Diversity and Equity

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges’ Inclusivity Statement

Whereas, The California Community Colleges system has prioritized inclusion, diversity, equity and anti-racism (IDEA) work—including through the CCCCO Call to Action, the DEI Task Force Recommendations, and the Vision for Success goals—to eliminate equity gaps;

Whereas, Local academic senates have an integral role in advancing inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism through academic and professional matters; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted resolution 3.03 F19, which approved a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement that acknowledges institutional discrimination and implicit bias exist and “Our commitment to diversity requires that we strive to eliminate those barriers to equity and that we act deliberately to create a safe and inclusive environment where individual and group differences are valued and leveraged for our growth and understanding as an educational community”;

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted Resolution 3.02 F19, Support Infusing Anti-Racism/No Hate Education in Community Colleges;

Whereas, Recognizing the national history of discriminatory laws and history of racial diversification and equity efforts in the California Community Colleges system informs current faculty diversification and anti-racism efforts; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted a new inclusivity statement in fall 2019—Resolution 3.03 F19, Replacing the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Inclusivity Statement—that aligns with the Board of Governor’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement; [1]

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted at the Fall Plenary of 2019 resolution 3.02 F19, Support Infusing Anti-Racism/No Hate Education in Community Colleges; and

Whereas, Through the California Virtual Campus - Online Education Initiative, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office has facilitated Canvas as the course management system for California’s community colleges, and participating colleges are using Canvas for online, hybrid and web-enhanced classes;

Whereas, Many LGBTQ+ students use a preferred name instead of their legal name and face discrimination or harm if forced to respond by their legal name;

Whereas, SB716 (2019, Mitchell) requires county probation departments across California to ensure that incarcerated youth with a high school diploma who are detained in a juvenile hall have access to public postsecondary academic and career technical courses and programs, and community colleges are the best equipped to offer the courses and provide programming on site at the juvenile detention facilities and on campus once students are released to continue their educational pathways;