SACRAMENTO, CA – The Legislature passed a bill by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) to protect and continue critical programs for vulnerable community college students under attack by President Trump.
Assembly Bill 2121, the Defending Student Equity and Access Act, responds to the Trump administration's systematic dismantling of federal student success programs by removing barriers that prevent community colleges from backfilling this loss in federal funding.
"Community colleges in my district, and across the state, have been hit hard by President Trump’s incessant attacks on our most vulnerable students. AB 2121 is a balanced and narrowly tailored approach that will empower our community colleges to save these programs," said Assemblymember Berman. "Targeting community college students is not just cruel, it is counterproductive for our communities and our economy. I am proud to stand with our students and our community colleges in holding firm to our values of equity and access to higher education for all.”
In September 2025, the Trump administration terminated $350 million in Minority Serving Institution (MSI) grants, leaving colleges without funding for these vital student support programs. The administration's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget seeks to eliminate MSI and TRIO programs entirely, threatening long-standing initiatives that provide counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and transfer guidance to more than 1.6 million California community college students. These cuts threaten services that help California's most vulnerable students – low-income, first-generation, and students of color – complete their degrees.
MSI programs provide support at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander-Serving institutions (AANHPIs), and other colleges serving high concentrations of underrepresented students. Research shows these programs significantly increase college completion rates for students who would otherwise be least likely to persist. More than 90 percent of California's community colleges are designated HSIs, with the state receiving roughly 70 percent of all federal HSI funding, while 50 community colleges participate in the AANHPI Student Achievement Program.
TRIO programs serve low-income and first-generation students nationwide through tutoring, mentoring, college application assistance, and financial aid guidance. In California alone, more than 440 TRIO projects serve students with over $150 million in annual federal funding.
“Many of us are the first in our families to attend college, we are often learning how to navigate higher education as we go. Programs that provide tutoring, advising, and other essential support help ensure that being first-generation does not become a barrier to our success,” said Leilany Huerta Hernandez, Student Body President of the Associated Students of West Valley College.“Students should not have to leave college because they lost access to the resources that helped them get here and continue moving forward. Our district is ready to invest its own funding to protect these programs, and Assemblymember Berman helped ensure that state law would allow them to do so. Now, we are counting on the Governor to sign the bill and stand with the students who depend on these resources to succeed."
Under current law, federal grant dollars are excluded from California's Fifty Percent Law, which requires community colleges to spend at least fifty percent of their expenditures on classroom instructors. However, if community colleges want to backfill this federal funding the Fifty Percent Law would apply to those replacement dollars, impacting compliance and penalizing community colleges for stepping up to help their students.
“Community colleges exist to serve students who have been historically excluded from opportunity, and the Trump administration’s dismantling of TRIO and Minority Serving Institution programs strikes at the heart of that mission. AB 2121 makes sure California law does not compound that harm by penalizing colleges for sustaining critical support for their students,” said Chancellor Bradley J. Davis of the West Valley-Mission Community College District. “I am grateful to Assemblymember Berman for carrying this bill and for his steady advocacy on behalf of community college students. He was championing them well before this fight started, and our students are better off for it.”
If signed by the Governor, AB 2121 will enable community colleges to backfill the federal cuts to MSIs and TRIO programs, preserving these critical student support programs. The bill includes transparency requirements and annual district certifications, with a sunset after five years or upon restoration of federal funding to every community college district, whichever occurs first. Importantly, the bill maintains safeguards for faculty, such as not reducing spending on classroom instructors.
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Contact: BermanPress@asm.ca.gov
