This week, a state lawmaker decided to pull his proposal that would have let homeless community college students sleep overnight on campus, because he said it was altered and therefore 'weakened.'
Assembly Bill 302, proposed by Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, was originally set to open the community colleges overnight for students in good standing beginning in 2020. However according to Berman, the bill was altered by top California Democratic lawmakers, setting it to go into effect in July of 2021 instead.
(And don't forget, this bill was also opposed by multiple community colleges and the Association of California Community College Administrators...)
Yet Berman argues that the campuses should be open to the homeless at night, claiming that otherwise, they "are forced into dark alleyways and industrial parks, where they are most vulnerable to harm."
“Homeless students are not pedophiles that need to be kept away from children. They are men and women — many of them barely adults themselves — who are trying to improve their lives by obtaining a better education. They should be celebrated, not stigmatized,” Berman said in a statement.
Berman said he will revive his proposal next year.
Check out more details on the bill on The Sacramento Bee.