Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the California College Promise, which waives the first year of community college tuition for full-time students. A new bill introduced last week would make community college free. Assembly Bill 2 (AB 2) would add a second year the California College Promise, which would give more people a chance to earn an associate’s degree. At a press conference, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago stated the following,
When we started this bill, we came up with a very simple concept: One (year) is such a lonely number. So we came up with two.
Students will need to complete a federal student aid application or California Dream Act application and be enrolled in 12 or more credits in order to be eligible for the program. However, the program is only available to first time students and does not cover other costs related to attending community college, such as student fees and textbooks. The bill contains no income requirement to be eligible for the program. We will have to wait and see if the bill passes.
