California community colleges provide open access to higher education for all students irrespective of ethnicity, gender, age, disability, or economic circumstances. This objective is enshrined in law.
California Pathways: The Second Language Student in Public High Schools, Colleges, and Universities brings together greatly needed collective professional insights about second language students in our schools and about the programs designed to serve those students. The white pages of the document are intended to provide educators, advisors, counselors, and others who assist the second language population a description of English as a Second Language (ESL) and insights into the diverse situations and linguistic differences of California's second language population.
Continuing work of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Affirmative Action / Cultural Diversity Committee 1990-1991, the 1992-1993 committee developed these guidelines. With permission from the Human Resources Division of the Chancellor's office, major portions of the guideline language included in the publication: A Guide to Regulation Changes for California Community College Trustee were used in this document and repeated verbatim. The committee sought to include the guidelines, anticipated questions with answers, and specific suggestions for faculty at the local level.
The faculty via the academic senates has been given augmented authority and responsibility through the mandates of AB 1725, the faculty via the academic senates has acquired augmented authority and responsibility. Effective implementation of the legislative mandates is the prime responsibility of the academic senate(s). Inherent within this authority and responsibility is accountability. "Lip service", and "paper shuffling for compliance" are not surrogates for actual and effective implementation of the affirmative action mandates of AB 1725.
The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges unequivocally declares its total commitment to Affirmative Action program in the community colleges. In support of this position, the Academic Senate at its Fall Conference in 1986 passed a resolution that the Educational Policies Committee of the Senate be directed to draft a set of Affirmative Action Guidelines for the use of faculty in the California Community Colleges.