technical and clarifying changes to existing law.

AB 2416 (Gabriel), Chapter 285, Statutes of 2020, requires institutions of higher education to allow students to appeal their loss of student financial aid if they fail to meet "satisfactory academic progress" due to homelessness.

AB 302 (Berman, 2019), would have required a CCC campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees that have not been waived, and is in good standing with the community college for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight. This bill was moved to the inactive file on the Senate Floor.

AB 2784 (Caballero, 2018) would have established a program to provide loans for housing expenses to students experiencing homelessness at three California State University campuses. AB 2784 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 1228 (Gipson, Atkins), Chapter 571, Statutes of 2015, extended priority for housing at the UC, the CSU, and the CCC to homeless youth, and requests campuses to develop plans to ensure that homeless and foster youth have housing during breaks.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Alliance for Children's Rights

Power California

University of California Student Association

Opposition

Association of California Community College Administrators

Analysis Prepared by: Kevin J. Powers / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960