Colleagues! We need you to send emails to state Senators ASAP telling them to support CCCI’s-sponsored bill AB 1651, authored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes. The bill will be voted on by the full Senate in either late-August or early-September.
Time to write your state senator! Pens (or keyboards), ready, set, go!
The Community College League, representing boards of trustees and chief administrators, continues to oppose the bill despite the author agreeing to numerous bill amendments that the League requested. We need to make sure our Senators know that faculty strongly support this bill.
Below are AB 1651’s talking points you can choose from to cut/paste into an email to send to your state Senator. In your own words, please also include any reasons you want to share as to why the Senator should support AB 1651. We are also providing you a link to the website where you can identify who your Senator is by using your campus or home address.
Thank you for your engagement in supporting CCCI’s sponsored legislation.
Assembly Bill 1651 (Reyes) Talking Points
Why AB 1651 Is Needed:
- An increasing number of community college faculty are being investigated and even placed on involuntary leave by districts without any notification of the charges or reasons.
- Many of these faculty are denied basic due process (such as the right to prepare a defense or to tell their full side of the story) because they are not provided details of the allegations or complaints.
- The secretive nature of these practices place many community college faculty, and the unions that represent them, in a state of “limbo” – subject to the whims of district administrators – with little recourse outside of litigation to challenge district actions.
Under the Provisions of AB 1651:
- Community college administrators would retain the ability to immediately place a faculty member on involuntary paid administrative leave and withhold information as needed to protect campus safety.
- AB 1651 also allows administrators to protect privacy rights and ensure the integrity of investigations.
- AB 1651 would not establish a new precedent or prevent a district from suspending or placing a faculty member on involuntary paid administrative leave. Statutory due process rights already exist for community college faculty who are suspended with and without pay [Education Code § 87672-87643] but leaves open a loophole for faculty placed on paid administrative leave, allowing the intent of state law to be circumvented by district administrators.
- AB 1651 would simply clarify that all faculty, including those placed in involuntary paid administrative leave, have the right to know what misconduct has been alleged before any formal investigatory interview.
The Ask:
- I appreciate your consideration of this proposal and respectfully request that you vote “AYE” on this important legislation to protect the fundamental due process rights of all community college faculty.
Senator email address format: senator.lastname@senate.c
Again, thanks for your help. Spread the word!
Read other letters CPFA sends to the capitol urging legislators to support part-time faculty across the state.
.