BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 173| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 173 Author: Liu (D) Amended: 5/28/13 Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/17/13 AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Monning SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg SUBJECT : Adult education SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill reduces the categories of adult education courses authorized to be offered by K-12 districts and the California community colleges (CCCs) in order to receive state funding and establishes processes and new authorities to align student assessment policy, performance data and accountability systems, teacher qualifications, and fee policy for adult education courses offered by either the CCC or K-12 local educational agencies. This bill also declares the Legislature's intent that adult education funding is allocated on the basis of enrollment and performance beginning in 2015-16. ANALYSIS : Existing law: CONTINUED SB 173 Page 2 1.Authorizes both the CCCs and K-12 systems to offer and receive state funding for adult education courses. 2.Prohibits the local governing board of a community college district (CCD) maintaining a noncredit course from requiring an adult enrolled in such a course to pay nonresident tuition or any fee or charge of any kind for a class in English and citizenship for foreigners, a class in an elementary subject, a class designated as granting high school credit to an individual without a high school diploma or other adult basic education programs and courses, as specified. 3.Authorizes a school district governing board to require a fee of an adult enrolled in a class for adults and prohibits the total of the fees required and revenues derived from average daily attendance from exceeding the estimated cost of maintaining such classes. Also prohibits the imposition of a charge of any kind for a class in English and citizenship or a class in an elementary subject, nor for any class which is designated as granting high school credit when the class is taken by a person who does not hold a high school diploma. However, current law temporarily grants the authority to districts to charge a fee for a class in English and citizenship until July 1, 2015. 4.Prohibits the CCCs from requiring an adult enrolled in a noncredit course to pay nonresident tuition or any fee or charge of any kind for a class in English and citizenship for foreigners, a class in an elementary subject, a class designated by the governing board as a class for which high school credit is granted when the class is taken by a person who does not hold a high school diploma, or any class offered by a CCD, as specified. This bill: 1.Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) and the CCC Chancellor's Office to: A. Coordinate and issue assessment policy guidelines to be used by the CCC and K-12 districts for purposes of placement in an adult education course. CONTINUED SB 173 Page 3 B. Jointly establish and implement a comprehensive performance accountability system for adult education courses, as specified. 1.Reduces the categories of adult education courses for which state funding may be claimed in both the K-12 system and the community college system from 10 to six. More specifically, it: A. Deletes the authority to claim adult education funding for adult programs in parenting, adult programs for older adults, and adult programs in home economics and adult programs in health and safety education. B. Maintains six categories of state-supported adult education (K-12) and non-credit adult education courses at the community college including, elementary and secondary basic skills and other courses required for a high school diploma, English as a second language classes and courses for immigrants eligible for educational services, as specified, education programs for adults with disabilities, short-term career technical education programs with high employment potential, and programs for apprentices. 1.Authorizes the governing board of a CCD to charge a fee for adult education courses, pursuant to regulations adopted by the Board of Governors. A. Requires a CCD that chooses to charge a fee for adult education courses to report information on the amount of the fee, the number of classes, and enrollment in those classes to the Chancellor's Office for purposes of providing the information to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO). B. Requires the LAO to provide a summary and analysis of the reported information to the appropriate legislative fiscal and policy committees by January 1, 2016. 1.Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Academic Senate for the CCCs to meet and review their current requirements for adult education instructors and to develop and make recommendations on reciprocity standards to specified legislative policy and fiscal committees by July 1, 2014. CONTINUED SB 173 Page 4 2.Declares the Legislature's intent that beginning in 2015-16 base adult education funds and noncredit adult education funds be allocated to providers on the basis of a combination of enrollment and performance in statutorily authorized adult education courses. Comments According to Senate Education Committee, the LAO, in its December 2012 report, Restructuring California's Adult Education System, identified several weaknesses with the current adult education system, a bifurcated system in which both K-12 and CCCs offer courses subject to distinctly different policies. Similar findings were identified in a series of reports prepared by the California Budget Project (At a Crossroads series publications, April 2010 - May 2011). LAO recommendations to address these weaknesses included the creation of: 1.A state-subsidized system focused on adult education's core mission. 2.Common, statewide definitions that clearly differentiate between adult education and college education. 3.A common set of policies relating to faculty qualifications, fees, and student assessment. 4.A dedicated stream of funding that fosters cooperation between adult schools and community colleges. 5.An integrated data system that tracks student outcomes and helps the public hold providers accountable for results. This bill begins the implementation of programmatic changes necessary to better align the bifurcated system of delivering adult education and non-credit adult education courses, and to begin a shift towards a more rational and coordinated funding approach for K-12 adult education and CCC noncredit adult education programs in California. Related budget activity . The Governor's 2013-14 Budget proposes CONTINUED SB 173 Page 5 a number of changes to adult education in California beginning in 2013-14. These changes include elements that: 1.Eliminate the K-12 adult education categorical program and consolidate all associated annual funding into a new K-12 "local control funding formula." 2.Appropriate $300 million in new Proposition 98 General Fund to reconstitute the adult education program within the community college system beginning in 2013-14 (the Governor's proposal currently restricts community college apportionments to "credit" instruction). 3.Shift $15.7 million from a K-12 apprenticeship program to a new community college program. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, provisions of this bill create new costs and new savings for the state. The realization of savings in certain provisions does not depend upon incurring the costs in other provisions of this bill. Prohibit apportionment for certain course types: Annual state savings in excess of $26 million. Local cost pressure on CCCs to continue to offer the courses. Coordinate and issue assessment policy guidelines: Potentially significant up-front costs and ongoing workload for the CCC Chancellor's Office and CDE to meet the coordination and reporting requirements. Implement comprehensive accountability system: Potentially substantial costs to implement the new system and monitor compliance and progress. The CCC currently collects adult education data for a portion of the programs through a $1 million contract. This bill expands those costs, to an extent to be determined by the accountability system that the CDE and CCC Chancellor's office jointly develop. Reciprocity standards: Significant costs, likely in the CONTINUED SB 173 Page 6 low hundreds of thousands, for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the Academic Senate for CCCs to jointly develop and submit recommendations for modifying or establishing reciprocity standards for instructors of adult education. Fee authority: Potentially significant revenue for CCDs that choose to charge allowable fees. SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13) Association of California School Administrators OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/28/13) Association of California Community Colleges California Federation of Teachers Faculty Association of California Community Colleges PQ:ej 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED