Community colleges: Chancellor of the California Community Colleges: data request fee policy.

Senator Laird's proposal authorizes the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish fees for researchers requesting access to individually identifiable student data, while maintaining specific exemptions for state agencies and students conducting individual research.

The legislation requires any implemented fee policy to undergo Board of Governors approval and periodic review, with public posting on the Chancellor's website. Fees would cover costs associated with data compilation, extraction, and programming that would otherwise be borne by requesting researchers. The policy must comply with federal privacy protections under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and California Civil Code privacy provisions.

While most state agencies would be exempt from fees, the policy would allow charges for research-related data requests from the University of California, California State University, and State Department of Education. The bill explicitly prohibits charging fees to undergraduate and graduate students seeking data for their individual academic studies.