BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 950
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 950 (Chau) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Community colleges: full-time instructors.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a full-time faculty member of the
California Community College (CCC) district from being assigned
a workload with an overload or extra assignments exceeding 50%
of the full-time semester or quarter workload. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Prohibits a full-time faculty member of the CCC, as defined,
from being assigned a workload that includes overload or extra
assignments if the overload or extra assignments exceed 50% of
a full-time workload in a semester or a quarter that commences
on or after January 1, 2014.
2)Specifies the prohibition shall not supersede a collective
bargaining agreement containing restrictions regarding
overload that are more stringent.
3)Specifies the overload prohibition shall not apply to summer
or intersession terms.
4)Stipulates that CCC districts with collective bargaining
agreements that contain 50% overload limits would be subject
to this bill beginning January 1, 2015.
5)Specifies that the overload prohibition applies to the
workload of supervisory or managerial personnel of a CCC
district who are performing faculty work allowed under a
collective bargaining agreement.
6)Requires districts to be reimbursed for costs if the
Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "faculty" as those employees of a CCC district who are
employed in academic positions that are not designated as
AB 950
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supervisory or management, as specified. Faculty include, but
are not limited to, instructors, librarians, counselors,
community college health services professionals, handicapped
student programs and services professionals, and extended
opportunity programs and services professionals (Education
Code [EC] � 87003).
2)Defines any person who is employed to teach for not more than
67% of the hours per week considered a full-time assignment to
be a temporary (part-time) employee. (EC � 87482.5 and �
87882).
3)Requires the CCC Board of Governors (BOG) to adopt regulations
regarding the percent of credit instruction taught by
full-time faculty and authorizes CCC districts with less than
75% full-time instructors to apply a portion of their "program
improvement" funds toward reaching the 75% goal (commonly
referred to as "75/25") (EC � 87482.6).
The state has stopped providing program improvement funds and
the BOG has since required CCC districts to provide a portion of
their growth funds to hiring more full-time faculty.
FISCAL EFFECT : In an analysis of an identical bill last year,
the Senate Appropriations Committee determined that this measure
imposes a new reimbursable mandate on CCC districts. The fiscal
impact of this bill will vary by CCC districts; some will likely
experience additional costs, others will experience savings, and
still others will have no change because they have local
policies in place which comply with this bill's requirements.
The CCC districts that experience increased administrative
workload and/or salary costs will likely qualify for state
mandate reimbursement.
COMMENTS : Background . The term "overload assignments" refers
to the practice of full-time faculty electing to teach
additional courses (with additional pay) beyond their normal
full-time teaching load. While policies regarding overload
assignments can vary significantly among the CCCs and
departments, they are generally designed to ensure that the
primary responsibilities of faculty are not compromised by the
overload assignments. Some colleges require individual
assignments to be approved by department deans while others have
negotiated district-wide caps that range from one course to 67%
of a full-time load. According to the CCC Chancellor's Office,
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a recent survey revealed that 13 of 44 responding colleges
indicated that they have a policy or bargaining unit allowing
full-time faculty to have more than a 50% overload. According
to the Chancellor's Office, for the Fall 2011 semester, of the
14,489 tenured or tenured track faculty teaching CCC classes,
only 172 (1.2%) had an overload exceeding 50%. (The Los Angeles
Community College District, which encompasses about 8% of
statewide CCC enrollment, is not yet included in this data).
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, AB 950 will
improve conditions for both faculty members and students by
placing a reasonable workload cap for full-time CCC faculty.
The author contends that this measure provides an opportunity to
both improve the quality of education and address a barrier to
full-time faculty positions at the CCC.
Unclear policy rationale . This bill establishes a statewide cap
on the overload assignments a full-time faculty member may
teach. Given that most full-time faculty appear not to be
teaching overload assignments that exceed the 50% of their
full-time workload and given that some districts and faculty
have negotiated overload caps that meet local needs, it is not
clear if the remedy this bill prescribes is necessary. While
prohibiting excessive overload assignments may make it easier
for part-time faculty to continue teaching, the bill could
reduce the flexibility of districts to meet local needs. Very
small districts or those that offer unique programs where the
number of experts available to teach may be limited, could find
it particularly challenging to comply with the requirements of
AB 950.
Related legislation . AB 1826 (Roger Hern�ndez, 2012) virtually
identical to this measure, was held on the Suspense File in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 383 (Portantino, 2011),
proposed a one-time stipend to a CCC district entering into a
collective bargaining agreement prohibiting more than a 50%
overload. This measure failed passage in the Assembly Higher
Education Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers (Sponsor)
AB 950
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960