Fall 2013
Committee:
External Affairs
Whereas, student trustees are the elected representatives of students at all colleges within a community college district, serving as members of community college district governing boards, and they are afforded less rights than their contemporaries in other systems due to the history of “junior” colleges;
Whereas, at least one piece of legislation which provided student trustees with actual votes and rights during closed sessions of district governing boards was never introduced because resolutions to empower student trustees were rejected due to concerns without any substantiating evidence;
Whereas, the first of two concerns consistently expressed with resolutions to empower student trustees is liability, which would deal with implementation, and is addressed in education code §72023.5: “the nonvoting student member shall not be liable for any acts of the governing board”; and
Whereas, the second of two concerns consistently expressed with resolutions to empower student trustees is encouraging members of the community who aren’t students to run for student seats, which predicts the opposite of the current reality, considering student trustees frequently pursue elected offices as regular trustees once their terms expire;
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support the introduction of legislation to guarantee that abilities which are currently considered privileges for student trustees become rights;
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support the introduction of legislation to grant each Student Trustee a full vote on each respective district governing board;
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support the introduction of legislation to grant Student Trustees rights to participate in closed and executive sessions, with the stipulations that they be required to adhere to standards of confidentiality, and are warned of penalties for disclosing confidential or otherwise privileged information; and
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges ensure that liability concerns forwarded to the organization are appropriately considered and addressed.
Whereas, at least one piece of legislation which provided student trustees with actual votes and rights during closed sessions of district governing boards was never introduced because resolutions to empower student trustees were rejected due to concerns without any substantiating evidence;
Whereas, the first of two concerns consistently expressed with resolutions to empower student trustees is liability, which would deal with implementation, and is addressed in education code §72023.5: “the nonvoting student member shall not be liable for any acts of the governing board”; and
Whereas, the second of two concerns consistently expressed with resolutions to empower student trustees is encouraging members of the community who aren’t students to run for student seats, which predicts the opposite of the current reality, considering student trustees frequently pursue elected offices as regular trustees once their terms expire;
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support the introduction of legislation to guarantee that abilities which are currently considered privileges for student trustees become rights;
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support the introduction of legislation to grant each Student Trustee a full vote on each respective district governing board;
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support the introduction of legislation to grant Student Trustees rights to participate in closed and executive sessions, with the stipulations that they be required to adhere to standards of confidentiality, and are warned of penalties for disclosing confidential or otherwise privileged information; and
Resolved, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges ensure that liability concerns forwarded to the organization are appropriately considered and addressed.