Governor Signs Community College Bill Authored by Gomez

Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 595 Thursday, paving the way for the continuation of top-tier enrollment for community college students participating in the so-called “Extended Opportunity Programs and Services” and “Disabled Students, Programs and Services.”

The bill, authored by 51st District Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez, will help ensure that EOPS and DSPS students will continue to have priority enrollment when registering for classes, according to a news statement by Gomez’s office.

“Access to quality, affordable education is personal to me,” the statement quoted Gomez as saying, pointing out that he worked at Subway and Target after graduating from high school. “Community College changed my life and gave me the tools I needed to succeed. I am humbled to be able to give back and help students, many facing the same obstacles I did.” 

The news statement quoted Paula S. Muñoz, executive board member of the California Community College Extended Opportunity Programs and Services Association, as saying that her organization is proud to support AB 595.

“We thank Assemblymember Gomez and the governor for ensuring that community college EOPS students will continue to benefit from the priority college registration for classes that was legislated many years ago through SB 164,” she said, adding that Gomez “championed the legislative intent of SB 164, which was to bring educational equity to the most educationally and economically disadvantaged populations.”

Community college students participating in EOPS and DSPS have historically been eligible through Title 5 regulations to top-tier priority enrollment. Because “ensuring access to courses for these specialized student bodies is an integral component of their success,” the chancellor’s office for community colleges determined in 2012 that a modification in the education code was necessary to continue to offer top-tier priority enrollment to students in these programs, the statement said.

Gomez’s bill will now provide that needed modification of the law.