Amended in Senate September 5, 2013

Amended in Senate September 3, 2013

Amended in Senate June 25, 2013

Amended in Senate June 19, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 16, 2013

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 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, 2018, authorize community college districts to establish and maintain extension programs meeting specified characteristics at specified community college campuses during summer and winter intersessions. The bill would require a community college district establishing an 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’s Office, by January 1, 2017, to submit to the Legislature a written report that includes specified information regarding the extension programs.

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.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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.

(4) 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.

(5) 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 eight
hundred million dollars ($800,000,000) since 2008, affecting
student access and completion.

(6) 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.

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

(8) 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.

(9) 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.

(10) 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.

(11) 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.

(12) 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 two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500)
in educational costs for eligible students.

(13) 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.

(14) 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.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that community college
districts with campuses participating in the voluntary pilot program
established pursuant to Section 2 of this act do both of the
following:

(1) Conduct a review of the data, by race, ethnicity, and gender,
of students enrolled in the pilot extension programs and compare
the data to data of students enrolled in the regular academic term
to determine if low-income or minority students are not being
served.

(2) Take affirmative steps, such as recruitment, financial
assistance, and other measures, to increase the participation of
low-income and minority students in the pilot program if the review
shows significant disparities.

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) For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:

(1) “Eligible community college campus” means one of the
following campuses:

(A) College of the Canyons.

(B) Crafton Hills College.

(C) Long Beach City College.

(D) Oxnard College.

(E) Pasadena City College.

(F) Solano Community College.

(2) “Eligible community college district” means a community
college district with an eligible community college campus.

(b) (1) The Office of the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges shall establish a voluntary pilot program
through which an eligible community college campus may establish
and maintain extension programs offering credit courses during
summer and winter intersessions. The governing board of an
eligible community college district may request to participate in
the pilot program.

(2) 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.

(c) 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) 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.

(d) (1) To participate in the pilot program, an eligible
community college district shall satisfy all of the following criteria:

(A) 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.

(B) 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.

(C) All courses offered for credit that receive state
apportionment funding shall meet basic skills, transfer, or
workforce development objectives.

(D) 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.

(E) The district shall prioritize enrollment in the extension
program courses as follows:

(i) First priority shall be given to current community college
students who are eligible for resident tuition.

(ii) Second priority shall be given to students who are eligible
for resident tuition.

(F) (i) 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.

(ii) This subparagraph 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.

(2) The Office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges, to the extent feasible, shall determine whether an eligible
community college district meets the criteria outlined in paragraph
(1) prior to its participation in the pilot program.

(e)  For a student who is not categorically exempt from
nonresident tuition, the community college district shall charge
all statutorily authorized fees applicable to nonresident students,
including, but not limited to, fees authorized pursuant to Section
76141 or 76142, for his or her enrollment in courses offered
pursuant to the pilot program.

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

(g)  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. An eligible 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 an eligible community
college district shall annually certify compliance with this
subdivision by board action taken at a regular session of the board.

(h)  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.

(i)  The governing board of an eligible 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.

(j)  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 (i) shall
be used by the district to provide financial assistance to these
students. In addition to the one-third of the revenues collected, a
participating district shall supplement financial assistance with
funds from campus foundations or any other nonstate funds.

(1) Each participating community college district shall develop
a plan for collecting and dispursing financial assistance provided
pursuant to this subdivision.

(2) Participating districts shall include a description of the
financial assistance plan in their annual reports to the Office of
the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges in accordance
with subdivision (n). Participating districts shall report, at a
minimum, all of the following:

(A) The number and percentage of participating students who
are receiving financial assistance.

(B) The criteria used for determining eligibility for, and
prioritizing awards of, financial assistance for students.

(C) Methods for communicating financial assistance information
to students.

(D) Total amount of financial aid disbursed and the sources of
the aid.

(E) Information on the proportion of students whose extension
program fees are subsidized with financial assistance, the
percentage of total fees that is paid by financial assistance for
individual students, with this information aggregated in ways that
assist in evaluating the consequence and equity of the financial
assistance program, and the sources of the financial assistance.

(k)  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.

(l) (1) Each eligible community college district participating
in the pilot program shall 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.

(B) Submit a schedule of fees established pursuant to subdivision
(i) 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’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.

(B) The report shall include all of the following:

(i) Summary statistics relating to course offerings, student
enrollment, including demographic data on the students enrolled
in courses, if available, 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.

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

(n) (1) No later than begin delete June 30, end delete begin insert March 31, end insert 2014, the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges shall adopt
reporting requirements for the pilot program that conform with
the requirements of Article 2 (commencing with Section 84030)
of Chapter 1 of Part 50, and the information reported shall be
included in the annual audit process.

(2) An eligible community college district that fails to comply
with the requirements established by the Board of Governors of
the California Community Colleges for the pilot program begin insert pursuant
to paragraph (1) end insert or no longer meets the criteria set forth in
subdivision (d) shall be ineligible for participation in the pilot
program.

78231.  

This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.