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

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 . . . .” 189 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.” 190 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. As a first step in this process, updated regulations adopted in 2002 were designed to comport with Prop. 209, as interpreted by key cases such as Connerly v. State Personnel Board . 191 Pursuant to the post-Prop. 209 regulations, California community college districts are required to develop EEO Plans. Specifically, the EEO Plan is defined as: “a written document in which a district’s workforce is analyzed and specific plans and procedures are set forth ensuring equal employment opportunity.” 192 Therefore, while Prop. 209 may have invalidated traditional affirmative action programs, promoting diversity in the workplace remains a legal obligation for community colleges. Walking the balance of increasing workforce diversity and adopting the required EEO Plan, without violating Prop. 209, is the challenge every community college is faced with. To assist with this challenge, the State Chancellor issued a Model EEO Plan and Guidelines for California Community Colleges ( “Model Plan” ) followed by a series of statewide trainings on these materials. However, despite the Model Plan , difficulties and ambiguities remained.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2020 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 62