BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    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:
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          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.


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             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.

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          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  

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          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  

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               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

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