CCCCO Statement of Values and Commitment to Undocumented Students

The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office will not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race, or sexual orientation.

The Chancellor’s Office will continue to advocate for educational opportunities for all students in the community college system, regardless of immigration status, at the state and federal level.

While the Chancellor’s Office acknowledges local authority and control in the administration of our community colleges, we encourage our local community college districts to consider our system’s values when responding to this situation. We find the following strategies to be consistent with these values and recommend using them as a starting point for your local deliberations in these matters:
• District police departments should not detain, question or arrest any individual solely on the basis of (suspected) undocumented immigration status.
• Districts should not cooperate with any federal effort to create a registry of individuals based on any protected characteristics such as religion, national origin, race or sexual orientation.
• No confidential student records should be released without a judicial warrant, subpoena or court order, unless authorized by the student or required by law.

The Chancellor’s Office will actively monitor developments about possible changes to immigration policies and work with partners who are committed to protecting our students.

Additional resources that may be of help to colleges and districts include a white paper issued by the American Council on Education, a Frequently Asked Questions document prepared by the Undocumented Student Program at the University of California, Berkeley, FAQs; prepared by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the California Dream Act section at http://www.icanaffordcollege.com/.
For questions about the guidance described here, please contact the Chancellor’s Office General Counsel at legalaffairs@cccco.edu.

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE
1102 Q STREET, SUITE 4554
SACRAMENTO, CA 95811-6549
(916) 322-4005
http://www.cccco.edu
Statement of Values
December 5, 2016