WHEREAS, In a 2024 Disabled Student Programs and Services report, [1] 62,681 or approximately 36% of students suffer from a mental disability with 2,381 students of whom have suffered from acquired brain injuries which could result in a permanent disability or disabilities;
WHEREAS, People with mental illness are over 10 times as likely to experience use of force in interactions with law enforcement than those without mental illness [2] and a quarter of police shootings between 2015 and 2020 involved someone with a mental illness[3] with individuals that experience mental illness that spend longer time in jail have a high recidivism rate after release, of those individuals in Jail, 26% have been incarcerated and 14% of people incarcerated in prison meet the criteria for serious psychological distress, study of 13,851 persons with serious mental illnesses found that 27% were arrested in a 10-year period most of which were for petty crimes such as property offenses, disturbing the peace, public indecency, motor, and drug related offenses;
WHEREAS, In a 2024 study analyzing degree completion among California community college students, [4] students experiencing moderate or severe symptoms of depression or anxiety report low confidence in completing their degree due to mental or emotional health (76%), lack of motivation (68%), and academic challenges (61%) as the top three challenges to degree completion and mental health is rarely mentioned among factors affecting community college persistence, despite mental health challenges to be strong predictors of adverse academic outcomes as depression has been found to be associated with a two-fold increase in the likelihood of dropping out of college; a survey of 30,000 California public college and university students found Community College students were less likely to receive treatment compared to their four-year counterparts; and
WHEREAS, 45% of moderate-to-severe students compared to 27% of none to mild symptom students strongly agree that higher education is worth the time, money, and effort they are spending on it, yet 46% of moderate-to-severe students report failing one or more courses since beginning as students, compared to 26% of none-to-mild symptom students [5] and only 20% of first-time Community College students complete a credential within 150% of the intended timeframe based on the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy; eight years after beginning Community College, 43% are no longer enrolled nor have they earned any credentials; Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate to the legislature for more funding to implement a Blue Envelope Program of similar nature to the Redwood Coast Regional Center [6][7] be implemented for all 116 community college campuses, and facilitated by Disabled Student Programs and Services, so that every student with a known mental disability receive a blue envelope and choose which identifiers are applicable to their needs such as stickers, keychains, wristbands, and seatbelt covers;
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate to the legislature for more funding to encourage each California community college in hiring more on campus mental health professionals so that the ratio for every student to mental health counselor be 1 to every 1,500 students, similar to all CSU and UC universities according to the recommendations of experts from the California Budget & Policy Center [8] and encourage the community colleges to hire an adequate amount of mental health professionals to assist students through telehealth or other online options; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges encourage student body associations to create a social media awareness campaign for the student services offered at their campuses and develop a tool kit to let students know about the student services that are offered.
Citations:
[1] Disabled Student Programs and Services Report (2024) California Community Colleges
[2] Police Use Of Force (2022) National Alliance on Mental Illness
[3] Police Presence in Schools (2025) American Civil Liberties Union
[4] Mental Health and Degree Completion in California Community Colleges (2024) HSACCC & UCLA
[5] Community College Student Mental Health: A National Study Comparing Prevalence and Service Use at Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions (2022) National Institute of Health & National Library of Medicine
[6] The Blue Envelope Program (2026) Redwood Coast Regional Center
[7] Mobile Crisis Teams: Providing an Alternative to Law Enforcement for Mental Health Crises (2022) National Alliance on Mental Illness
[8] California College Students Are Increasingly Experiencing Mental Health Issues and Need Improved Support (2019) California Budget & Policy Center