BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2344|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2344
          Author:   Nielsen (R)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SEN. BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/28/10
          AYES:  Negrete McLeod, Aanestad, Calderon, Corbett, Correa,  
            Florez, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wyland, Walters  

          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Nursing:  approved schools

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill clarifies that institution of higher  
          education, for the purposes of the Board of Registered  
          Nursing approval of nursing schools, includes community  
          colleges and private postsecondary institutions offering an  
          Associate of Arts (AA) or an Associate of Science (AS)  
          degree.  Clarifies that a nursing school that is not an  
          "institution of higher education" may affiliate with an  
          institution of higher education offering either an AA or an  
          AS degree to individuals who graduate from the nursing  
          school.

           ANALYSIS :    
                                                           CONTINUED





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           Existing Law

           1.Creates the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) within the  
            Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).  Provides for the  
            licensure and regulation of registered nurses by BRN and  
            requires BRN to maintain a list of approved nursing  
            schools.

          2.Defines an approved school as an institution of higher  
            education or school that is affiliated with an  
            institution of higher education that offers an AA degree  
            to individuals that graduate from the affiliated nursing  
            school.

          3.Provides that an "institution of higher education"  
            includes a community college that offers an AA degree.

          4.Requires BRN to determine by regulation the required  
            subjects of instruction to be completed in an approved  
            school of nursing, including the minimum units of theory  
            and clinical experience necessary to achieve essential  
            clinical competency at the entry level of a registered  
            nurse (RN).

          5.Establishes the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education  
            (BPPE) within DCA and provides for Bureau oversight and  
            regulation of California private postsecondary  
            institutions.

          This bill:

          1.Provides that an "institution of higher education"  
            includes but is not limited to a community college  
            offering an AA or AS and private postsecondary  
            institutions offering an AA or AS.

          2.Clarifies that an approved school is as an institution of  
            higher education or school that is affiliated with an  
            institution of higher education that offers an AA or AS  
            to individuals that graduate from the affiliated nursing  
            school.

           Background







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           Current law, Business and Professions Code 2786, does not  
          define "institution of higher education" but provides that  
          the term includes community colleges offering associate  
          degrees.  Current law also requires that a school that is  
          not an "institution of higher education" which seeks to  
          offer a nursing program must make an agreement with an  
          institution of higher education to grant an associate of  
          arts degree, or a baccalaureate degree if appropriate, to  
          individuals who graduate from the nursing program.   
          According to a Legislative Counsel Bureau opinion provided  
          by the Author, a private postsecondary institution offering  
          an AS may qualify as an "institution of higher education"  
          for the purposes of approval of a nursing program by BRN,  
          notwithstanding the fact that the institution does not have  
          an AA degree.

           Health Care Workforce Shortage  .  With an increasingly aging  
          population, California is in the midst of a health care  
          workforce shortage.  The supply of skilled, trained health  
          care professionals has diminished in recent years and  
          according to the non-profit California Institute for  
          Nursing and Health Care, the state will see a shortage of  
          over 100,000 nurses by 2020.  On March 23, 2009, this  
          Committee held an informational hearing entitled "The Role  
          of Private Education Institutions in Preparing California's  
          Diverse Workforce: Meeting the Challenges of our Workforce  
          and Job Training Needs."  The hearing examined the ability  
          of private postsecondary institutions to fill the career  
          preparation needs of California's workforce and evaluate  
          policy options that allow them to expand their workforce  
          development programs with the requisite amount of oversight  
          required to protect students.

           Relationship of BPPE to DCA Boards  .  Nine boards within DCA  
          have a direct connection to BPPE.  While some are required  
          to review the curriculum and often institutions offering  
          programs, others require BPPE approval in order to meet  
          educational requirements for licensure, certification or  
          registration.  The Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC)  
          for example, approves curriculum, facilities, equipment and  
          textbooks for schools offering training programs for  
          eventual licensees.  The Board of Vocational Nursing and  
          Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) staff grants approval and  







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          ultimately accreditation of Vocational Nursing and  
          Psychiatric Technician programs but does not have oversight  
          of institutions offering these programs.   
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office,  
          current law is ambiguous as to whether a college that  
          offers an Associate of Arts Degree (AA) or an Associate of  
          Science Degree (AS) can be approved by BRN.  The author's  
          office cites the experience of Cambridge Junior College in  
          Yuba City, a private college accredited by the  
          Accreditation Council for Independent Colleges and Schools  
          (ACICS), as need for this measure.  That school was denied  
          BRN approval to offer a nursing degree because it only  
          offers an AA in nursing.  The author's office argues that  
          this bill is intended to clarify that a higher education  
          institution offering an AA and/or an AS degree, or school  
          affiliated with such an institution that meets with other  
          established requirements, may become approved for nursing  
          schools by BRN.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,  
            Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,  
            Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  
            La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,  
            Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,  
            Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,  
            Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,  
            Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,  
            Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,  
            Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,  
            Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Caballero, Norby, Skinner, Vacancy


          JJA:cm  8/4/10   Senate Floor Analyses 








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                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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