A letter of support was submitted on May 6, 2019.
Whereas, Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed investment in early learning and in early childhood education programs in the 2019-20 budget by adopting a framework that
promotes a healthy start in three ways: (1) early access for children to educational and healthcare services, including services for those with adverse childhood experiences, (2) a two-generation approach that invests in parents so they can invest more in their children, and (3) easing financial pressures on parents so they can escape the cycle of poverty and focus on healthy development of their kids in those critical first five years of a child's life [1],
and the 2019-2020 California budget proposes a Cal Grant Access Award for student parents;
Whereas, Many college students utilizing services are students who are immigrants, single parents, and returning parents and are disproportionately affected by the lack of critical services such as quality and affordable early care and education while working on achieving their educational goals and creating paths out of poverty;
Whereas, Access to affordable and high-quality child care services for community college students with children is critical to student success and completion [2] and serves as a resource of student equity that can improve overall academic outcomes, retention, and completion rates; and
Whereas, The Student Senate for California Community Colleges (SSCCC) adopted a resolution in Spring of 2017 calling for the establishment of on-campus childcare centers that are accessible and affordable to low income students who are parents;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to advocate for prioritizing the reinstitution and expansion of ongoing support for campus early childhood education and care lab schools to support a greater number of student parents and provide academic preparation for teachers and related child development professions; and
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges work with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to include in the state’s 2019-20 budget proposal funding to support the availability of equitable high-quality early childhood services for student parents.
MSU
1. California Governor’s Budget Summary 2019-20. Retrieved February 15, 2019 from http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/FullBudgetSummary.pdf
2. The ACCT 2016 Invitational Symposium: Getting in the Fast Lane. Retrieved February 12, 2019 from www.acct.org https://www.acct.org/files/Publications/2017/ACCT_Paper2_WebReady02%203…
Colleges Need More Child Care to Help Student Parents Graduate — IWPR. (2011, March 22). Retrieved February 3, 2019, from https://iwpr.org/colleges-need-more-child-care-to-help-student-parents-…
Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2010) Child Care Support for Student Parents in Community College Is Crucial for Success, but Supply and Funding Are Inadequate. IWPR #C375.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2015) Prepping Colleges for Parents: Strategies for Supporting Student Parent in Postsecondary Education. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/wpallimport/files/iwpr-export/publi…
Shearer, E. (2013, May 16). Community Colleges Are Helping Mothers Go Back to School. Retrieved February 3, 2019, from http://www.aauw.org/2013/05/16/mothers-going-back-to-school/