Name That Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

D. D IVERSITY H IRING P URSUANT TO F EDERAL G RANTS We also note that Proposition 209 provides an exemption for community colleges that receive certain federal grants. Specifically, Prop. 209 provides that it shall not be interpreted “as prohibiting action which must be taken to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal program, where ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds to the State.” 183 “State” is defined to include community college districts. This exemption addresses districts operating under federal grants that require diversity planning. In this situation, the district is exempt from Prop. 209. Whether this exception is triggered is a fact-specific question and the Chancellor’s Office recommends that districts consult legal counsel regarding whether they are in fact a federal contractor, whether their current EEO plans are different from federal regulations, and whether there is a risk of legal challenge prior to relying on this exception.184

D IVERSITY P LANS IN THE C OMMUNITY C OLLEGE C ONTEXT : C REATING YOUR E QUAL E MPLOYMENT O PPORTUNITY P LAN

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The Community College System and Legislature have long recognized the nexus between the community colleges’ ability to serve California’s diverse population, and the diversity of its workforce. Indeed, they have sent a clear message that, “the vitality and stability of California will thrive in direct proportion to its ability to foster productive citizenship in this diverse, multicultural environment [and that] [t]he community colleges play a major role in ensuring educational opportunity and success for all of California’s people . . . .” 185 As an example of this commitment, since 1999, a minimum qualification for all community college administrative and academic positions has been “a sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds of community college students.” 186 While any individual—regardless of race, ethnicity or gender—can possess (or lack) such “sensitivity,” the Board of Governor’s implementing regulations have historically treated this language as requiring hiring procedures designed to address and correct the exclusion of underrepresented groups and to encourage diversity in hiring. In short, sustaining a diverse workforce has been both a mandate and a vision for California’s community colleges. However, as discussed above in our summary of the legal backdrop, the passage of Proposition 209 limited the methods community colleges may use to diversify their student population and workforce. In the face of this shift, community colleges have essentially been mandated to “stay the course” and develop Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Plans, and Hiring and Recruitment Procedures that are compliant with Prop. 209 while promoting workforce diversification.

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