Priority registration had been created for students with disabilities and EOPS students. It was designed to insure equal access for students with disabilities with many of whom need to schedule classes at certain times of the day because of disability related issues, because of transportation or because of a number of other reasons.

But this fall new priorities for enrollment were established that did not include areas that had previously received priority registration. Before the only ones that were able to get priority registration were DSPS students, EOPS students, veterans, and some other groups. They had been behind a whole bunch of people that they did not feel should appropriately be in tier one.

Then what had happened was that the student success initiative, with all these other groups being added to priority registration, DSPS and EOPS under the tier system were moved to the second group.

They were told this had happened because even though there were the defining standard for priority registration for 40 years, it was not legislation that-that should happen. It did not show anywhere that schools must provide first tier registration for DSPS and EOPS students.

Hearing so, EOPS decided to do something about it and go get it written and signed by the governor in order for the guidelines to reflect back in how priority registration is determined so DSPS and EOPS will return to tier one priority.

Mark M. Matsui, M.S, Director of Disabled Students Program and Services mentioned that this was all about politics and the way that they are trying to impact education. Things needed to happen to try and stimulate student’s success. Matsui said “I think they went a step to far in terms of priority registration because they ignored the folks that were the defining standard for 40 years I mean you don’t look at things that have been historically successful and through them out

he window just because somebody wants to change how we

look at education and how we approach it.”

They had felt like it was all a slap in the face to their program and so they decided to respond with assembly bill 595. DSPS and EOPS decided to team together to put their legislative influence etogether to support assembly 595 and get it approved. Matsui also mentioned that it all “kind of showed people not to mess around with us because we don’t play.”