SACRAMENTO – State Senator Josh Becker’s bill to grant the San Mateo County Community College District more flexibility to help students in need cover college costs – including the authority to make their tuition free – cleared its first legislative hurdle today.
The Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 893 with a bipartisan 6-0 vote, which sends the legislation to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.
The bill provides the community college district the authority to charge students less than $46 per unit required by the state, effectively enabling the district to lower as well as entirely waive enrollment fees for students experiencing financial hardship. The bill also allows the district to use its local revenue in the form of “unrestricted funds” to cover enrollment fees, in addition to helping students with other costs related to attending the district’s community colleges, including food, transportation, housing, books, school supplies, student counseling and technology needs.
The college district covers these costs for 2,000 students through its Promise Scholars Program. If SB 893 becomes law, the district could aid another 4,000 county students by using local resources and without incurring further costs to the state, Senator Becker and Vice Chancellor Aaron McVean told the committee.
The proposal is key to the district’s efforts to improve access to higher education for students in need, those from under-represented segments of the community, and those who may be the first in their family to attend college.
In presenting his bill, Senator Becker accepted committee amendments to make the provisions of SB 893 effective for five years if the bill becomes law. The amendments also would require the district to report by March 2026 on implementation of SB 893, its fiscal impacts, demographic data for the students helped and the various amount of aid district students received.
Khalid Shatrat, who earned an Associate of Science degree in accounting as a 2019-2021 Promise Scholar at the College of San Mateo, told the committee he was able to attend college and succeed because of the aid he received from the district. “It truly made a difference in my life,” he said.
SB 893 is coauthored by Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, and Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park.
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Media Contact: Leslie Guevarra, leslie.guevarra@sen.ca.gov, 415-298-3404