In February 2022, The EdTrust—West authored Equity Alert: Time to Close the Loopholes in Remedial Education at Community Colleges that outlined and addressed the three most significant loopholes in AB 705 that disproportionately affect Black and Latinx students. That report emphasizes recommendations that radically reimagine access to transfer-level courses and curtail traditional remediation. As a result of our leadership and Equity 8 advocacy in collaboration with legislative and coalition partners, we are excited to see that the following recommendations outlined in our Equity Alert have been adopted by the Legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom:
Closing the Placement Loophole
AB 1705 clarifies the intent of AB 705 and closes the requires Community colleges to place and enroll students into English and mathematic transfer-level courses, thereby closing the placement loophole.
Closing the Maximize Success Loophole
AB 1705 explicitly stipulates that students must have access to and be directly enrolled in courses that make it more likely for a student to enter and complete transfer-level coursework in English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe, maximizing the likelihood of student success.
Closing the Corequisite Loophole
The 2022-23 California State Budget provides $64 million to establish the Equitable Placement and Completion Grant Program to support the implementation of equitable placement and completion policies (AB 705 Chapter 745, Statutes of 2017). This budget allocation funds the expansion of high-impact corequisites that support student success in transfer-level coursework, thereby closing a notable loophole around accessibility to co-requisites.
Funding for California Community College Chancellor’s Office to hold institutions accountable and monitor equitable implementation of AB 705
The $3.9 million (2022-23) and $1.4 million (2024-25) ongoing allocation for increased staff capacity to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office will support the equitable implementation of AB 705 and other critical educational equity work.
California leaders have shown their commitment to equitable placement and completion reform by adopting these measures. We thank Assemblymember Irwin for your outstanding leadership! Thank you, Governor Newsom, for your commitment to educational equity! We look forward to supporting the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, community colleges, and equity partners in implementing these key changes that will promote greater educational equity, increase transfer and degree completion, and support California’s workforce.
