WHEREAS, Approximately 82,000 or 4% of the California Community College student population is reported to have a disability, with the total population of students with disabilities nearly increasing by 9% around the 2022-2023 academic year[1];
WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination of students with disabilities experience discrimination [2][3] due to limiting opportunities in areas of social networks and informal peer networks often related to extracurricular activities, which results in limited job opportunities, increased depression rates, increased social isolation, lower persistence, lower levels of independence, and lower academic success compared to non-disabled peers [4][ 5] which is unconstitutional according to the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment [6];
WHEREAS, Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) offices [7] have been established and identify the need for academic accessibility and accommodations in the classroom, yet this access and public accommodations only exist in the classroom and cannot be relied upon for a student’s extracurricular pursuits; and
WHEREAS, Extracurricular activities enrich a community college student’s academic experience through being involved with the campus community, build necessary skills and opportunities, along with improving cognitive growth [6][7]; Now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges encourage the student body association to implement create a line item within their budget designed specifically for disability and accessibility accommodations to support students with disabilities' needs extracurricular activities;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate for the creation of a new student leadership position that may be titled “Director of Accessibility and Accommodations" “Director of Accessibility" or of a like name, within each student body association specifically dedicated to overseeing accessibility accommodations, and to encourage that this position collaborates with their campus’ Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) center to ensure that accessibility and accommodation needs are being met for students across all students services and DSPS;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, if no state or federal bill is passed that advocates for extracurricular accessibility and accommodations among California Community Colleges in the 2026 session of this legislature, advocate for the development and passing of such a bill and encourage it to be a legislative priority in the 2027 and 2028 legislative session, and in coming years.
Citations:
[1]https://www.cccco.edu/-/media/CCCCO-Website/docs/report/2024-disabled-s…
[2]https://www.disabilityrightsca.org/publications/disability-discriminati…
[3]THE LANDSCAPE OF SUPPORT Students with Disabilities in Community Colleges, National Center for Learning Disabilities by Jacob Williams, Sam Riggs, Libbie Brey, Leah Kenney, https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/pdf/nlcd-report-508c…
[4]https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/postsecondary-education-among-young-adul…
[5] https://www.sdccd.edu/departments/educational-services/dsps/heart-in-mi…
[6] https://www.ccjournal-digital.com/ccjournal/library/item/february_march…
[7]https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/supporting-students-disabil…