Amended in Assembly April 22, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 2, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 955

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 22, 2013

An act to add Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 78230) to Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 955, as amended, Williams. Community colleges: intersession extension programs.

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. Under existing law, community college districts are established throughout the state and authorized to maintain campuses and provide instruction to students.

This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district, meeting specified requirements, to establish and maintain, without the approval of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, an extension program meeting specified characteristics during summer and winter intersessions. The bill would prohibit the governing board of a community college district to expend moneys from the General Fund to establish and maintain the extension program. The bill would require a community college district maintaining the extension program to make every effort to encourage broad participation in the program and support access for students eligible for Board of Governors fee waivers. The bill would require a community college district that establishes and maintains the extension program to collect and keep specified records related to the program and to submit, by October 1 of each year, to the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges information contained in those records. The bill would require the chancellor, by November 1 of each year, to submit to the Legislative Analyst’s Office the information submitted by the community college districts. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst, by January 1, 2017, to submit to the Legislature a written report that includes a summary of the information provided, an assessment of the operation of the extension programs, and suggestions for improvements.

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) California’s economy increasingly demands highly educated
workers, yet the supply of college graduates will not keep up with
demand. In 2010, President Obama recognized this crisis by calling
on the nation’s community colleges to produce an additional five
million graduates by 2020.

(b) The Public Policy Institute of California has warned that by
2025, California will need an additional one million workers with
a baccalaureate degree to meet the state’s workforce needs.

(c) The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that
occupations that require an associated degree will grow by 19
percent through 2018, and persons with two-year degrees are 30
percent more likely to be employed and earn higher wages than
those with only high school diplomas.

(d) The California Community Colleges are uniquely positioned
to provide a higher education for millions of Californians and are
critical to the state’s ability to meet its workforce needs.

(e) The California Community Colleges are experiencing record
demand for access to classes and programs that provide students
with the skills and education they need to enter the workforce and
prepare for the jobs of the future. However, funding for the
California Community Colleges has been cut by more than $800
million since 2008, affecting student access and completion.

(f) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, these
budget cuts have resulted in almost 100,000 fewer course offerings,
the loss of access for 600,000 students, course waiting lists for
500,000 students, and the reduction of summer intersession course
offerings, which may slow the completion rates for some students,
as well as reduce the earnings for some faculty and staff.

(g) The lack of community college course offerings has led
many students to enroll in for-profit institutions, which are more
expensive than community colleges.

(h) The lack of courses during summer intersessions has had a
serious impact on veterans who must be enrolled in courses to
access housing benefits to which they are entitled through the
Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Public
Law 110-252), otherwise known as Post-9/11 GI Bill.

(i) Reduced access to summer intersessions also affects students
who wish to make progress toward their goals during the summer,
particularly those students who need only a course or two to
complete their goals but have been crowded out of those courses
during the regular academic session.

(j) Extension of programs in summer and winter intersessions
will give students an opportunity to take the courses they are not
able to enroll in during the state-supported regular session to
accelerate the completion of their goals, whether transfer, degree,
or certificate.

(k) By providing additional opportunities for students to
complete high-demand courses, spaces should be freed up in the
state-supported courses offered during the regular session,
increasing all students’ ability to complete their education in a
timely manner.

(l) Participating community college districts should make every
effort to ensure the ability of low-income students to enroll in
extension courses by facilitating their participation in financial aid
programs and accessing the American Opportunity Tax Credit,
which refunds up to $2,500 in educational costs for eligible
students.

(m) Extension programs should be subject to community college
district collective bargaining agreements, as well as all state laws
and regulations governing courses offered for credit.

(n) To meet the needs of Californians and California’s economy,
we should recognize that the California Community Colleges are
uniquely able to offer high-quality programs at the lowest cost
possible to all Californians, and that the California Community
Colleges should be given the flexibility to meet California’s
educational needs in the face of significant budget reductions.

SEC. 2.  

Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 78230) is added
to Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education
Code, to read:

 

Article 2.3.  Intersession Extension Programs

 

78230.  

(a) The governing board of a community college district
may, without the approval of the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges, establish and maintain an
extension program offering credit courses during summer and
winter intersessions.

(b) An extension program established pursuant to this section
shall have all of following characteristics:

(1) The program shall be self-supporting and all costs associated
with the program shall be recovered.

(2) Program enrollment shall be open to the public.

(3) The program shall be developed in conformance with this
code and Division 6 (commencing with Section 50001) of Title 5
of the California Code of Regulations related to community college
credit courses.

(4) The program shall be subject to community college district
collective bargaining agreements.

(5) The program shall apply to all courses leading to certificates,
degrees, or transfer preparation.

(c) A community college district offering extension courses
under a program established and maintained under this section
shall have served a number of students equal to, or beyond, its
funding limit for the two immediately prior academic years, as
provided in the annual Budget Act and as reported by the Office
of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

(d) The governing board of a community college district shall
not expend General Fund moneys to establish and maintain the
extension program.

(e) An extension credit course shall not supplant any course
funded with state apportionments. A community college district
shall not reduce a state-funded course section needed by students
to achieve basic skills, workforce training, or transfer goals, with
the intent of reestablishing those course sections as part of the
extension program. The governing board of a community college
district shall annually certify compliance with this subdivision by
board action taken at a regular session of the board.

(f) A degree credit course offered as an extension course shall
meet all of the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 55002
of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, as it exists on
January 1, 2013.

(g) The governing board of a community college district may
charge students enrolled in an extension course a fee that covers
the actual cost of the course and that is based upon the district’s
nonresident fee rate for the year the course is offered. For purposes
of this subdivision, “actual cost” includes the actual cost of
instruction, necessary equipment and supplies, student services
and institutional support, and other costs of the community college
district used in calculating the costs of education for nonresident
students.

begin insert

(h) In order to assist in providing access to extension courses
for students eligible for the Board of Governors fee waiver,
one-third of the revenue collected pursuant to subdivision (g) shall
be used by the district to provide financial assistance to these
students.

end insert begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert i) end insert  A community college district maintaining an extension
program under this section shall make every effort to encourage
broad participation in the program and support access for students
eligible for Board of Governors fee waivers, including, but not
limited to, providing students with information about financial aid
programs, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, military benefits,
scholarships, and other financial assistance that may be available
to students, as well as working with campus foundations to provide
financial assistance for students attending extension programs.

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert j) end insert  (1) A community college district maintaining an extension
program offering credit courses under this section shall collect and
keep records that measure student participation, student
demographics, and student outcomes in a manner consistent with
measures collected by community college districts in regular credit
programs supported through state apportionments, including an
analysis of program effects, if any, on district workload and district
financial status. A community college district shall submit this
information to the Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges by October 1 of each year. For community
college districts operating more than one college, the evaluation
shall be for each participating college.

(2) The chancellor shall submit all of the information provided
by community college districts pursuant to paragraph (1) to the
Legislative Analyst’s Office by November 1 of each year.

(3) No later than January 1, 2017, the Legislative Analyst shall
submit to the Legislature a written report that includes a summary
of the information provided pursuant to this paragraph, an
assessment of the extent to which community college extension
programs are operated in a manner consistent with legislative
intent, and suggestions to the Legislature for needed statutory
improvements.

begin delete

(j)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert k) end insert  Courses offered by the extension program established and
maintained under this section may only be offered during summer
and winter intersessions.