Community colleges: deported or detained faculty.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on what happens if remote education options cannot be provided.

Community Colleges: Deported or Detained Faculty

This law requires community colleges in California to allow teachers who were deported or detained due to immigration enforcement actions and were teaching at the time of departure to continue their duties through distance education methods.

What This Bill Does

• Requires community college districts to allow faculty members who departed the United States on or after January 1, 2027, for reasons related to immigration enforcement actions by the Department of Homeland Security and were teaching at the time of departure to perform their instruction and professional duties through distance education methods.
• Imposes new duties on community college districts, which means it creates a state-mandated local program requiring funding from the state.

Who It Names or Affects

• Community college faculty members who departed the United States due to immigration enforcement actions after January 1, 2027, and were teaching at the time of departure.
• Community college districts in California that must provide remote education options for these teachers.

Terms To Know

Distance Education

Teaching methods where students and teachers are not physically present in the same location, often using technology like video calls or online platforms.

State-Mandated Local Program

A program that requires local agencies to follow state rules, with funding provided by the state if certain costs are involved.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if a community college district cannot provide remote teaching options.
• It is unclear how many faculty members will be affected by this law in practice.
• The exact amount of funding required for the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts has not been determined.

Official Summary Text

AB 2019, as introduced, Gipson.
Community colleges: deported or detained faculty.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state and authorizes them to provide instruction at the campuses they operate. Existing law requires the governing boards of community college districts, among other postsecondary educational entities, to the fullest extent consistent with state and federal law, to implement various precautionary measures when federal immigration enforcement activities are undertaken on campuses of those entities, as specified.
This bill would require a community college district to allow its faculty who departed the United States on or after January 1, 2027, for a specified
reason, including, among others, due to immigration enforcement actions by the Department of Homeland Security, and who was teaching for the community college district at the time of departure to perform their instruction and professional duties through distance education or other remote modalities offered by the community college district, as provided. By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF