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Action Item: Send all information, existing question language and proposed language, and details of the meetings discussions to Mia Keeley, CCCCO - who attended the December 18 meeting and has offered to support this effort from the position of the CO. Next actions will be determined based on feedback from Ms. Keeley. |
Purpose of the Parent Guardian Information Question
The Parent/Guardian Information question determines whether someone who will be under 19 years of age on the RDD is subject to care and control of a parent or guardian for purposes of determining residency. For residency purposes (unlike in general law), a minor is defined as someone under 19 years of age. This is specified in the SAAM, which cites the CA Ed Code 68062 (see below).
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The data field behind this question is called “Dependency Status” = <dependency_status> and the values are defined in the DED.
Statistical Information
In FY 2018-2019, over 2.6 million CCCApply applications were submitted. For the purposes of this breakdown, spam applications were not removed from the total = 2,647,615.
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In FY2018-19, only 7% of all minors self-identified as “independent minors”. all the rest are “dependent” and must provide their Parent or Guardian’s name and relationship. |
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The current layout
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As cautioned by Immigrants Rising, the language in the current layout is unclear, ambiguous to minors, and doesn’t include any reassuring language for undocumented or nonresident students who meet the eligibility requirements can apply for nonresident tuition exemption through AB540/SB68. Adding this information, as well as acknowledging that their parents' data will be protected and not shared, will reassure the student with clear, non-threatening language.
What do we need to change?
Layout: In 2018, 93% of all minors were “Dependents” and only 7% were legitimately Independent with special circumstances. Our current layout (not shown) makes it too easy for a student who may not be reading the question closely to select the wrong option, which means the college has to follow up with the student by phone or other time-consuming method.
We propose swapping the two sections so that the Parent-Guardian Information input fields are on top, and the “I do not have a parent or guardian…” statement is shown as the exception. below the input fields.
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Meeting Discussion Notes:
Immigrants Rising has suggested that clear, non-threatening language be added to the Parent/Guardian Information question to help undocumented students:
Colleges want a better layout to collect minor student’s parent or guardian information
Colleges want minimal changes to the data structure and the download files;
Students want a streamlined, unambiguous question that clearly explains why they are being asked for their parent information (especially when they are 18 years old)
Students want to know that their parent’s information is protected by state and federal laws and will not be used for discriminatory purposes
Actions:
Work with the Chancellor’s Office to confirm what language can be changed and whether the proposed layout changes are approved.
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