Amended in Senate September 1, 2015

Amended in Senate July 13, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 23, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 288

Introduced by Assembly Members Holden and Olsen

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Chávez, McCarty, Santiago, and Ting)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo and Weber)

February 11, 2015

An act to add and repeal Section 76004 to the Education Code, relating to public schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 288, as amended, Holden. Public schools: College and Career Access Pathways partnerships.

Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to allow pupils whom the district has determined would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work to attend community college as special part-time or full-time students, subject to parental permission. Existing law requires credit to be awarded to these pupils, as specified, authorizes a school principal to recommend a pupil for community college summer session if the pupil meets specified criteria, and prohibits the principal from recommending more than 5% of the total number of pupils from any particular grade level who completed that grade immediately before the time of recommendation for summer session attendance.

This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways partnership with the governing board of a school district with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. The bill would require the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified, and to establish protocols for information sharing, joint facilities use, and parental consent for high school pupils to enroll in community college courses.

The bill would authorize specified high school pupils to enroll in up to 15 units per term if those units are required for these pupils’ partnership programs and specified conditions are satisfied, and would authorize a community college district to exempt special part-time and full-time students taking up to a maximum of 15 units per term from specified fee requirements. The bill would prohibit a district from receiving a state allowance or apportionment for an instructional activity for which the partnering district has been, or will be, paid an allowance or apportionment under a concurrent enrollment partnership agreement. The bill would require, for each partnership agreement entered into under the bill, the affected community college district and school district to provide an annual report, containing specified data, to the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. The bill would require the chancellor to prepare a summary report, no later than January 1, 2021, that includes an evaluation of the partnerships, as specified. The bill’s provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2022.

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) Research has shown that dual enrollment can be an effective
means of improving the educational outcomes for a broad range
of students.

(b) Dual enrollment has historically targeted high-achieving
students; however, increasingly, educators and policymakers are
looking toward dual enrollment as a strategy to help students who
struggle academically or who are at risk of dropping out.

(c) Allowing a greater and more varied segment of high school
pupils to take community college courses could provide numerous
benefits to both the pupils and the state, such as reducing the
number of high school dropouts, increasing the number of
community college students who transfer and complete a degree,
shortening the time to completion of educational goals, and
improving the level of preparation of students to successfully
complete for-credit, college-level courses.

(d) California should rethink its policies governing dual
enrollment, and establish a policy framework under which school
districts and community college districts could create dual
enrollment partnerships as one strategy to provide critical support
for underachieving students, those from groups underrepresented
in postsecondary education, those who are seeking advanced
studies while in high school, and those seeking a career technical
education credential or certificate.

(e) Through dual enrollment partnerships, school districts and
community college districts could create clear pathways of aligned,
sequenced coursework that would allow students to more easily
and successfully transition to for-credit, college-level coursework
leading to an associate degree, transfer to the University of
California or the California State University, or to a program
leading to a career technical education credential or certificate.

(f) To facilitate the establishment of dual enrollment
partnerships, the state should remove fiscal penalties and policy
barriers that discourage dual enrollment opportunities. By reducing
some of these restrictions, it will be possible to expand dual
enrollment opportunities, thereby saving both students and the
state valuable time, money, and scarce educational resources.

SEC. 2.  

Section 76004 is added to the Education Code, to read:

76004.  

Notwithstanding Section 76001 or any other law:

(a) The governing board of a community college district may
enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP)
partnership with the governing board of a school district for the
purpose of offering or expanding dual enrollment opportunities
for students who may not already be college bound or who are
underrepresented in higher education, with the goal of developing
seamless pathways from high school to community college for
career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving
high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve
college and career readiness.

(b) A participating community college district may enter into a
CCAP partnership with a school district partner that is governed
by a CCAP partnership agreement approved by the governing
boards of both districts. As a condition of, and before adopting, a
CCAP partnership agreement, the governing board of each district,
at an open public meeting of that board, shall present the dual
enrollment partnership agreement as an informational item. The
governing board of each district, at a subsequent open public
meeting of that board, shall take comments from the public and
approve or disapprove the proposed agreement.

(c) (1) The CCAP partnership agreement shall outline the terms
of the CCAP partnership and shall include, but not necessarily be
limited to, the total number of high school students to be served
and the total number of full-time equivalent students projected to
be claimed by the community college district for those students;
the scope, nature, time, location, and listing of community college
courses to be offered; and criteria to assess the ability of pupils to
benefit from those courses. The CCAP partnership agreement shall
also establish protocols for information sharing, in compliance
with all applicable state and federal privacy laws, joint facilities
use, and parental consent for high school pupils to enroll in
community college courses.

(2) The CCAP partnership agreement shall identify a point of
contact for the participating community college district and school
district partner.

(3) A copy of the CCAP partnership agreement shall be filed
with the office of the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges and with the department before the start of the CCAP
partnership. The chancellor may void any CCAP partnership
agreement it determines has not complied with the intent of the
requirements of this section.

(d) A community college district participating in a CCAP
partnership shall not provide physical education course
opportunities to high school pupils pursuant to this section or any
other course opportunities that do not assist in the attainment of
at least one of the goals listed in subdivision (a).

(e) A community college district shall not enter into a CCAP
partnership with a school district within the service area of another
community college district, except where an agreement exists, or
is established, between those community college districts
authorizing that CCAP partnership.

(f) A high school pupil enrolled in a course offered through a
CCAP partnership shall not be assessed any fee that is prohibited
by Section 49011.

(g) A community college district participating in a CCAP
partnership may assign priority for enrollment and course
registration to a pupil seeking to enroll in a community college
course that is required for the pupil’s CCAP partnership program
that is equivalent to the priority assigned to a pupil attending a
middle college high school as described in Section 11300 and
consistent with middle college high school provisions in Section
76001.

(h) The CCAP partnership agreement shall certify that any
community college instructor teaching a course on a high school
campus has not been convicted of any sex offense as defined in
Section 87010, or any controlled substance offense as defined in
Section 87011.

(i) The CCAP partnership agreement shall certify that any
community college instructor teaching a course at the partnering
high school campus has not displaced or resulted in the termination
of an existing high school teacher teaching the same course on that
high school campus.

(j) The CCAP partnership agreement shall certify that a qualified
high school teacher teaching a course offered for college credit at
a high school campus has not displaced or resulted in the
termination of an existing community college faculty member
teaching the same course at the partnering community college
campus.

(k) The CCAP partnership agreement shall include a certification
by the participating community college district of begin delete both end delete begin insert all end insert of the
following:

(1) A community college course offered for college credit at
the partnering high school campus does not reduce access to the
same course offered at the partnering community college campus.

begin insert

(2) A community college course that is oversubscribed or has
a waiting list shall not be offered in the CCAP partnership.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Participation in a CCAP partnership is consistent with the
core mission of the community colleges pursuant to Section
66010.4, and that pupils participating in a CCAP partnership will
not lead to enrollment displacement of otherwise eligible adults
in the community college.

(l) The CCAP partnership agreement shall certify that both the
school district and community college district partners comply
with local collective bargaining agreements and all state and federal
reporting requirements regarding the qualifications of the teacher
or faculty member teaching a CCAP partnership course offered
for high school credit.

(m) The CCAP partnership agreement shall specify both of the
following:

(1) Which participating district will be the employer of record
for purposes of assignment monitoring and reporting to the county
office of education.

(2) Which participating district will assume reporting
responsibilities pursuant to applicable federal teacher quality
mandates.

(n) The CCAP partnership agreement shall certify that any
remedial course taught by community college faculty at a
partnering high school campus shall be offered only to high school
students who test as nonproficient in math, English, or both on a
formative assessment in grade 10 or 11, as determined by the
partnering school district, and shall involve a collaborative effort
between high school and community college faculty to deliver an
innovative remediation course as an intervention in the student’s
junior or senior year to ensure the student is prepared for
college-level work upon graduation.

(o) (1) A community college district may limit enrollment in
a community college course solely to eligible high school students
if the course is offered at a high school campus during the regular
school day and the community college course is offered pursuant
to a CCAP partnership agreement.

(2) For purposes of allowances and apportionments from Section
B of the State School Fund, a community college district
conducting a closed course on a high school campus pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (p) shall be credited with those units
of full-time equivalent students attributable to the attendance of
eligible high school pupils.

(p) A community college district may allow a special part-time
student participating in a CCAP partnership agreement established
pursuant to this article to enroll in up to a maximum of 15 units
per term if all of the following circumstances are satisfied:

(1) The units constitute no more than four community college
courses per term.

(2) The units are part of an academic program that is part of a
CCAP partnership agreement established pursuant to this article.

(3) The units are part of an academic program that is designed
to award students both a high school diploma and an begin delete associate’s end delete
begin insert associate end insert degree.

(q) The governing board of a community college district
participating in a CCAP partnership agreement established pursuant
to this article shall exempt special part-time students described in
subdivision (p) from the fee requirements in Sections 76060.5,
76140, 76223, 76300, 76350, and 79121.

(r) A district shall not receive a state allowance or apportionment
for an instructional activity for which the partnering district has
been, or shall be, paid an allowance or apportionment.

(s) The attendance of a high school pupil at a community college
as a special part-time or full-time student pursuant to this section
is authorized attendance for which the community college shall
be credited or reimbursed pursuant to Section 48802 or 76002,
provided that no school district has received reimbursement for
the same instructional activity.

(t) (1) For each CCAP partnership agreement entered into
pursuant to this section, the affected community college district
and school district shall report annually to the office of the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges all of the
following information:

(A) The total number of high school pupils by schoolsite
enrolled in each CCAP partnership, aggregated by gender and
ethnicity, and reported in compliance with all applicable state and
federal privacy laws.

(B) The total number of community college courses by course
category and type and by begin delete school site end delete begin insert schoolsite end insert enrolled in by
CCAP partnership participants.

(C) The total number and percentage of successful course
completions, by course category and type and by schoolsite, of
CCAP partnership participants.

(D) The total number of full-time equivalent students generated
by CCAP partnership community college district participants.

(2) On or before January 1, 2021, the chancellor shall prepare
a summary report that includes an evaluation of the CCAP
partnerships, an assessment of trends in the growth of special
admits systemwide and by campus, and, based upon the data
collected pursuant to this section, recommendations for program
improvements, including, but not necessarily limited to, both of
the following:

(A) Any recommended changes to the statewide cap on special
admit full-time equivalent students to ensure that adults are not
being displaced.

(B) Any recommendation concerning the need for additional
student assistance or academic resources to ensure the overall
success of the CCAP partnerships.

(3) The chancellor shall ensure that the number of full-time
equivalent students generated by CCAP partnerships is reported
pursuant to the reporting requirements in Section 76002.

(u) The annual report required by subdivision (t) shall also be
transmitted to all of the following:

(1) The Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the
Government Code.

(2) The Director of Finance.

(3) The Superintendent.

(v) A community college district that violates this article,
including, but not necessarily limited to, any restriction imposed
by the board of governors pursuant to this article, shall be subject
to the same penalty as may be imposed pursuant to subdivision
(d) of Section 78032.

(w) The statewide number of full-time equivalent students
claimed as special admits shall not exceed 10 percent of the total
number of full-time equivalent students claimed statewide.

(x) Nothing in this section is intended to affect a dual enrollment
partnership agreement existing on the effective date of this section
under which an early college high school, a middle college high
school, or California Career Pathways Trust existing on the
effective date of this section is operated. An early college high
school, middle college high school, or California Career Pathways
Trust partnership agreement existing on the effective date of this
section shall not operate as a CCAP partnership unless it complies
with the provisions of this section.

(y) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.