SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) announced that her bill, AB 1754, passed the Assembly today.  The bill will require the California Community Chancellor’s Office to distribute a grade security policy to all community colleges in California.  Assemblymembers Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-Martinez) are also authors of the bill.

“California community colleges currently do not have system-wide standards in place to prevent people from making unauthorized student grade changes,” stated Assemblymember Hayashi.  “Given the security breaches at Diablo Valley College, we need to take steps to ensure that no one can use the system for criminal activities, and that student records are protected.”

The bill follows a “Cash for Grades” scandal at Diablo Valley College, a community college in Contra Costa County where over 100 people, including students, had access to the grade database.  A number of current and former Diablo Valley College students were charged with multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy in a case where several hundred grades were altered in exchange for cash.  In some cases, it meant grades going from Fs to As.  The end result has been the prosecution of perpetrators, and unfortunately, extra scrutiny on the grades earned by Diablo Valley College students who were not involved in the case. 

“I’m pleased to not only have the State Chancellor’s Office support for this important bill but also Contra Costa Community College District,” Assemblymember Hayashi said.  “The security and the integrity of grades should be paramount for all of our community colleges.  The students who earned top grades and degrees should not be held to a higher level of scrutiny because of a lapse in grade security protocol.”

The model policy calls for the installation of stricter measures to protect grade records and grade storage systems from unauthorized access, limitations on access, and procedures to notify instructors and students of any grade changes.  The policy is designed to allow community colleges to tailor their current systems to better secure the grades of their students at a minimal cost to themselves and the state.  The bill now moves to the Senate.