Community colleges: student representation fees.

Existing law requires the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges to exercise general supervision over the California Community Colleges including the authority to adopt rules and regulations necessary and proper to execute the functions expressly authorized by statute. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a community college district to authorize the students of a college to organize a student body association. If a student body association has been established at a community college, existing law requires the officials of the community college to collect a $2 student representation fee to be used to provide support for governmental affairs representatives of local or statewide student body organizations. Existing law requires $1 of every $2 fee to be expended to establish and support the operations of a statewide community college student organization, as specified. Existing law requires a community college to provide a student a means to refuse to pay the $2 student representation fee. This bill, commencing with the 2024–25 academic year, would require the other $1 of the $2 student representation fee to be used to establish and support the operations of local student body organizations. The bill, commencing with the 2024–25 academic year, would also require a community college to provide a student a means to refuse to pay either $1 portion of the $2 student representation fee. Existing regulations of the Board of Governors require the governing board of a community college district to give to each student at registration information pertaining to the student representation fee and specify requirements for the form used for the purpose of collecting the fee. Existing law requires the form used by a community college to provide the student a means to refuse to pay the fee to be as nearly as practical in the same form as a model form prescribed by the Board of Governors. This bill would, instead, require the form to be as nearly as practical in the same form as a model form prescribed by the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.