California Assemblyman Marc Berman has introduced Assembly Bill 302 which would allow homeless community college students to sleep in their cars on campus parking lots.
AB-302 should be passed.
In March, Temple University, along with the Hope Center, reported that 19 percent of community college students in California are homeless.
AB-302 defines homeless students as youths without a fixed or reliable residence during nighttime hours.
Bills like AB-302 would help ease the burdens of homelessness while students seek a college education.
AB-302 is not the first bill aimed at assisting homeless students.
AB-1995, which was passed in 2016, requires any community college with shower facilities to make them available to homeless students enrolled in courses.
If AB-302 becomes law, the same rules would apply to all community colleges with parking facilities.
Laws protecting and assisting the homeless community are needed now more than ever.
A recent report by the Los Angeles Police Department shows a 68 percent increase in crimes committed against homeless people in 2016-2017.
Getting students off the streets, even if in a car, is paramount.
AB-302 would require overnight parking areas to be designated for students facing homelessness and for these parking areas to be monitored. Having a monitored place to rest may give homeless students a level of security unavailable to them in the past.
By law, California is required to reimburse any additional costs that school districts or local agencies may accumulate through this process.
The potential cost to taxpayers is not mentioned in the text of the bill, but each campus will have different needs.
School districts would have until July 1, 2020, to assemble a viable plan of action if AB-302 were to pass.
AB-302 also has requirements that students must meet to use overnight parking. The bill states that students must be in good standing with their school district and have all tuition fees paid.
Homeless students would also need to register with the campus and sign a liability waiver in order to use overnight parking.
These restrictions are a good call. Students will be held accountable for their academic success while using these free resources.
AB-302 will not bring an end to homelessness for community college students, as students would still not have a stable home during and after college.
AB-302 is just one of the first steps to help aid against the struggles in the lives of homeless students.
