A bill by Assemblyman Scott Wilk to help California Community Colleges receive funding for physical education classes offered to Early College and Middle College Schools students passed unanimously out of the Assembly Higher Education Committee on Tuesday.

“It makes no sense that Academy of the Canyon students’ fees are waived for every class but physical education. PE is a requirement for graduation just like any other course,” said Wilk, R-Santa Clarita.

Students enrolled in Early College High Schools and Middle College High Schools must complete physical education courses to meet their state high school graduation requirements. Current law caps how many high school students can enroll in community college PE classes and how many students the Community College can receive apportionment funding for.  Because these students attend high school on a community college campus, they do not have access to traditional high school PE classes.

AB 542 will allow California Community Colleges to receive funding for providing PE courses for Early College and Middle College High School students since they are responsible for completing the Physical Education requirement to meet state standards.

The bill will only apply to Community Colleges that have an Early College High School or a Middle College High School and only exempts those students from the cap on both enrollment and apportionment funding.  The caps will remain in place for other concurrently enrolled students.

Wilk concluded, “Many times Early College and Middle College students are first generation college students. AB 542 is a hand up, not a hand out.”

The 38th Assembly District encompasses Simi Valley, the northern section of the San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley.