Whereas, AB 928 (Berman, 2021) seeks to streamline transfers for community college students through the creation of one primary transfer pattern, the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (CalGETC); and 

Whereas, California community colleges (CCCs) serve a specific and important role in the California Educational Master Plan, serving millions of students throughout California as the most accessible institutions of higher learning; and 

Whereas, CCCs and discipline experts were not properly consulted in the development of AB 928; nor were Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (LLSD) discipline experts included in the subsequent development of CalGETC; and

Whereas, according to AB 1725 (Vasconcellos, 1988), faculty – rather than administrators or parties external to higher education – provide recommendations over CCC curriculum (California Code of Regulations – Title 5 § 53200); and

Whereas, the courses offered in LLSD support the Vision for Success and Guided Pathways initiatives and are essential components of higher education to support equity; and 

Whereas, elimination of such programs simply to create one “primary transfer pattern” would be detrimental to students and have a disproportionately negative impact on hundreds of thousands of students of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged students annually; and

Whereas, “[h]ealth disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury and violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations,” and result from multiple factors, including poverty, inadequate access to healthcare, individual and behavioral factors, and educational inequalities; and

Whereas, “[h]ealth equity is achieved when every person has the opportunity to ‘attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of … socially determined circumstances,’”; and

Whereas, LLSD classes equip students with skills for academic and career success and personal health and wellness, and provide essential life-changing education on a variety of topics needed early on in college, including physical and mental health, reproductive options, avoiding addiction and drug and alcohol abuse, success strategies, human behavior, critical thinking, stress management, information literacy, social relationships, relationship to environment, self, and others, including sexuality, nutrition, and exercise. Requirements in this area motivate students to complete classes in these highly important topics, help to ensure growth in all learning domains, and contribute breadth to higher education in many essential topics which are not addressed in any other area of higher education requirements; and

Whereas, delaying access to LLSD education and limiting access in this area to universities would have profoundly negative consequences on students’ lives due to the time-sensitive nature of the topics covered. Furthermore, since many students may never have the privilege or opportunity to matriculate to a university, removing this requirement from community colleges would effectively cut millions of people in California off from access to essential education about health and physical activity. By design of the California Master Plan of Higher Education, State Universities (CSU) and Universities of California (UC), institutions are less accessible due to entrance requirements, less affordable than community colleges, CSUs and UCs (combined) serve fewer students than community colleges, and many students and community members who would benefit from LLSD education at California community colleges (CCC) will never have the opportunity to attend a CSU or UC institution; and

Whereas, kinesiology and dance classes are often the only courses in a student’s education that address the psychomotor learning domain, and through requirements, students deserve access and exposure to a broad range of classes that create opportunities for students of various learning styles and types of intelligence to excel in (i.e., including spatial and kinesthetic intelligence); and 

Whereas, research demonstrates the broad benefits of physical activity on brain function, physical and mental health, and that participation in physical activity provides benefits necessary for academic and career success, including cognition, reduced anxiety and depression, improved quality of life, and improved sleep outcomes, and safe and effective participation in many physical activities, forms of exercise, and sports requires skills, knowledge, and appropriate instruction and supervision; and

Whereas, CCCs have diverse student bodies, and, in both absolute and relative terms, when compared to CSU and UC institutions, serve more individuals from racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups that suffer disproportionately high levels of health disparities, and serve more first- generation college students, removing the LLSD requirement and thereby reducing exposure and access to education in health, physical activity, and other LLSD classes at the CCCs would be immoral and unethical. Based on the populations served 

and the health disparities of many of those populations, and the factors contributing to health inequity, including lack of access to education, removing this requirement and access would also constitute a form of structural and institutional racism; and

Whereas, LLSD and Kinesiology classes are not barriers to health or success, but rather are access points to health and academic and career success. These are often the first classes students take in college as they learn to adjust to college life, develop healthy habits to support lifelong wellness and success, develop social skills, and connect to the college. In these classes, students learn essential knowledge and skills to empower them to support their own health and well-being as well as that of their families, support academic and career success, gain exposure to a broad range of career options, most of which are not included in any other requirements; and  

Whereas, data from Los Angeles Mission College demonstrates that classes in health and kinesiology activity are part of LLSD, have higher than average retention and success rates, and student surveys reveal that after completing these courses, the large majority of students say they highly value these courses as part of their education and would recommend them to others; and

Whereas, CCCs already have broad infrastructure, bond-funded facilities, curriculum, and thousands of faculty and staff in place to widely deliver LLSD classes, and removing LLSD requirements and the opportunity for students to fulfill LLSD units at CCCs would reduce community college student educational access, impair equity, and be wasteful of public resources; 

Therefore, be it resolved, that the CFT recognize Lifelong Learning and Self-Development as an essential component of early college education supporting health equity and educational equity for students; and

Be it further resolved, that the CFT will support every effort to advance health and educational equity for students, communities, and society by supporting lifelong learning requirements, and to ensure that health and physical education classes are broadly accessible in a wide variety of options at all CCCs to support students, equity, and public health; and

Be it finally resolved, that the CFT will take all necessary actions, including legislative advocacy, to support and protect students, faculty, and staff from negative impacts in and from the implementation of AB 928.

1. CDC- Adolescent and School Health-Health Disparities. (24 November 2020). https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/index.htm. 

2. CDC- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion-Health Equity. (3 March 2022). https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/healthequity/index.htm. 

3. UC vs CSU minimum freshman admission requirements (2022 August). https:// admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/_files/documents/csu-uc-a-g-comparison-matrix.pdf.

4. Community College Fee Example: the fees for LAMC can be found here: https://lamission.edu/Business-Office/ 4 Student-Fees.aspx.

5. Resources Pertaining to CSU, CCC, and UC Enrollment and Demographic Data: California Community College 5 students’ demographic data (2020-2021): https://www.calpassplus.org/LaunchBoard/Student-Success-Metrics.aspx.

6. Ehrman, J. K., Liguori, G., Magal, M., & Riebe, D. (2018). ACSM guidelines for exercise testing and 6 prescription (Tenth edition). pp. 6-21. Wolters Kluwer. https://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/publications-files/ acsm-guidelines-download-10th-edabf32a97415a400e9b3be594a6cd7fbf.pdf?sfvrsn=aaa6d2b2_0; Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition. (2019). https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/ Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf.

7. Bahls, C. (2011 October 6). Health policy brief: Achieving equity in health. Health Affairs, 1-6. http:// 7 healthaffairs.org/healthpolicybriefs/brief_pdfs/healthpolicybrief_53.pdf.

8. Resources Pertaining to CSU, CCC, and UC Enrollment and Demographic Data: California Community College 8 students’ demographic data (most recent data is from 2020-2021): https://www.calpassplus.org/LaunchBoard/ Student-Success-Metrics.aspx. 

9. Gee, G.C., Ford, C.L. (2011 April). Structural racism and health inequities: Old i ssues, new directions. De Bois 9 Review. pp. 115-132. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25632292/; CSU data center website with enrollment dashboard demographics: https://www.calstate.edu/data-center/institutional-research-analyses/Pages/enrollment.as px;UC disaggregated data: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/disaggregated-data; Resources pertaining to entrance requirements and cost to attend: Admission requirements for CA Community Colleges: https://home.cccapply.org/en/colleges/requirements; Community College Fee Example: the fees for LAMC can be found here: https://lamission.edu/Business-Office/Student-Fees.aspx. 

• Submitted by the CFT Higher Education Issues Committee