BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 173
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 2, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                      SB 173 (Liu) - As Amended:  June 12, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                             EducationVote:6-0
                       Higher Education                         11-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Community Colleges  
          Chancellor's Office (CCC Chancellor's Office) and the California  
          Department of Education (CDE) to coordinate and issue guidelines  
          and policy recommendations to the Legislature regarding adult  
          education in the areas of assessment, performance  
          accountability, teacher requirements, and fee policies.   
          Requires the CCC Chancellor's Office and CDE to annually report  
          on the number and types of adult education courses being taught,  
          including noncredit courses, and the number of students being  
          served.  Specifically, this bill:   

          1)Requires the CCC Chancellor's Office in conjunction with the  
            CDE, to coordinate and issue assessment policy guidelines for  
            purposes of placement in adult education courses, as  
            specified.

          2)Requires, as part of existing reporting requirements, the CCC  
            Chancellor's Office and the CDE to do the following:

             a)   Develop and issue policy recommendations regarding a  
               comprehensive accountability system for adult education  
               courses; 

             b)   Develop recommendations for all adult education funded  
               providers for assessment, evaluation, and data collection  
               to document participant outcomes and placement and other  
               measures they deem appropriate.  Specifies that  
               accountability measures may include receipt of a secondary  
               school diploma or its recognized equivalent, placement in a  
               postsecondary educational institution, training, and  








                                                                  SB 173
                                                                  Page  2

               employment.  Requires all funded programs to annually  
               submit demographic and other student-level outcome  
               information.

             c)   Provide fee policy recommendations and guidelines to be  
               used by school districts and community college districts.   
               Declares legislative intent that registration and course  
               fees be equivalent across all programs, that fees should  
               not generate income beyond the cost of providing the  
               courses, and that fees should not create a barrier to  
               student access to adult education programs.

             d)   Make recommendations and policy guidelines regarding the  
               use of a single student identifier to be used by school  
               districts and community college districts.

             e)   Annually report on the number and types of courses being  
               taught and the number of students being served with funding  
               provided to the regional consortia, and requires the CCC  
               Chancellor's Office to annually report on the number and  
               types of noncredit courses being taught and the number of  
               students being served with funding provided to the  
               community colleges for the courses offered.

          3)Requires the CCC Chancellor's Office to identify any deficits  
            in course offerings based upon levels, types, and needs for  
            adult education programs identified by the existing Adult  
            Education Consortia plans. 

          4)Requires, by July 1, 2015, the Commission on Teacher  
            Credentialing (CTC) and the Academic Senate for California  
            Community Colleges to meet to review their current  
            requirements for noncredit adult education and adult education  
            instructors, and develop and submit recommendations to the  
            appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature  
            for modifying or establishing reciprocity standards for  
            instructors of adult education courses. 

          5)Expresses the intent of the Legislature to evaluate the  
            guidelines for the accountability system established under  
            current law and to consider allocating base adult education  
            funds and noncredit adult education funds to providers on the  
            basis of a combination of identified needs, enrollment, and  
            outcomes for specified courses.









                                                                  SB 173
                                                                  Page  3

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Administrative costs to the CTC in the range of $150,000 to  
            $200,000 (special funds) to review, develop, and recommend  
            reciprocity standards for adult education instruction by July  
            1, 2015.  

          2)General Fund administrative costs to CCC Chancellor's Office  
            in the range of $80,000 to $100,000.  While many requirements  
            of this bill are one-time and an extension of ongoing AB 86  
            consortium work, some activities require additional resources.  
              For example, the CCC Chancellor's office indicates the  
            requirement to identify any deficits in course offerings based  
            upon levels, types, and needs for adult education programs  
            identified in the consortia plans could prove difficult to  
            assess and require additional resources.  

          3)General Fund administrative costs to CDE potentially in the  
            range of $150,000 to $350,000 to implement the reporting  
            requirements of the bill.  CDE did not receive additional  
            resources to implement the requirements of AB 86.  The  
            department dedicated two consultants on a part-time basis  
            (approximately $100,000) to AB 86 consortium work. This bill  
            adds new requirements related to assessments, accountability  
            and fee recommendations that will likely result in additional  
            staff time and resources.  

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . The two largest providers of adult education are  
            school districts and community colleges.  A 2012 report by the  
            Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) found that the two systems  
            have unclear lines of responsibility, an overly broad mission,  
            inconsistent state-level policies, lack of coordination among  
            providers, and limited student data, despite serving the same  
            student populations.  The report suggested the system was in  
            need of comprehensive restructuring.  

            In recognition of some of these system challenges, the 2013-14  
            education budget trailer bill (AB 86, Chapter 48, Statutes of  
            2013) required the CDE and the CCC Chancellor's Office to  
            jointly implement an adult education planning process. The  
            legislation appropriated $25 million to distribute to regional  
            consortia to develop plans with the shared goal of better  
            serving the educational needs of California's adult learners.  








                                                                 SB 173
                                                                  Page  4

           
            This bill enhances the reporting requirements of AB 86 to  
            provide guidelines and policy recommendations to the  
            Legislature regarding adult education in the areas of  
            assessment, performance accountability, teacher requirements,  
            and fee policies.

           2)Adult programs and AB 86 focus  .  California adult education  
            schools offer the following 10 programs:

             a)   Adult Basic Education
             b)   English as a Second Language
             c)   High School Diploma or Adult Secondary Education,  
               including GED certification
             d)   Citizenship Preparation 
             e)   Career Technical Education
             f)   Adults with Disabilities
             g)   Health and Safety
             h)   Parent Education
             i)   Home Economics
             j)   Courses for Older Adults
           
             AB 86 required the consortia to address the following five  
            types of programs: 

             a)   Elementary and secondary basic skills, including classes  
               required for a high school diploma
             b)   Classes and courses for immigrants in English as a  
               second language, citizenship, and workforce preparations 
             c)   Education programs for adults with disabilities
             d)   Short-term career technical education programs with high  
               employment potential
             e)   Programs for apprentices
           
             This bill extends the focus of AB 86 and does not address  
            other adult education courses, specifically: parenting, health  
            and safety, home economics and courses for older adults.    
            Nothing in this bill precludes adult education providers from  
            continuing to offer these courses.

            Staff recommends a clarifying amendment to Education Code  
            52524 (b) to reference only those five areas of study in  
            paragraphs (2) through (6) of section 84757, making the bill  
            consistent with the focus of the AB 86 consortium.  









                                                                  SB 173
                                                                  Page  5

           3)CTC reporting concerns  .  The CTC has indicated the reporting  
            deadline of July 1, 2015 does not allow for sufficient time to  
            meet, develop and report reciprocity standards for adult  
            education instruction.  Staff recommends the committee extend  
            the deadline to July 1, 2016, as recommended by the CTC.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081