Dear Colleagues,
I’m reaching out to ask for your support for Senate Bill 968, new legislation introduced by Senator Josh Becker that would make the San Mateo County Community College District’s successful Free College program permanent. Given the strong connections between our colleges and communities across San Mateo County, we are reaching out to local leaders and partners who play an important role in expanding educational opportunity.
In February, Senator Becker introduced SB 968 to remove the sunset date established under SB 893 (Becker, 2022) and allow SMCCCD’s Free College program to continue permanently. Since launching in 2023, the program has helped more than 33,500 San Mateo County students attend Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College tuition-free.
We have just been informed that SB 968 will receive its first hearing before the Senate Education Committee on March 18, and letters of support must be submitted to the committee by March 13.
If you are willing, we would greatly appreciate a brief letter of support for submission to the Senate Education Committee. I’ve attached a short template that you are welcome to personalize, along with a one-page fact sheet summarizing the program’s impact and the SMCCCD Board of Trustees resolution supporting SB 968. You can also hear testimonials directly from our students, including how Free College removed financial stress from Nisha’s shoulders, allowed Michael to focus on his classes, and saved Foreign’s life.
Letters may be submitted either on behalf of your organization or individually by elected or appointed leaders. We understand that some organizations may wish to review this request through their normal board or council process, while others may choose to submit an individual letter of support. Letters can be sent directly to me by replying to this email, and my office will forward them to the Senate Education Committee before the March 13 deadline.
Please feel free to share this request with other members of your council, board, or leadership team who may also wish to submit a letter of support.
Thank you for your continued support of educational opportunity in San Mateo County. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if additional information would be helpful.
David McLain
Executive Director
Community & Government Relations
Office of the Chancellor
O: (650) 358-6851 M: (650) 730-8049
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