WHEREAS, In 1896, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) 163 U.S. 537 that segregation of the races at public facilities was legal so long as these facilities were “separate but equal,” which legitimized segregated public schools and provided an impetus for Jim Crow legislative restrictions and barriers that were upheld for nearly seven decades; and

WHEREAS, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established in the United States in the 19th century due to restrictive state policies against Black student admission through legitimized segregation and racial discrimination; and

WHEREAS, HBCUs are dedicated to providing a supportive educational environment that is built on creating diverse academic opportunities, celebrating cultural awareness, and elevating positive racial identity; and

WHEREAS, Dating back to the landmark United States Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) 347 U.S. 483, in which the United States Supreme Court declared that segregated schools were unconstitutional, funding allocations have been earmarked to address the longstanding disparities in educational outcomes between Black and African American students and their non-Black peers; and

WHEREAS, Title III of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as an institution that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized agency or association determined by the Secretary of Education; and

WHEREAS, On September 22, 2023, President Joseph R. Biden proclaimed the week of September 24, 2023, through September 30, 2023, inclusive, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, and also reestablished the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for HBCUs to increase their participation in federal programs that offer greater access to funding; and

WHEREAS, On October 24, 2023, stemming from the collaboration of Umoja, a community and critical resource dedicated to enhancing the cultural and educational experiences of African American and other students, a resolution established the Los Angeles Community College District and Los Angeles Unified School District Historical Black Colleges and Universities Day; and

WHEREAS, California has 116 community colleges spanning 73 districts that are located in urban and rural communities that served nearly 2.1 million students from diverse backgrounds during the 2019–20 academic year; and

WHEREAS, In 2022, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies’ research brief, “The State of Black Students at Community Colleges,” reported that more than 36 percent, which is more than one-third, of all Black undergraduate students are attending community colleges; and

WHEREAS, The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in the 2021–22 academic year, of the degrees conferred by HBCUs, Black students earned 44 percent of the 5,300 associate degrees, 81 percent of the 32,800 baccalaureate degrees, 70 percent of the 7,600 master’s degrees, and 61 percent of the 3,000 doctoral degrees; and

WHEREAS, A July 30, 2021, article from the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility reports that HBCUs have an opportunity to accelerate Black economic mobility if attention and funding could be sustained and increased and estimates that a strong HBCU network could increase Black worker incomes by an estimated $10,000,000,000 in addition to strengthening the economy with $1,200,000,000 in incremental business profit, $300,000,000 in decreased student-loan debt, and $1,000,000,000 in additional consumer expenditures; and

WHEREAS, According to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, HBCUs have played a significant role in producing black professionals and have graduated 40 percent of all Black engineers, 40 percent of all Black Representatives in the United States Congress, 50 percent of all Black lawyers, 50 percent of all Black doctors, and 80 percent of all Black judges; and

WHEREAS, The Cal Grant B awards extend financial aid grant awards to low-income students and are supported by the College Access Tax Credit Fund (CATCF), which provides tax credits to taxpayers and businesses who make charitable contributions to support California Community College transfer students attending partnered HBCUs; and

WHEREAS, A Transfer Guarantee Pathway Agreement was signed on March 17, 2015, between the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and select, regionally accredited HBCUs, which offers community college students who complete certain academic requirements, as specified, a guaranteed transfer to a participating HBCU; and

WHEREAS, In the 2021–22 fiscal year, a total of 53 California Community Colleges transfer students enrolled at 39 HBCUs that have associate degree for transfer memoranda of understanding on file with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges; and

WHEREAS, Recognizing that Assembly Bill 1400 (Chapter 278, Statutes of 2023), authored by Assembly Member Isaac Bryan, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, and chaptered on September 30, 2023, requires the CATCF moneys continuously appropriated to the Student Aid Commission to be used for awards for qualifying community college student transfers to regionally accredited HBCUs that have associate degree for transfer memoranda of understanding on file with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges; and

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1400 (Chapter 278, Statutes of 2023) reduces the pool of eligible CATCF-funded grant applicants to less than 100 students, which enables the CATCF program to issue awards of up to $5,000; and

WHEREAS, It is important to support Black students in pursuit of baccalaureate and postgraduate degree attainment by cultivating equitable financial, social, and academic supports, which will help to advance socioeconomic mobility, political participation, and community empowerment; now, therefore, be it