BILL NUMBER: AB 2385 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 15, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 25, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member John A. Perez
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Buchanan)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Galgiani)
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to add and repeal Article 3.7 (commencing with Section
78265) of Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the
Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2385, as amended, John A. Perez. Pilot Program for Innovative
Nursing and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under
the administration of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary
education in this state. Existing law establishes community college
districts, each of which is administered by a governing board,
throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide
instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained
by the districts.
The bill would establish the Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing
and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges under the administration of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to facilitate the
graduation of community college nursing and allied health students by
piloting innovative models to expand the state's capacity to prepare
a qualified health care workforce. The bill would require the
chancellor's office to establish the pilot program at up to 5
campuses throughout the state according to specified requirements.
The bill would authorize participating campuses to
collect supplemental fees from participating students to support the
pilot program based upon a fee schedule approved by the chancellor's
office and would not permit these fees to offset
express legislative intent that the pilot program be funded with a
combination of state apportionment funding , federal
grants, employer-based partnerships, and private philanthropic
resources .
The bill would require the chancellor's office to collect
appropriate data for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of
the pilot program. The bill would require the chancellor's office to
analyze this data, and report its contract
with an external evaluator to conduct an independent evaluation with
findings and recommendations with respect to the pilot program
to be reported to the Legislature on or before January 1,
2017.
The bill would provide that its provisions would be implemented in
any fiscal year only to the extent that the chancellor's office
determines that sufficient moneys are available to administer the
program.
The bill would provide that the pilot program would become
inoperative on July 1, 2017, and as of January 1, 2018, would be
repealed.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Allied health care occupations are expected to grow
dramatically in the next decade, and California labor market data
show that, by 2017, allied health care occupations are projected to
account for more than 1,100,000 jobs around the state, an increase of
close to 130,000 jobs, or 13 percent, from 2007.
(b) Health care industry experts project a growing demand for care
due to burgeoning population growth and an aging population.
Retirements by health care employees will place additional strain on
a system struggling to train the number of qualified individuals
necessary to meet the demands of the health care industry.
(c) Although one of the most publicized shortage areas has been
registered nurses, a wide variety of allied health care occupations
also face worker shortages.
(d) The California Community Colleges system currently trains
approximately 70 percent of registered nurses statewide, and the
system offers educational programs in a variety of allied health care
professions.
(e) Allied health care profession education programs are among the
most costly education programs offered by community colleges and
colleges have been forced by fiscal constraints to limit their
enrollment capacity.
(f) Currently, most associate degree nursing and allied health
care profession courses are offered over four semesters or two school
years, and require the completion of 70 units in program courses,
assuming that the student has met all of the prerequisite
requirements and is ready to start the program immediately.
(g) The goal of this bill is to pilot innovative program delivery
and curriculum models to enable students to earn their degrees and
enter the workforce as quickly as possible and expand the state's
capacity to train a qualified health care workforce without
compromising the integrity of program and licensure requirements.
(h) Successful program models would be a center of innovation and
a foundation for the newest educational technology and curricular
ideas.
SEC. 2. Article 3.7 (commencing with Section 78265) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 3.7. Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing and Allied
Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges
78265. (a) The Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing and Allied
Health Care Profession Education at the California Community Colleges
is hereby established under the administration of the Office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. The goal of the
pilot program shall be to facilitate the graduation of community
college nursing and allied health students by piloting innovative
models to expand the state's capacity to prepare a qualified health
care workforce.
(b) The chancellor's office shall establish the pilot program at
up to five campuses throughout the state.
(c) The pilot programs shall test innovative program delivery
models to expand the capacity of community colleges to offer health
care training to students in occupations for which there is a
substantial labor market demand. Pilot programs shall test health
care education models that use tools such as technology ,
flexible scheduling, and fees specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 78265.7 to sustain the expanded training
capacity. Pilot programs and flexible scheduling, and
shall coordinate student services and financial assistance to
the maximum extent possible in order to facilitate a student's
successful program completion.
(d) The chancellor's office shall pursue a variety of funding
sources to help support the development and delivery of the pilot
programs and create high-quality curriculum delivery models to be
used in health care certificate and degree programs. These funding
sources shall include, but not be limited to, federal grants,
philanthropic funds, employer monetary and in-kind contributions, and
state and federal workforce funds.
(e) The chancellor's office, contingent upon obtaining resources
to support the development and delivery of the pilot programs, shall
develop a request for application for community colleges to
participate in the pilot program commencing on or after the 2011-12
academic year. The chancellor's office shall develop the request for
application in collaboration with representatives from education,
labor, business, licensing and credentialing entities
licensing and credentialing entities, regional
occupational centers and programs, hospitals and nursing
organizations , and other appropriate entities. The chancellor'
s office shall specify the amount of baseline funding provided for
each pilot program based upon funding sources developed pursuant to
subdivision (d). Pilot programs shall be in certified
high-demand allied health care or nursing
programs.
(f) The chancellor's office shall select pilot programs that do
all of the following:
(1) Provide students with certificated training
an industry-recognized certificate or degree in health
care fields for which there is a demonstrated shortage of workers in
the labor market and documented support from employers.
(2) Demonstrate either limited capacity in the community college
for training specified health care workers, or the need to either
(2) Demonstrate a capacity to train
specified health care workers, or the ability to sustain or
expand current innovative health care education and training programs
, or both . Limited capacity may be demonstrated by
waiting lists to enter existing community college training
allied health care or nursing programs.
(3) Provide evidence of sufficient clinical sites for offering the
pilot program.
(4) Include high-quality curriculum delivery models as part of the
pilot program. Proposals utilizing online and distance
learning All courses shall meet the curriculum
standards approved by the appropriate state licensing entities that
oversee each health occupation , and shall not in any
way shorten the clinical units or hours as determined by the
appropriate state licensing entities that oversee each health
occupation. Curriculum already approved by the appropriate state
licensing entities that oversee each health occupation shall be
deemed to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph .
(5) Provide flexibility in the delivery of coursework by
providing , including, but not limited to,
intensive weekend, evening, and summer courses to enable students to
efficiently complete program requirements.
(6) Offer coordinated supportive services to students, including,
but not limited to, tutoring and financial advising.
(7) Demonstrate clear, nonduplicative articulated career
education pathways with local secondary and
higher postsecondary education
entities.
(8) Identify resources to support the pilot program, including,
but not limited to, funding provided by the chancellor's office
obtained from outside sources for the support of the pilot program,
student fees, student financial aid, local
workforce investment funding, and locally provided employer or
philanthropic resources.
(g) The chancellor's office shall select, to the extent possible,
pilot programs that are geographically distributed throughout the
state.
(h) In selecting the pilot programs, the chancellor's office may
give consideration to existing innovative programs currently underway
within the community college system that require additional
resources to move to scale.
78265.1. As used in this article the following definitions apply:
(a) "Chancellor's office" means the Office of the Chancellor of
the California Community Colleges.
(b) "Pilot program" means the Pilot Program for Innovative Nursing
and Allied Health Care Profession Education at the California
Community Colleges established by Section 78265.
78265.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the pilot
program attract and admit a diverse and talented pool of students
likely to succeed in an innovative program model setting.
(b) To effectuate the legislative intent expressed in subdivision
(a), both of the following shall occur:
(1) In selecting students for admission to the pilot program,
participating campuses may use a diagnostic assessment tool
identified by the chancellor's office pursuant to Section 78261. The
use of a diagnostic assessment tool by a participating campus shall
be part of a comprehensive program-based support system for students
who need skills enhancement prior to entering the program. When the
number of applicants for the pilot program exceeds the capacity to
admit students, a participating campus may administer the
multicriteria screening process established under Section 78261.5
when the use of this process is deemed feasible.
(2) Participating campuses shall provide support services to help
students complete the pilot program. These support services shall
include, but not necessarily be limited to, the presence of student
success advisers, tutors, mentors, appropriate financial assistance,
and aid in placing students who complete the program in appropriate
internships.
78265.3. (a) It is the
intent of the Legislature that the pilot program be funded with a
combination of state apportionment funding, student fees
employer-based partnerships , federal grants,
and private philanthropic resources.
(b) To effectuate the legislative intent expressed in subdivision
(a), both of the following shall occur:
(1) (A) Notwithstanding any other law, a campus participating in
the pilot program may collect supplemental fees from participating
students to support the program based upon a fee schedule approved by
the chancellor's office during the pilot program selection process.
Notwithstanding any other law, the supplemental student fees
collected in support of this pilot program shall not offset state
apportionment funding.
(B) A campus participating in the pilot program that elects to
collect supplemental fees shall make all reasonable efforts and
accommodations to ensure that state and federal financial aid is
available to eligible students who participate in the pilot program.
(C) A student who is on a program wait list may opt out of paying
the supplemental fee and shall not lose his or her place on the wait
list as a result of opting out of the supplemental fee.
(2) The chancellor's office shall make every feasible effort to
secure federal and private sector funding for the pilot program.
These funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall be used to
support implementation of the pilot program.
78265.4. The chancellor's office shall collect appropriate data
for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot program.
The chancellor's office shall analyze this data, and report
its contract with an external evaluator to conduct an
independent evaluation with findings and recommendations with
respect to the pilot program to be reported to the
Legislature on or before January 1, 2017.
78265.5. This article shall be implemented in any fiscal year
only to the extent that the chancellor's office determines that
sufficient moneys are available to administer the program.
78265.5. 78265.6. This article
shall become inoperative on July 1, 2017, and, as of January 1, 2018,
is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative
on or before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends the dates on which
it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
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