Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, has introduced Assembly Bill 302, which would require community colleges to grant overnight access to campus parking facilities for homeless students to sleep in their vehicles, including College of the Canyons, officials said Wednesday.

A recent report released by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice found that about 19 percent of all community college students experienced homelessness last year.  

“Sleeping in your car in Santa Clarita is already against the law,” said Sarah Farnell, student trustee at COC. “I hope that instead of penalizing our marginalized students, both the state and COC administration would stand by the hundreds of homeless students on campus by supporting the initiative to provide a safe place to park at night.”

Existing law requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use to grant access, as specified, to those facilities to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees and is in good standing with the community college district, according to officials.

Current law also requires the community college to determine a plan of action to implement this requirement.

Assembly Bill 302 would require a community college campus that has parking facilities on campus to grant overnight access to those facilities, on or before July 1, 2020, to any homeless student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid any enrollment fees, fees that have not been waived and is in good standing with the community college, and for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight.

“This would only be temporary assistance since sleeping in a car is not ideal,” said Dr. Edel Alonso, a COC board member. “A true solution would be to provide affordable housing and good-paying part-time jobs and internships. We need to see the mechanism for the college to receive state reimbursement for providing this service since the bill calls for access to restrooms overnight and providing a drug- and alcohol-free, safe environment.”  

Although this bill would not bring an end to homelessness among students around the state, it could help, according to officials.

“It’s an interesting bill that provides a safe place to park, but I’m not sure that it addresses the root causes of why (students) are homeless in the first place,” said Eric Harnish, a spokesperson for COC. “How can we help students move from the situation where they’re forced to live in their car to move to a more stable housing situation?”

The bill is still in the early stages of becoming law, and could see changes before it potentially becomes law, according to officials.   

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.