Pending Title 5 Changes to Support Equitable Dual Enrollment

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) and Board of Governors continue to advance needed policy change to support the field in implementing equitable expansion of dual enrollment. One proposed change would remove barriers to dual enrollment related to documenting parental permission and student preparedness. This rule change was submitted for first reading at the July meeting of the Board of Governors, where the CCCCO also signaled that additional legislative and regulatory changes to improve dual enrollment access and success would be forthcoming.

The first part of the proposed rule change would affirm that, once provided, parental permission for enrollment would be applicable to all subsequent enrollments unless revoked by the parent. This means that students would be required to submit permission only for their initial enrollment, reducing the burden on students and college staff. Furthermore, this would apply to all dually-enrolled students, including CCAP and other special admits. (Read more about opportunities and challenges posed by the dual enrollment process from the perspective of college staff in CLP’s recent publication, Compliance and Compassion: Dual Enrollment and Admissions & Records.)

The second part of the proposed rule change states that “community college districts shall not require student high school transcripts or social security numbers as a condition of dual enrollment.” Instead, the high school principal’s recommendation–-which students are already required to obtain before participating in dual enrollment—or other documents provided by the school district would be sufficient evidence of a student’s high school enrollment and preparedness. In addition, requiring students to provide a social security number is unnecessary. Dual enrollment students do not currently qualify for financial aid programs, and this is an unnecessary roadblock for undocumented students.

The public comment period for the proposed change closed on August 27, and there could be additional revisions before final adoption.