Assembly Standing Committee on Higher Education

Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to welcome everyone to the Assembly Higher Education Committee. We're waiting for upon one more member and then we can establish our rules of order so that we can conduct our. Oh, perfect. Thank you so much, Dr. Arambula. The Assembly Higher Education Committee is called to order. Good afternoon everyone and welcome, welcome to the first Assembly Higher Education Committee of this session. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Thank you so much, Madam Secretary. We have established a quorum. And thank you so much to all our members who have joined us for our first bill hearing of the Assembly Higher Education Committee. And welcome, everyone. Whether you're here in person or watching virtually. I'm grateful to all of you for joining us here today.

Also like to extend a warm welcome to all our new members of our committee, our Vice Chair Tri Ta, Assemblymember Dawn Addis, Assemblymember Liz Ortega, Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, and Assemblymember Wallis. Thank you so much for being here and for joining us in our first policy hearing as members of the Committee on Higher Education. Again, welcome to each and every one of you, and thank you so much. Additionally, I'd like to welcome our newest staff member of the committee, Kiersten Wall, who started on March 1 as a committee assistant. Welcome to your first hearing, Ms. Wall.

Thank you.

At this time now I will go over some key elements of the structure of today's hearing. Please note that while this hearing will not have phone testimony, we are accepting written testimony through the position letter portal on the committee's website at www.ahed.assembly.ca.gov. And bills will be taken up in sign-in order authors, you can sign in at the sergeant's desk here in 437 and we'll get you listed here in our bill order list.

Additionally, please note that the guideline for bills heard in this committee is to allow testimony from two lead witnesses in support and two lead witnesses in opposition to speak for no more than two minutes each. Stakeholder groups and entities that are neither in support nor in opposition will be allowed to give testimony for no more than two minutes, which I call tweeners. If a measure has more than two entities in the tweener category, only two will be allowed to speak for two minutes each.

For members of the committee, members, if you'd like to respond to a roll call, ask a question, and provide a comment, please be sure to turn on your mic and speak into the mic. And for authors of bills up today, authors, each member presenting today will provide an opening statement and a closing statement. As previously stated, your two lead witnesses will each have two minutes to provide testimony. And now our first order of business is the adoption of the committee rules. Do I have a motion to adopt the Committee rules? Moved by Dr. Arambula, seconded by Vice Chair Ta. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Thank you so much. The vote count is seven, zero, so the rules has been established. Thank you so much. Next up is before we proceed with our first author, let us think about the consent calendar. We have four bills on consent and they are as follows. File item number three, AB 264 authored by Assemblymember Ting. File item five, Assembly Bill 322 as amended by Assemblymember Mathis.

File item six, AB 447 authored by Dr. Arambula, and file item eight, AB 461 authored by Assemblymember Ramos. Is there a motion and second on the consent calendar? Moved by Vice Chair Ta and seconded by Dr. Ambula. Madam Secreatry, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

Okay, perfect. The amendment was co-chair for somewhere added to Dr. Arambula's bill has been accepted. Thank you. As co-authored. Yes.

[Roll Call]

Thank you so much. Members, the consent calendar has been adopted by an eight to zero vote. Thank you so much. Also to note, file item 10, AB 624, authored by Assemblymember Grayson, will be presented today by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel. Now we will proceed to authors in order, sign in order, and very grateful to all the authors who have showed up thus far. And thank you for all your leadership and efforts.

I will first start with Mr. Ward on Assembly Bill of 634, item number 11. And this is a support do pass. Now I'll pass it over to Assembly Member Chris Ward.

Thank you, Mr. Chair Members. This Bill is a reintroduction of legislation that we had worked on last session and then even prior to that, through Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber in 2019. Career development and college preparation courses are free community college courses that lead to a certificate or a degree.

Currently, these courses serve the most vulnerable populations of our students. However, there is a financial disincentive for community colleges to offer them due to their funding structure. AB 634 would better equalize funding for noncredit career development and college preparation courses that are offered with a start and end date.

By authorizing the attendance of those courses to be taken according to a census date rather than on positive attendance, this Bill will accurately compensate community colleges for courses that are essential to California's workforce and minority communities, and I'd like to present my witness in support of the Bill. Mark Mcdonald, representing the San Diego Community College District and respectfully request your I vote.

Thank you Chair Fong Members Mark McDonald, on behalf of the Kern, Peralta, San Diego, Yuba Community College districts as well as the Los Angeles College Faculty Guild and really want to thank Assemblymember Ward for reintroducing this bill. We think this is a very important bill and we're hoping that the third time is a charm to get through.

But as the Assembly Member mentioned, AB 634 would better equalize funding for noncredit career development and college preparation courses that are offered with a start date and an end date. Managed enrollment noncredit courses have been shown to increase student completion and persistence and employability, yet they are funded in a way that disadvantages their offering. Many of these courses are short term vocational programs that get students into the workforce quickly. Others are ESL and basic skills courses that tremendously help students.

This change will provide districts with an incentive to provide these short term vocational programs that the Legislature and the Administration have requested that districts do. The bottom line the measure has the potential to benefit students through increased access, success and persistence, and we ask for your Aye vote thank you.

Thank you so much. I moved by Dr. Arambula, seconded by Assembly Member Wallis. Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room?

Thank you, Chair and Members, Austin Webster with W strategies on behalf of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges and the California Community College Association for Occupational Education in Support.

Ryan Mc Elhinney with the Community College League of California. While we've not gotten to a formal position of support, we did support the previous iterations of the Bill and looking forward to officially getting there soon. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there tweeners in the hearing room? Seeing none. To Committee Members, are there any questions or comments? Seeing none. Does author wish to close?

I respectfully request your I vote

Thank you so much. I support your bill and this looks like a fair way to treat CDP, CP courses under managed enrollment. And we know that we need to have more courses accounted for under census date format, which also reduce administrative burdens for faculty and staff. And I really appreciate your hard work and efforts in working with our Committee staff and the chancellor's office as the bill moves forward. Seeing no further comments. Roll call, please. Madam Secretary.

The motion is due passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

Thank you so much. The motion passes, and we're going to keep the roll open for any Members that would like to add. I'd also like to note for the record that Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Lowe have arrived. Thank you so much. Thank you. Next up, we'll move on to item number two, authored by someone Brian Maienschein. I'm sorry, let me see item number seven, authored by Assembly Maienschein. This is Assembly Bill 456. Item number seven and the chair recommendations of support do pass.

Mr. Maienschein, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and Members. With the academic and economic burdens of higher education, college students face an overwhelming amount of pressure and struggle with a variety of mental health issues. Student mental health struggles have only been exacerbated by the Covid-19 Pandemic.

According to an Active Mind survey, 80 percent of college students reported that their mental health was negatively impacted by Covid-19. AB 456 would require California State University and California community college campuses and request University of California campuses to establish a campus mental health hotline for students to access mental health services remotely. The hotline will direct students to a licensed mental health therapist, peer mental health trained support staff, or a psychiatrist.

It's imperative that we support students not only through academic development, but offer them the necessary resources needed to deal with any burdens they may face. AB 456 will ensure students have a resource to call when they are struggling with their mental health. Here to testify in support is Kimberly Woo, Director of GENup Collegiate, and Saanvi Arora, Deputy Director of the External Affairs, Vice President, State Government Relations at UC Berkeley.

Please. Thank you. Welcome.

Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Kimberly Woo. I'm a senior at UC Berkeley, and I serve as the Director of GENup Collegiate. GENup is a youth-led educational advocacy organization. As a proud principal writer and sponsor, GENup advocates for Assembly Bill 456 to foster an open and trusting community of mental health awareness and aid by establishing mental health hotlines at every university.

I remember calling my university's mental health center in 2019. After years of massive mental breakdowns on the drive to school, with the false smile and shaky whispers of 'I'm okay,' I finally mustered the courage to seek help for my depression at my university. Now imagine my devastation and helplessness when I did not even receive a call back from my university's mental health center. All those fears of worrying if I could ever receive help became too real, that felt too scared to access mental health resources.

And my story is not unique. Unfortunately, around 75 percent of struggling students are reluctant to seek help, which makes AB 456 so crucial to addressing the stigma around mental health by improving access to these resources at our universities. Mental health struggles among youth exacerbated during the pandemic as factors such as isolation and financial burdens increased at alarming rates.

In 2020, 80 percent of college students felt that their mental health was negatively impacted by Covid, and this statistic hits close to home. Many times over Covid, I felt too depressed to get out of bed and too anxious to describe my inner turmoil. Thankfully, over Covid, telemental health services improved, which encouraged me and many others to start our mental health journeys.

However, we as a community have an obligation to take that extra step with AB 456 to improve and establish these mental health resources in all of our institutions, to truly support all of our students so that we can access the help that we need from our peers who can empathize by being in the same college environment.

By decreasing barriers to mental health and improving the infrastructure of these resources, we urge you to vote yes on AB 456 to ensure that all students grow in a community that will give us our most basic needs so that we can support our academic development and most importantly, our personal happiness. Thank you.

Thanks. Good job.

Good afternoon. My name is Saanvi. I'm 18 years old and a first-year student at UC Berkeley, and I'm honored to represent the Associated Students of UC Berkeley. We're proud to support AB 456, which ensures that public higher ed institutions in California establish campus mental health hotlines. Personally, I struggle with anxiety and depression, the most amplified during and after the two years my peers and I attended school online.

I wasn't able to seek mental health care for what I was experiencing until just a few months ago. So, like many of my peers, I struggled alone for a long time. Simple tasks like going to class became struggles that were really so daunting that I often felt paralyzed in panic. But I didn't know how to explain what I was feeling or who to explain it to.

If I were to dial the National Emergency Mental Health Hotline right now, the first thing I'd hear is a recorded voice telling me to wait one moment. Then I'd be informed that I have reached the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Someone would then say, if you are in emotional distress, a suicidal crisis, or concerned about someone who might be, we're here to help. But where's here? Here is not near me. Here is likely somewhere across the country where the only resources that I'd be able to physically access are a police department or another national agency.

That's why AB 456 is so important. In 2020, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the National Emergency Mental Health Lifeline only meets the needs of about 85 percent of its callers. When I was a junior in high school, my close friend took her own life as a result of unaddressed mental health and substance abuse disorders that neither she nor our friends, at the age of 15, could even begin to understand, and sometimes I wonder if she made a call and how that call fared.

A campus hotline would provide students with what a national one could never: localize knowledge and resources for mental health services and help. When calling a campus hotline, students will know that here to help actually means here and near to them. Transparent, accessible resources that reduce stigmas that continue to pervade our mental health or our perception of mental illness and reinforce the notion that reaching out for support demonstrates strength, AB 456 empowers students to exercise more control over their own well-being. And for those reasons and more, I urge you to please vote yes on AB 456. Thank you.

Second. Moved by Mr. Low. Second by Dr. Arambula. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room? See none, are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? See none, are there tweeners in the hearing room? See none, Committee Members, are there any questions or comments? Vice Chair Ta.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a question that based on the language of the bill, so I have concerns that as you are aware that California is in full compliance with the federal National Suicide Hotline, so I believe that every single campus they have a hotline with like 24-hour service. So I would like to know that the main reason of the author to introduce AB. We are aware that an issue of mental health is really, really critical for every family who live in California.

However, that we are aware that California is in a full comply of National Suicide Hotline, and that means that every single student that is more than welcome to call in that hotline and receive the service within 24 hours. So I really want to hear from the author.

So I'm not sure I understand what your question is.

So my question is, I think at the federal level, I think the federal level, they already provide the hotline for every single campus. If any student have problem with mental health, they're more than welcome to call that hotline, and I believe that they will receive the services. I think the language is good. However, I'm not really sure whether or not our state, we have the funding to provide for this bill. That is one of my concerns.

Well, certainly this won't have any impact on the federal government's supplying of a suicide hotline. This won't impact that at all. What this hotline will do is make sure that it's more focused, that it will direct individuals to mental health resources, particularly if they're not suicidal, if they're having depression, anxiety, any other mental health issue. The other, I think, important difference here is that, as one of our speakers said, is that we make sure that the help is more local.

Relying on a national hotline may mean they're talking to somebody in Indiana or East Coast, New York, or--this will be somebody here in California near their school. The idea is to be near where they're located to make sure that they can have access to a mental health professional or mental health help that they really need.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Vice Chair Ta, any further comments or questions? Seeing none, would the author like to close?

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and Members. I'd respectfully request an aye vote.

Thank you so much, and thank you for bringing this bill forward. I support this bill, and I believe we need to continue to do whatever possible to ensure that all students have access to mental health services as they need them and not hours, days, or months later when it could be too late. I encourage the author to continue to work with all segments and with stakeholders to address the concerns outlined in pages three and four, and I encourage an aye vote. The motion before us is 'do pass to the Appropriations Committee.' Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is 'do pass to the Appropriations Committee.' [Roll Call].

Thank you so much. The current vote is six ayes and two abstentions, and we're going to keep the roll open for any additional Members that would like to add on. Thank you so much, Assembly Member.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members.

Next up is item number nine, authored by Assembly Member Ash Kalra. Thank you so much for your patience. Assembly Bill 607, authored by Assembly Ash Kalra, and Chair's recommendation support, do pass. Assembly Member Kalra, the floor is yours. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members. AB 607 would close price transparency gaps by requiring the California State Universities and California community colleges and encouraging the University of California to display estimated course materials for 75% of courses offered on the online course schedule platform.

Currently, the Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 requires campuses receiving federal funds to disclose textbook costs and ISBN numbers for textbooks on the course schedule. However, in the decade since the Higher Education Opportunity Act was written, the types of material students are expected to purchase has widened to include digital homework platforms and other new technologies that are not captured. Additionally, course material costs make up a significant portion of the cost of secondary education.

Especially, and I can definitely speak from personal experience at community colleges when I was a community college student, oftentimes the textbooks could be more expensive than tuition. Unlike fees and tuition, course material costs are not fixed, which makes it challenging for students to plan ahead. These types of digital materials are typically single use, and students have no mechanism to recoup the costs when the course ends, as they could with some physical materials, such as reselling a textbook.

For these reasons, AB 607 is a simple measure to enable students to make informed decisions for course registration in a manner that works best for them financially. I would also like to mention that we've been in conversation with California State University and universities and look forward to continuing to work with them. Testifying in support of the bill is Rochelle Azar, student at Sacramento State University, Enrico Velasquez, former student of City College of San Francisco and now a student at UC Berkeley.

Welcome.

Hi everyone. My name is Rashal Azar, and I'm currently a senior at Sacramento State University. The cost of textbooks has played a pivotal role in my higher education journey. As a previous student at Bakersfield College, I struggled profoundly in regards to my textbooks and not knowing the cost of them until the syllabus was given to me. The lack of transparency that was essentially needed before I registered in classes always left me baffled and emotionally overwhelmed.

One of the most turbulent experiences was having to get an access code, which is a password you use to gain course content online. These are graded quizzes and homework assignments, but you are paying the cost for the code, which is usually around $100, as well as the textbook itself.

If I would have known that a month ahead of time I could have organized and evaluated my budget in an effective manner for the entire semester. This would have prevented my financial anxiety and not triggered my mental health as well. I also felt helplessly exposed and vulnerable when I had to reach out to my professor during the global pandemic to help me cover the costs of my textbook, which she was generous enough to do. However, having access to transparent information could have allowed me to simplify an already complicated ordeal. Please vote yes on AB 607.

Thank you.

Hello and good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Members. My name is Rodrigo Velazquez Angel. I am an undocumented Latino, queer, and first generation student who attended City College San Francisco and transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, planning to attend law school in the future. I strongly support AB 607 so it can require CCC and CSU campuses to disclose the cost of course materials on online course schedules.

Students need this crucial information to be able to budget and plan their school and work schedules with the correct cost of attendance beforehand. We need full transparency on what materials each course will require for us to fully engage in learning the curriculum and passing it. During my last semester at CCSF, I took International Relations, which was required for me to successfully transfer and be admitted into UC Berkeley halfway through the semester.

All students were required to purchase and subscribe to the Economist, which is a global political sciences newspaper, in order for us to complete the remainder of the assignments. That was $30 a month for four months. This caused my classmates and me to panic since we were not aware we had to subscribe to a website monthly to do our assignments. We had to figure out where to generate this money in less than a few days.

Many of my classmates, including myself, were full time students working two jobs to support our families and ourselves. We did not have the time to take more shifts, nor did we have the luxury to ask our parents for money since our schedules were not fixed. If I didn't get an extra shift in my job, I would have been behind in my assignments, got in a horrible grade in that course, and possibly not even gotten into UC Berkeley.

This same situation can be applied to numerous students who are not aware of buying textbooks, books, websites, or access codes that cost hundreds of dollars when enrolling in hundreds of dollars when enrolling in any course. That's why I urge you all to support and vote on AB 607 to ensure students are not caught by surprise by new course materials throughout their semesters at CCCs and CSUs.

Students don't need extra anxiety or fear of failing their courses by not being informed of essential materials needed to support their academic success. This Assembly Bill will also support my brothers, one who is studying at Cal State Fullerton and the other one at Irvine Valley College and millions of students in California to have full transparency of course costs so they can adapt their schedules accordingly. I hope you all choose an equitable seat next to the students of California. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much to our great student speakers. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room?

Hello, my name is Cailyn Nagle. I'm here with the Michelson Center for Public Policy. We're proud to sponsor this legislation, and I urge your aye vote.

Thank you.

Chair and Members, Austin Webster at W Strategies on behalf of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. We urge an aye vote.

Good afternoon. Marco Martinez, Vice President of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, is in support of this bill.

Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there tweeners in the hearing room?

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and Members. Satinder Malhi here on behalf of the California State University system. We certainly appreciate the author's intent, have engaged in some very productive conversations. I would note that while we don't have an official position on the measure, the 75% threshold that would be mandated in the bill is admittedly a high bar. So much of this process, as was noted in the analysis, is really dependent upon compliance from our faculty. But that said, we look forward to continuing to work with the author's office as this bill moves forward. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. Tyler Aguilar on behalf of the University of California. I would echo my colleague or my comments from my colleagues at the CSU. We also look forward to working with you on this bill. We have expressed some initial concerns with the legislation, and we look forward to working with you as the bill moves forward. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Committee Members, are there any questions or comments? A move by Vice Chair Ta, second by Mr. Evan Low. Any additional comments? Seeing none. Thank you so much to the author for bringing this bill forward. It's a critical issue as we look at course materials and the cost of attendance of our colleges. And thank you for your comments.

Also, in terms of working with the CSU and UC system going forward, really appreciate you bringing this bill forward and looking at potential solutions on transparency and really making sure that we continue to embrace the hopes and aspirations of our students. I encourage an aye vote on this. Item number nine, Assembly Bill 607. The motion before us is do pass as Appropriations to Appropriations Committee. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do pass to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll just give the witnesses a second to get to the - perfect. Take a table. Thank you.

Well, good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It's really an honor to be before you. It's my first, actually, my first bill introduced as AB 91, and not the first one being heard at committee, but certainly at thiscommittee. So, thank you all for your work on issues. AB 91 is a bill that will strengthen our skilled binational workforce and improve equity in higher education degree attainment.

I've had the opportunity to speak with many of you one on one, and those who I haven't just yet. We will have that opportunity.

And one of the six things that I've shared with those of you who I've met that will be a priority for me is for all of you as my colleagues and for other Californians to really understand the dynamic binational border region of San Diego, Tijuana, or what we call as the Calibaja region, which this bill is in line with that vision of a region that thrives when it works collaboratively as a binational region.

With me here today to provide witness statements are President, Superintendent of Southwestern Community College, Dr. Mark Sanchez, and Jose Amoricio Sanchez, who is a current student who makes a daily commute, as do over 7000 students on a daily basis from Tijuana into San Diego.

AB 91 is based off a similar proposal that was enacted in 2015 by this legislature in a bipartisan way that allows students who reside near the California border with Nevada to pay a discounted tuition rate at Lake Tahoe Community College here in California. My staff and I have also identified similar programs in every single other U. S. State that borders Mexico. It sounds like a lot, but it's actually only four states: the State of Texas, the State of Arizona, and the State of New Mexico.

They all have programs similar to this one that are funded by their state legislatures. AB 91 will create a five-year pilot program to provide students who live near the California-Mexico border an exemption from the nonresident tuition rate, also known as the out-of-state or foreign student tuition at the ten community colleges located in San Diego and in Imperial County, our other border county in California. Southern California and Northern California - Northern Baja California, excuse me, operate as one mega-region.

I told you there are 7000 students that cross on a daily basis, but there are over 120,000 people who cross on a daily basis from the Tijuana region into San Diego. That is more than two times the number of people that are processed at LAX. Living on one side of the border while spending most of the time on the other side of the border has been a part of everyday life for decades for many of us and our families.

And with the increasing cost of living in California, more Americans have now relocated to northern Mexico and Baja in particular. Even though it is a unique and robust $250 billion annual economic region, we still suffer from many of the common problems impacting our nation, including a demand for skilled workforce, a demand gap that is expected to grow to over 20,000 needed workforce by the year 2030, according to our Regional Economic Development Corporation.

In order to meet this demand, we need to educate more students, and the most effective way to do that is by reducing the most significant barrier, which is the cost of tuition that you all know so well. The average nonresident tuition for a California community college is $6,603 a year, while the resident tuition rate for a community college student is only 1200.

It makes no sense for a student who would naturally be served by these local community colleges to pay almost five times the rate, especially when they may have been forced to move because of financial reasons. We are a unique binational region and I'd love living in a border city, and I'm looking forward to hosting all of you there sometime soon.

But the border also represents an impediment for community college students because of the significant difference in tuition cost, even though the student might live less than 20 minutes away from the closest campus. Mexico is still California's largest trading partner, and many US employers already rely on workers that commute across the border. By offering this pilot program to students, low-income students, we can unlock a significant untapped resource and promote our mega-region as the epicenter of binational economy, and help meet the demands of the future.

AB 91 also addresses recommendations identified in the governor's roadmap for postsecondary education, such as allowing additional first-generation college students like myself and several of you to foster inclusion in our institutions, reduce degree attainment gaps, and produce a more prepared and more diverse population in our workforce. Quoting the governor's task force on higher Education recovery, California will thrive when income inequality and disparities of degree attainment by race and geography are eliminated.

AB 91 pilot is a pilot program that will allow each of the ten colleges to exempt up to only 150 full-time equivalent students. We have added reporting requirements after the third year to provide accountability, which I know is important to all of us, and the program will automatically sunset on January 1 of 2029. I'm excited that we have coauthors such as Assemblymember Garcia, who also represents the border area in the Imperial Valley, Assemblymember McCarty, and our Senator, our border Senator, Senator Padilla.

AB 91 has also received support from a coalition that doesn't often come together, including our local regional Chamber of Commerce, our labor community, and many other community groups and local elected officials. As I mentioned at the beginning, every other border state has long since established a similar program to the one that we are presenting to you today because they recognize the economic benefit. There's one in the University of Texas El Paso. It's been established since 1987.

They have educated over 73,000 students, that's Mexican students, at UT El Paso, and it's annually funded, including under the current Administration and the current Texas Legislature. If our partner states in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas can do this, I think we can, too. I appreciate you for the opportunity. I'm certainly available for questions and look forward to your questions and your comments. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Moved by Dr. Arambla, seconded by Assemblymember Low. Thank you so much. And I believe you have some expert witnesses.

Good afternoon, Chair Fong and Committee Members. It's a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon. My name is Mark Sanchez and I'm the Superintendent President at Southwestern College. We are located 7 miles from the US-Mexico border, specifically the San Ysidro-Tijuana point of entry, and we have a headcount enrollment of about 17,000 students.

Currently, as we've worked aggressively to come back from the pandemic, we've looked at new strategies on how we can serve our community and increase their ability to meet the workforce needs of our region. So that has included expanding our CCAP dual enrollment programs with our communities of color, particularly our feeder high schools, and working with the UCs and the CSUs to expand bachelor's degree offerings in the South County of San Diego in which we serve.

But another strategy is also working with the Baja California region to increase enrollment opportunities for the students that we know enroll at our institution. This work is aligned with California Governor Gavin Newsom's and the California Community College's roadmap to the Future initiative, and this is an opportunity for us to really meet the demands of the workforce in our region, which we know have current vacancies, specifically in teacher education, computer information systems, and engineering.

So, really, this is an ability for us to also plan for the future. As we know, we will have workforce shortages, as in physicians in the South County of San Diego. So the only way we can do this is by educating the broadest pool of our community possible, and that includes our South County, San Diego, as well as our bi national student component. So, it's a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon. Thank you for listening to our presentation.

Thank you. Welcome. Well, hi, my name is Jose. I'm a student at Southwestern College and goals are sometimes challenging, but with the help of other people, there's no stopping your dreams. AB 91 can provide this same type of help to other students like me. My journey started a few years back when my grandfather invited me to his orthopedic clinic. I felt out of place and didn't understand how to help, so I stuck to just observing.

The patient was inside the clinic with my grandfather for about an hour. When the meeting ended, the patient came out walking with a walker, a new prosthetic leg, and a new face. That new face of delight and fullness made something click inside my head, and I knew what I wanted to do with my life. So I talked with my family and started planning. Since there was no orthotics and prosthetic program in Mexico, I had to look abroad for an opportunity.

I found Loma Linda University, where they offer an excellent OMP program. However, they only offered it as a master's degree. That happened in majority. Orthotics and prosthetic programs are mainly offered as a master's degree. I got a mechatronic engineering degree and a bachelor's in management through Seth and City University of Seattle. These degrees would allow me to continue my studies abroad. However, I still needed to do some prerequisite classes. Southwestern College was the best place to do my prerequisite classes throughout, thoroughly and quickly.

When I enrolled, I needed $9,000, which my parents were able to help me gather when I needed to increase my status to full-time, though because of the workload, I needed $30,000. This could only be possible to by many other family members come together to help. Because my parents and I couldn't do this alone. If it weren't for my family's help, I would not have been able to continue my journey toward a career of life-changing service to the community.

AB 91 will help other students like me who are eager to pursue their degrees and begin contributing to improve our communities. Please support this important bill.

Thank you so much to our witnesses at this time. Now we will have witnesses in support or the witnesses in support in the hearing room.

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Alex Alanis, on behalf of the Los Angeles Community College District, in support of the bill.

Thank you, chair and Members. Mark Mcdonald, on behalf of the San Diego Community College District, in support.

Good afternoon. I'm Carolina Chavez. I'm Council Member for the City of Chula Vista, representing part of the 200,000 people who cross the border daily. Calibaja is one mega-region, and AB 91 is critical to improving the skilled regional workforce. I strongly support the bill. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Marco Martinez, Vice President of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, is in support of this bill.

Good afternoon. Roberto Alcantar, Governing Board President for Southwestern Community College District, proudly representing the cities of San Diego, Chila Vista, National City, Coronado, and Imperial Beach, strongly in support of AB 91. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there tweeners in the hearing room? Seeing none. Members, are there questions? Comments? Vice Chair Ta followed by Assemblymember Dawn Addis.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I really appreciate the sentiment, and our rest, for proposing the bill, and I really want to thank all the students for being here. Want to thanks for your compassion that you really want to help the student as well as to improve the enrollment of the community college in your area. However, I do have concerns.

I think we are aware that this fiscal year, our state, we have a deficit, and I don't really know that how can we come up with the funding to provide a resource for the students who do not live in our country. I really appreciate your compassion. You want to help everyone. We want to improve the enrollment, but at the same time that we have many community college for the whole state.

So that is one of my concerns, because I think at the end of the day, we have to provide the funding, the resources for the community College of Rosa State, as well as the students who live in this State of California.

Thank you, Mr. Ta. I certainly share your concern. I have the unique honor of serving on the Subcommittee on Education, and I can assure you and Chair Fong sit on that Committee as well; we are very focused on ensuring that, in particular, students in our community college system continue to have access to our community college. So this is really about allowing access for all students, not choosing one student over another. I think that's how we best serve our population in California, and that's the intent.

It's also very limited to only 150 students in the pilot program, and where there's a commitment in the bill to ensure that there is a follow-up report provided to ensure that the program is successful. I think we often do things and we don't provide any data on the success, and we intend to do that. And it sunsets after five years. And if it's not providing the results we want, then there's no need to continue it. So thank you.

Thank you so much. Assemblymember Dawn Addis.

Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Assemblymember. And thank you to the witnesses that came first and foremost; I support this. I'd like to request to be a co-author, but I also wanted to add a couple of comments. One is that around 2000, up until about 2012, California was an English-only state in terms of public education, so we were not allowed to have bilingual elementary schools.

That law was overturned with Prop 58 around 2016, but since then, we have had a huge deficit in the number of bilingual educators entering our public education system.

So, as someone who taught bilingual education and had my children at a bilingual school, it was particularly poignant to me what you said about people entering into the education system through this program and how this program is offering a doorway for people to come into our education system and become teachers in bilingual schools so that we can have more multilingual society in California. So I want to say thank you for that. I'm very excited about this and hope you'll accept me as a co-author.

Thank you. I couldn't agree with you more. As a parent of two bilingual kids, I'm proud that California now acknowledges that other languages are just as important and look forward to working with you on creating more bilingual teacher education programs. And the south county where this community college particularly sits is a proud stomping ground for a lot of educators in the bilingual education community. So thank you.

Thank you so much. We have a motion, and we have a second. Any further comments? Seeing none. Thank you so much to Assemblymember Alvarez for bringing this bill forward. I support your bill. And we know that legislatures continue to work and partner with Mexico and higher education opportunities. We have UC partnerships there as well.

At a time when our community colleges are facing declining enrollment, 20%, 30% of some of our schools, we need to continue to look at opportunities to continue to bolster our enrollment and provide those win-win opportunities for eligible students who would benefit. So thank you so much. See no further comment. The motion before is do passed to the Appropriations Committee. Madam Secretary, please call the role.

The motion is do pass to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

Thank you so much, members. We have six ayes, one no, and one not voting. We'll keep the roll open for members to add on. Thank you so much, Mr. Alvarez.

Next up is Assemblymember Alanis presenting on item number two. Welcome, Mr. Alanis. This is item number two, Assembly Bill 255. Authored by Assemblymember Juan Alanis. The charge of recommendations is due pass to the Appropriations Committee, moved by Assemblymember Evan Lowe, seconded by Assemblymember Greg Wallis. We have a motion a second. Thank you so much. Welcome.

Now what do I do? Well, we'll at least get through this part. Good morning or good afternoon. Sorry, I've been in and out.

Public safety has been very heavy today. I want to thank all of you for allowing me to be here today. I want to thank the Committee staff for all their hard work on this bill as well. Thank you very much. AB 255 would add first responders to the list of individuals who qualify for priority class registration at California Community Colleges and California State Universities, while requesting the same of the University of California as defined in the bill and elsewhere in the education code.

First responders include peace officers, firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and public safety dispatchers. AB 255 offers priority class enrollment to those who currently serve in some of the most vital and understaffed industries. This Committee analysis identifies information provided by the California Employment Development Department listing the following current job openings, 7,220 openings for public safety dispatchers, 13,570 openings for paramedics and EMTs, 24,740 openings for firefighters and 54,560 openings for police officers.

With this many job openings, there's no doubt that the staff retention is a priority for all agencies and AB 255, and this will support that. Priority enrollment will allow first responders to obtain higher education certificates and degrees, which improves their overall training and creates a career path for these individuals. Obtaining a certificate or a degree may lead to higher wages and career longevity for first responders, and this would help increase retention rates and reduce staffing shortages across these fields.

After working as a first responder for almost 30 years, I appreciated that I had the opportunity to return to college. I was actually the older guy in college. It was interesting having them come over to my house and be the guy to feed the starving college students. And it was a great experience for me. And I did all that not with the priority registration, but it would have been nice to have that. And I did all that while supporting my wife and my three kids.

And it changed my life. It brought me to a different light and got me to look at different things in life as well. So I was very appreciative of that. And AB 255, it will help support our first responders with these goals and with them obtaining a better education and improving their careers and prospects. And I'll keep it shorter. And thank you for your guys' time. Respectfully request an aye vote.

Thank you so much Assemblymember. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room? Seeing none.

Are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there tweeners in the hearing room? Committee Members, are there any questions or comments?

I just have a comment for the author. Excited to see this bill and supporting it. I think it's important that we encourage our public servants to continue their education and serving on public safety with Mr. Alanis, I'm excited to actually be supporting something and be working with him on something that's so important to our state and are again, really excited to see this bill coming before us today and planning to vote yes.

Thank you. Thank you so much to summer Ortega. Any further comments, colleagues? Seeing none. Thank you so much Assemblymember Alanis for bringing this measured approach to providing priority enrollment for our first responders at all three segments of California's higher education system.

We know the priority enrollment is critical, and so we look forward to your conversations as you continue to work with the different segments and to make sure that it aligns with the priorities of the Committee and our Members and really appreciate you bringing this forward and really looking at priority enrollment for our first responders. With that colleagues, I encourage an aye vote. The motion before us is due pass to the Appropriations Committee. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due pass to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

Thank you so much. The current vote is 9-0, and I'll keep the roll open for any Members that like to add on. That motion passes. Thank you. Next up, we have item number four, authored by Assembly Member Alex Lee. Welcome, Mr. Lee. Assembly Bill 320, item number four in the chair's recommendation of support to pass. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, Chair, Members, this bill seeks to ensure that student voices are represented on the California Student Aid Commission. The California Student Aid Commission administers the state authorized financial programs to students at colleges, universities, as well as trade vocational schools. Currently, the Student Aid Commission has two students that represent four different entities and are pointed on rotating basis.

The needs of students attending different institutions can vary greatly as financial aid needs and experiences for a different student attending a private institution may be very different than a student attending a community college. AB 320 will increase the number of student members on the Student Aid Commission from two to four, one from each type of institution. By having one student member from each type of institution, the Student Aid Commission will be better reflect the student needs. Respectfully asking for your aye vote.

With me I'd like to present my witness today is Marco Martinez, the Vice President of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and esteemed Members of the Committee. My name is Marco Martinez, the Vice President of the Student Center for California Community Colleges, the official representative of 1.8 million California community college students. The State of California is home to some of the most prestigious institutions and systems of higher education in the world.

And while I was fortunate enough to have successfully transferred from Bakersfield College to the University of California, Berkeley, this transition underscores the differences that community colleges and UC students when navigating the financial aid system. As a result, it highlights the importance of having a student representative from each segment on the California Student Aid Commission.

While we are aware and acknowledge that community college fees are much lower and are often waived for most students, it is important to know that the full cost of attendance is the true financial burden which lies within a lot of our community college students attend these colleges for career, technical, or short term certificate programs, and a lot of them live in high cost regions as other students. Often we are told not to apply to them for the concerns of taking too long to complete our degrees.

But it is also important to note that UC and CSU students are typically pursuing other higher education goals, such as baccalaureate or higher graduate degrees, which is also something to take into consideration. But the addition of each member of a student member on the California Student Aid Commission will ensure that there's representation across the board, equitable representation, so that our students across all four segments of higher education in the State of California have the funding that they deserve to achieve their higher education goals.

And with that, we hope your support on this bill. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room?

Hi, my name is Kimberly Wu. I'm the director and we are in proud support of this bill.

Hi there. My name is Sin Gomez. I'm our state government relations director at the Associated Students of University of California, Berkeley. We also would like to express our support.

Good afternoon. Alex Graves with the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities in support.

David O'Brien with the California Community College's Chancellor's Office in support.

Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there tweeners in the hearing room? Committee Members, are there any questions or comments? Seeing none, we have a motion and a second. And thank you, Mr. Lee, for bringing this bill forward. Support your bill.

We need to continue to have the voices of all four segments of higher education represented in our Student Aid Commission and a bill that will provide more accurate representation for our students going forward. And thank you to all our student organizations and associations for making sure that our perspectives align with the Student Aid Commission as it moves forward in the legislative process. So thank you so much, Mr. Lee. With that, Madam Secretary, this motion before us is due passed to the Appropriations Committee. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call] Aye.

Thank you so much, Members. The motion passes 9-0, and we'll keep the roll open for additional Members who would like to add on. Thank you, Mr. Lee. Next up, we will have item number 10 presented by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel. I believe Mr. Gabriel is presenting. Yes, you are here. Thank you, sir. Welcome.

This is Assembly Bill 624, authored by Assemblymember Grayson, and the charter's recommendations do pass to the Appropriations Committee. Welcome, Mr. Gabriel. We have a motion to second. Welcome.

Good afternoon, Chair and members. I am pleased today, on behalf of our always positive and energetic colleague, Assemblymember Grayson, to present AB 264. Under federal, state, and local laws, colleges and universities are mandated to provide access to appropriate service and resources for people with disabilities, including testing accommodations.

Testing accommodations are changes to the regular testing environment and auxiliary aids and services that allow individuals with disabilities to demonstrate their true aptitude or achievement level on standardized exams or other tests. Although protected from discrimination, students with disabilities still face significant barriers to academic success. In addition to the traditional challenges students navigate in college, students with disabilities may have other unique expenses related to their disabilities that may impact their ability to attend college and be academically successful.

In order to qualify for testing accommodation, students must obtain their own medical diagnostic assessments, which can cost upwards of thousands of dollars, creating an unfair economic disparity for students with disabilities. AB 624 expands on the legislature's intent to promote educational equity and support students living with disabilities. Specifically, the bill would require California State University, California community colleges, private colleges, and requests that the University of California cover the costs of diagnostic assessments.

By removing the cost barrier to diagnostic assessments, all students can thrive and succeed regardless of their abilities. With that, I would like to introduce my witnesses, Kimberly Wu, Director of GENup Collegiate, and Cyn Gomez, External Affairs Vice President and State Government Relations Director. Thank you for your close consideration of this measure and on behalf of Assemblymember Grayson, I respectfully ask for your aye vote.

Thank you for that. Hi, my name is Kimberly Wu. I'm the Director of Genup Collegiate. Today, I'll be reading the testimony of Allison Chan, who is my Chief of Staff at GenUp. She sends her regrets for missing today as she's currently taking her finals at UCLA. So hi, my name is Allison Chan, and I'm the collegiate Chief of Staff at Generation UP and a senior at UCLA. Generation Up with GENup is a youth educational advocacy organization representing thousands of students across the state and expanding nationally.

As a proud principal, writer, and sponsor, GENup advocates for Assembly Bill 624 in order to promote accessibility for student academic accommodations on college campuses. While training to be a new student advisor at UCLA, I received a multitude of presentations, one of which was from the UCLA's Center for Accessible Education, which facilitates resources for students, including academic accommodations and disability advocacy. In the presentation and through looking at their website, I noticed that receiving academic accommodations requires documentation from licensed physicians, psychologists, or other qualified professionals.

While this may seem straightforward, I thought about how this creates a barrier for students who are unable to access or forward these resources. Speaking of friends who received accommodations, I learned more about how their ability to access necessary accommodations was hindered due to difficulties in receiving necessary documentation. Facing huge barriers such as costs that disincentivize them from reaching out for help, learning disability assessments range from $500 to $2,500, a cost that is not always covered by insurance plans for college students.

This is a huge financial barrier on top of already high education costs that may discourage them from reaching out to obtain needed accommodations that allow for their academic success. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, among students who responded that they did have a disability while attending college, only 37% of students actually informed their college, which shows how lack of access discourages those with disabilities from seeking help.

This lack of access speaks to a larger system of neglecting disabled students and sweeping this issue under the rug. By requiring universities to support students with their needed testing accommodations we can be sure that students will have the resources they need to be successful and to empower them to reach out for support when they need it. GENup urges the legislature to support AB 624 to ensure that all students are equipped with the resources they need to succeed in their classes. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome.

Hi there. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Cyn Gomez. I'm a third-year disabled student at UC Berkeley, and I serve as a state government relations director for our Associated Students at the University of California, specifically in our External Affairs Vice President office. The AVP represents ASUC on issues external to the campus and the association. I'm honored to be here to speak with you all about AB 624 higher education testing accommodations.

As an activist and organizer for community justice, disability access and mental health wellness, this is of utmost importance to me, as it should be for all of you. Speaking from my experience, I have struggled with depression, anxiety, and undiagnosed learning disabilities my entire academic career. Throughout my childhood, I always struggled to read, write and comprehend with fluency. Feeling behind in class was never uncommon for me and contributed to the development of my anxiety and depression, that I still struggle with today.

I grew up in a poor family that often lived paycheck to paycheck, so formal testing was never an option for me. Not to mention the cultural stigma of a predominantly Latino community that made it even harder to talk about disability as it was a shame for my community. I struggled in silence due to the perceived and actual inaccess to resources I needed to survive and thrive in academic settings.

I am one of the students that has consistently fallen in between the cracks of higher education and our K through 12 system. I've had to put testing off for the last three years at UC Berkeley, often sacrificing my own mental health and ability to understand content. Feeling that I wasn't academically up to speed and feeling like a member of my community was never something that I've felt while at Berkeley.

When reaching out for help, I was pointed to services that were unfeasible in the range of cost between 2000 and $7,000. This was paralyzing, and I tried to see what avenues of scholarships and funding I could tap into for support, but the reality is that as a full-time student working three jobs to survive, I don't have the bandwidth to find that kind of coverage. Simply trying to get through the day is what I have to do most of the time.

Securing these accommodations and services can be and is life saving for students like me. I implore the legislature to also explore what universal design can and should look like for education to truly reduce the barriers of such learning for disabled students. When we invest in the infrastructure that inherently includes everyone, we will reach a more just future. We at the AsuceVP urge you to support AB 624 to ensure that all students are retained and supported.

You can't invest in students in higher education without taking on the price tag of us, too. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room? Are there any? You should just give your name and title.

Hello. My name is Eden, and I am the co-chair of the Disabled Students Commission. I'm a disabled student myself, and I was elected to amplify the disabled student perspective at UC Berkeley, and I would like to briefly share a story of my colleague.

She's a disabled student on Medicaid and EBT, and she was required to get reevaluation for her disability, and her Medicaid and her provider would not cover it because she had already received a diagnosis in the past, and so she was forced to pay out of pocket $1,000 for her diagnoses, her diagnosis, and the whole time she did not have access in the classroom, and she had to actually take on credit to get the diagnosis, like $1,000.

And without it, she says, "Had I not had high enough credit to pay that on or to take that on, I don't think I'd be at Berkeley today."

Thank you for sharing that story. Thank you. Are there witnesses in support in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there witnesses in opposition in the hearing room? Seeing none. Are there tweeners in the hearing room? Colleagues, are there any questions or comments? Do we have a motion? A second. I'm sorry. Moved by Dr. Arambla, second by Mr. Low.

Thank you so much. This bill, thank you so much to Mr. Gabriel for presenting this on behalf of Grayson. This bill is very much needed, and we know that students with disabilities have a right to reasonable accommodations. Yet getting the assessments to prove their need for accommodation can be very expensive, as we have heard, and burdensome.

This bill is very student-centric and student-focused, and I appreciate the author for striving to create opportunities for all of our students, regardless of income or background, to acquire the evidence that they need as they seek accommodations in their higher education journey. The motion before us is do passed to the Appropriations Committee, and I recommend an aye vote. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is do passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

The motion has 10 votes. Motion passes, and we'll keep the roll open for additional members who would like to sign on. Thank you so much, Mr. Gabriel, and thank you so much, colleagues, for your engagement in our first Assembly Higher Education Committee meeting for this session. Really appreciate all your engagement and your hard work and efforts.

And thank you to our staff as well for their engagement and making sure that our hearing could take place. Really appreciate all the hard work and efforts at this time. We'll keep the roll open for members who'd like to sign on. And thank you so much to all of you for your amazing leadership. Thank you so much. Thank you, Dr. Arambula. Thank you, guys. At this time, we can go.

Amazing. At this. Thank you so much, colleagues. At this time, we can have folks add on. Yes. We can have members add on to our various bills now. Thanks. I apologize. We have members that would like to add on. Thank you so much. Mr. Irwin. Mr. Gabriel. Okay, Mr. - thank you so much, Madam Secretary; we'd like to call on the role for add-ons, please.

The motion is consent calendar [Roll call]

The vote count is 12-0. Thank you so much. Next up is - Madam Secretary; please call the roll on the next item.

The motion is to adopt the proposed committee rules. [Roll call]

Thank you so much. The roll call for the motion to adopt the rules has been adopted. 12-0. And thank you so much, members. Next up is, Madam Secretary?

File item one, AB 91. [Roll Call]

I'd like to request a vote change.

So say the name of the bill and then your name.

AB 91. Sanchez, no.

Sanchez, no.

We're tallying the votes right now. I apologize. Thank you. The vote count is eight to two. The measure passes. Thank you. Alumni Association. That's right. Next up is item number two. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due. Pass to the Appropriations Committee [Roll Call].

The vote count is 11 to zero. Thank you so much, colleagues. Next up is item number three. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call]

The final vote count for item number three is 11-0. Thank you so much. Madam Secretary, please call the item. The roll call for item number five. Assembly Bill 322 authored by Mr. Mathis.

Aren't those consent?

Those aren't consent. I apologize. Which one do we have next? Item number seven.

I'm trying to keep us on track.

By Assembly Bill. By Mr. Maienschein. Assembly Bill 456. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due, passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll call]

So for item number seven, the final vote count is nine. And two not voting. And two not voting. Thank you so much. The motion passes. Next up is item number 10, authored by Assemblymember Grayson. Madam Secretary, roll call, please.

The motion is due, passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call] Do we do nine?

Okay, that was item number 10. We're going to do nine next. I apologize. 110 vote count for item number 10. Thank you so much, colleagues. That's Assembly Bill 624. Now it's item number nine. Assembly Bill 607, authored by Mr. Kalra. Roll call, please.

The motion is due, passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call] Thank you so much, colleagues.

That was item number nine, Assembly Bill 607. And the motion passes 11 to zero. And our last and final one is item number 11, authored by Assemblymember Ward, AB. 634. Madam Secretary, please call the roll.

The motion is due, passed to the Appropriations Committee. [Roll Call] Thank you so much.

The final vote count is 10. Yes. Is that two absences or two no's, Madam Secretary? I'm sorry. Two absence. So just 10 votes and affirmative. Thank you so much. That's item number 11. Assembly Bill 634 yes. Mr. Santiago, was my vote recorded on 10? Let's make sure. Assembly Bill yes, we have you, Mr. Santiago, thank you so much.

Thank you so much, colleagues, for a great meeting, and thank you so much to the staff as well, for your amazing leadership as well, and to everyone for your attendance and engagement in our first Assembly Higher Education Committee for this session. Thank you so much. And we're going to keep the roll open for five more minutes. Thank you so much for Santiago and team. Thank you. Hire a team. Thank you, guys.

Thank you so much again, for everyone's participation in today's Higher Education Committee meeting. We are keeping a roll open for Dr. Weber, and roll will be open for a few more minutes. Thank you so much.