BILL NUMBER: AB 955 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 2, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add and repeal Article 2.3 (commencing with Section
78230) of 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, until January 1, 2020, authorize the
governing board of Office of the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges to establish a voluntary pilot program
for purposes of authorizing 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
authorize 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
apply for selection to participate in the pilot
program. The bill would require the chancellor to select no more than
15 campuses that satisfy specified requirements for participating in
the pilot program . The bill would require a community college
district that establishes and maintains the extension
participating in the pilot 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 Analyst's Office
, 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 specified information
regarding the pilot program .
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that at least
one campus of the California Community Colleges should begin
implementation of the pilot program by January 2014 and that an
additional 5 campuses should implement the pilot program by July 1,
2014.
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 associate 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) (1) The governing board
of a Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges shall establish a voluntary pilot program for the
purposes of authorizing community college district
may, without the approval of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges, districts to establish and
maintain an extension program
programs offering credit courses during summer and winter
intersessions. The governing board of a community college
district may apply to be selected to participate in the pilot
program. The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall
select no more than 15 campuses out of 15 separate community college
districts to participate in the pilot program from the districts that
apply to be selected. In selecting the campuses for the pilot
program, the chancellor shall consider all of the f
ollowing:
(A) Geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic diversity.
(B) Labor market demand.
(C) The community college district's program and planning
capacity.
(2) In selecting campuses for participation, the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges shall extend priority to campuses to
ensure the participation of the following:
(A) A campus with at least 50 percent of students currently
utilizing the fee wavier of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges.
(B) A campus with a successful core career technology education
program.
(C) A campus that serves communities where the unemployment rate
is higher than the statewide average.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that at least one
participating campus should begin implementation of the pilot program
by January 2014, and that an additional five campuses should
implement the pilot program by July 1, 2014.
(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 in the pilot
program shall not be reported for state apportionment funding, but
program enrollment shall be open to the public pursuant to
Section 51006 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations
.
(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) To be eligible for selection to participate in the pilot
program, an applicant community college district shall satisfy all of
the following criteria:
(c) A community college district offering extension courses under
a program established and maintained under this section
(1) The district 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.
(2) The district shall not have received a stability adjustment to
state apportionment funding pursuant to Section 58776 of Title 5 of
the California Code of Regulations in the prior two years.
(3) All courses offered for credit that receive state
apportionment funding shall meet basic skills, transfer, or workforce
development objectives.
(4) The district shall prioritize enrollment of students in
courses offered that receive state apportionment funding in
conformance with the legal authority of the governing board of the
community college district, Section 66025.8 of this code, and Section
58108 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, by promoting
policies that prioritize enrollment in courses that receive state
apportionment funding of students who are fully matriculated, as
defined in Section 78212, and making satisfactory progress toward a
basic skills, transfer, or workforce development goal.
(5) The district shall prioritize enrollment of students who are
eligible for resident tuition.
(6) (A) The district shall limit the enrollment of students funded
by the state in activity courses, as defined in Section 55041 of
Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. An applicant district
shall not claim state apportionment funding for students who repeat
either credit courses or noncredit physical education, or visual or
performance arts courses that are part of the same sequence of
courses, unless the student is doing so to meet degree or other local
community college district requirements and is in compliance with
Section 55041 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.
(B) This paragraph does not apply to disabled students taking
adaptive activity courses, students participating in intercollegiate
athletics, or students with an approved educational plan majoring in
physical education or the performing arts.
(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 and shall not be offered at
times or in locations that supplant or limit the offering of programs
that receive state funding or in conjunction with courses that
receive state apportionment funding . 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 , including the administrative costs
incurred by the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges in providing oversight of the pilot program .
(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.
(i) 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. In
addition, the district shall adopt enrollment priority and student
support policies ensuring that students who are eligible for state
financial aid are not disproportionately shifted from courses that
receive state apportionment funding to courses offered under the
pilot program.
(j) (1) A Each community college
district maintaining an extension program offering credit
courses under this section participating in the pilot
program shall collect do both of the
following:
(A) Collect and keep records that
measure student participation, student demographics, and student
outcomes in a manner consistent with records 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.
(B) Submit a schedule of fees established pursuant to subdivision
(g) to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges by August
1 of each year.
(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) (A) 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. Analyst'
s Office shall, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code,
provide to the Legislature a written report that evaluates the pilot
program established by this article, drawing upon campus reports,
campus visits, interviews with faculty, students, and administrators,
and other sources the Legislative Analyst's Office deems relevant.
(B) The report shall include all of the following:
(i) Summary statistics relating to course offerings, student
enrollment, financing, student use of financial aid, funding, and
course completion rates for the pilot program.
(ii) A determination of the extent to which the pilot program
complies with statutory requirements and the extent to which the
pilot program results in expanded access for students.
(iii) An assessment of the effect of the pilot program on the
availability of, and enrollment in, courses that receive state
apportionment funding, with particular attention to the demographic
makeup and financial aid status of students enrolled in those
courses.
(iv) Recommendations as to whether the pilot program should be
extended, expanded, or modified. In making recommendations, the
Legislative Analyst's Office shall consider alternative approaches
that might achieve the goal of expanded access without increasing
state funding.
(k) Courses offered by the extension program established and
maintained under this section may only be offered during summer and
winter intersessions.
(l) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall
review pilot programs monitor compliance with the requirements of
this article, and may rescind the authority to participate in the
pilot program if the chancellor determines that a participating
campus or community college district is out of compliance with this
article.
78231. This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.