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

For example, initially the Model Plan continued to require components that relied upon availability data, despite its unreliability. After a series of collaborative discussions between community college representatives (including Liebert Cassidy Whitmore) and the State Chancellor’s office, the State Chancellor recognized the inherent flaws in the availability data and the need to modernize EEO strategies. As a result, at the 2008 ACHRO convention, during two joint sessions between the Chancellor’s Office and Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, the Systems Office announced that it would no longer require the utilization of availability data for EEO Planning, for permanent academic or administrative staff. It subsequently suspended any required utilization of availability data for any employee groups. The Chancellor’s Office April 25, 2012 Program Advisory continued to advise that districts need not prepare EEO Plan components that rely upon availability data. The current regulations have eliminated any required consideration of availability data. Instead, they state that if and when the State Chancellor’s Office develops such data, it should be considered. 193 Also in 2008, recognizing that the reliance on availability data was outdated, a Title 5 EEO subcommittee was formed to develop new objectives and methods of assessing diversity that could be incorporated into revised Title 5 EEO regulations for both EEO Planning and EEO Hiring procedures. The revised Title 5 EEO regulations, which became effective in October 2013, represent a significant step toward modernizing EEO practices in community colleges. The below tools are designed to assist community colleges in clarifying these legal complexities and identifying what community colleges can and should be doing now in two respects: The first tool is a section devoted to developing EEO Plans. This section is designed to work in tandem with the Chancellor’s Model Plan , providing both overarching strategies and specific suggestions for districts to create compliant and workable EEO Plans. The second tool is a section devoted to developing and implementing lawful and effective hiring strategies. The section identifies the three critical stages of the hiring process that can positively or negatively impact efforts to diversify staff: (1) Pre-hiring considerations; (2) the recruitment and hiring process itself; and (3) retention strategies. The State Chancellor’s Office advised in October 2009 that community college districts that “flex” their categorical funding will not be required to prepare and submit EEO Plans due to the 2009-2010 Budget Act until further notice. But since EEO Plans will probably be required again in the future, districts should continue to prepare EEO Plans to comply with federal reporting requirements, meet accreditation standards, avoid complacency, and prepare for when EEO Plans will once again be required. Depending on one’s perspective, community colleges either have a “leg up” or additional burdens in creating diversity plans. This difference is due to the statutory and regulatory requirements that community college districts develop and implement EEO Plans. This section provides guidance on creating EEO Plans that satisfy the current regulatory requirements and serve as useful tools in a district’s broader diversity planning. This section also lists and discusses each of the Chancellor’s required and recommended components of an EEO Plan. It then provides additional suggestions and strategies as appropriate for drafting and implementation.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2020 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 63