The Overview

Up to 200 eligible students from Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties in Oregon can be exempted from nonresident tuition at College of the Siskiyous under AB 1555. California's AB 1555 Siskiyous community college tuition exemption bill became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 27. ​

Assemblymember Heather Hadwick introduced the bill to expand rural workforce training at College of the Siskiyous, according to a press release on ad01.asmrc.org. The law takes effect immediately upon chaptering.

What the Law Does

The law lets the Siskiyou Joint Community College District waive the nonresident tuition fee for students who attend College of the Siskiyous and live in designated Oregon counties, extending the same model already in place for Lake Tahoe Community College students from certain Nevada communities. Up to 200 students per academic year from Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath counties in Oregon can qualify for the exemption, according to Sierra Daily News. The district's governing board must adopt rules for determining a student's residence classification and set up an appeal process. The bill states that no state reimbursement is required under the act.

For border-area students, the difference matters. Nonresident tuition at California community colleges runs well above the in-state rate, and for residents of rural southern Oregon, College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California, may be the closest campus offering the workforce and vocational programs they need. Hadwick framed the bill as a way to strengthen rural workforce training pipelines in the region, according to the press release on ad01.asmrc.org.

Legislative Status

Asm. Heather Hadwick (R) authored the bill, with Sen. Megan Dahle (R) as principal coauthor; both are Republicans, while the signing governor is a Democrat. Across five recorded committee and floor votes, the bill drew 110 yes votes and zero no votes. The Senate passed it 40-0 on Aug. 30, and the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 77-0 the same day.

College of the Siskiyous Superintendent/President Char Perlas testified during the bill's consideration, the college reported. Siskiyou News reported that AB 1555 was the bill most closely tied to Siskiyou County among eight bills Assemblymember Heather Hadwick saw signed into law.

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