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The California Assembly’s Higher Education Committee approved two bills at a hearing Tuesday that would offer more financial stability to adjunct professors at California community colleges, EdSource reported. It remains unclear whether the bills will be signed into law by the governor.
One bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Jose Medina, would allow adjuncts to do 85 percent of a full-time teaching load within one community college district. This would prevent them from having to work part-time at multiple districts to make ends meet. However, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed similar legislation last year.
A second bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, would require pay parity for adjuncts relative to full-time faculty members, who generally earn better wages and are paid for work outside the classroom, like grading assignments and meeting with students. The bill was approved, despite opposition from the Community College League of California, which represents community college district leaders. The bill will next be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The hearing came a day after two adjuncts sued the Long Beach Community College District in state court for requiring them to do uncompensated work outside the classroom, according to EdSource.
