BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 288
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
288 (Holden and Olsen)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(June 1, 2015) |SENATE: | 40-0 |(September 9, |
| | | | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY: Authorizes the governing board of a community college
district (CCD) to enter into a College and Career Access
Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school
district, in its immediate service area, with the goal of
developing seamless pathways from high school to California
Community Colleges (CCC) in order to offer or expand dual
enrollment opportunities for students who may not be college
bound or who are underrepresented in higher education; and,
outlines the conditions that must be met prior to the adoption
of the CCAP agreement.
The Senate amendments:
1)Specify the type of student that will benefit from the CCAP
partnerships.
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2)Require the CCAP partnership agreement to specify the total
number of high school students to be served and the total
full-time equivalent students (FTES) projected to be claimed
by the appropriate CCD.
3)Specify that the CCC Chancellor may void any CCAP partnership
agreement it determines has not complied with the intent of
the requirements.
4)Clarify that the CCAP partnership agreement shall certify that
any remedial courses taught by community college faculty shall
only be offered to high school students who test as
non-proficient in grade 10 or 11, 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.
5)Require participating CCDs to certify in CCAP partnership
agreements that an oversubscribed course may not be offered in
the partnership.
6)Specify that the statewide number of FTES claimed as special
admits shall not exceed 10% of the total number of FTES
claimed statewide.
7)Require on or before January 1, 2021, the CCC Chancellor to
report to the Legislature, 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, as specified, recommendations for program
improvements, including, but not necessarily limited to, both
of the following:
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a) Any recommended changes to the statewide cap on special
admit full-time equivalent students to ensure that adults
are not being displaced; and,
b) Any recommendation concerning the need for additional
student assistance or academic resources to ensure the
overall success of the CCAP partnerships.
8)Specify that the CCC Chancellor shall ensure that the number
of FTES generated by CCAP partnerships is reported, as
specified.
9)Specify that nothing in this provision is intended to affect a
dual enrollment partnership agreement existing on the
effective date of this measure 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
measure shall not operate as a CCAP partnership unless it
complies with the provisions of this measure.
10)Add sunset date of January 1, 2022.
11)Make minor clarifying and technical changes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the governing board of a school district, upon
recommendation of the principal of a student's school of
attendance, and with parental consent, to authorize a student
who would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work
to attend a community college as a special part-time or
full-time student. Additionally, current law prohibited a
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principal from recommending, for community college summer
session attendance, more than 5% of the total number of
students in the same grade level and exempted from the five
percent cap a student recommended by his or her principal for
enrollment in a college-level summer session course if the
course in which the pupil was enrolled met specified criteria.
These exemptions were repealed on January 1, 2014 (Education
Code (EC) Section 48800, et seq.).
2)Prohibits a pupil enrolled in a public school from being
required to pay a pupil fee for participation in an
educational activity; and, specifies that all of the following
requirements apply to the prohibition:
a) All supplies, materials, and equipment needed to
participate in educational activities shall be provided to
pupils free of charge;
b) A fee waiver policy shall not make a pupil fee
permissible;
c) School districts and schools shall not establish a
two-tier educational system by requiring a minimal
educational standard and also offering a second, higher
educational standard that pupils may only obtain via
payment of a fee or purchase of additional supplies that
the school district does not provide; and,
d) A school district or school shall not offer course
credit or privileges related to educational activities in
exchange for money or donations of goods or services from a
pupil or a pupil's parents or guardians, and a school
district or school shall not remove course credit or
privileges related to educational activities, or otherwise
discriminate against a pupil, because the pupil or the
pupil's parents or guardians did not or will not provide
money or donations of goods or services to the school
district or school (EC Section 49011).
3)Requires the California Community College Chancellor's Office
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(CCCCO) to report to the Department of Finance and Legislature
annually on the amount of FTES claimed by each CCC district
for high school pupils enrolled in non-credit, non-degree
applicable, and degree applicable courses; and provides that,
for purposes of receiving state apportionments, CCC districts
may only include high school students within the CCC
district's report on FTES if the students are enrolled in
courses that are open to the general public, as specified.
Additionally, current law requires the governing board of a
CCC district to assign a low enrollment priority to special
part-time or full-time students in order to ensure that these
students do not displace regularly admitted community college
students (EC Sections 76001 and 76002).
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, unknown cost pressures to fund increased CCC
apportionments. A 1% increase in special FTES, or 172 FTES,
would create a cost pressure of about $806,000 using a rate of
$4,684 per-FTES (Proposition 98 of 1988).
COMMENTS: Concurrent and dual enrollment background. According
to New Directions for Community Colleges, no. 169, Spring 2015,
the practice for offering college courses to high school
students stems from local practice in many states and was
initiated between CCDs and local school districts, but the
practice proceeded without clear state policy guidelines,
regulations, or direction; resulting in variation in local
practice. Some states, such as Minnesota, as far back as the
1980s, were early adopters of state dual credit policies,
whereby their state policies provided a framework for offering
college courses to high school students and the students
receiving both college and high school credit for some of their
courses.
Concurrent enrollment provides pupils the opportunity to enroll
in college courses and earn college credit while still enrolled
in high school. Currently, a pupil is allowed to concurrently
enroll in a CCC as a "special admit" while still attending high
school, if the pupil's school district determines that the pupil
would benefit from "advanced scholastic or vocational work."
Special-admit students have typically been advanced pupils
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wanting to take more challenging coursework or pupils who come
from high schools where Advanced Placement or honors courses are
not widely available. Additionally, programs such as middle
college high schools and early college high schools use
concurrent enrollment to offer instructional programs for
at-risk pupils that focus on college preparatory curricula.
These programs are developed through partnerships between a
school district and a CCC. During summer session at a CCC,
principals are limited to recommending no more than five percent
of their pupils in each grade level to enroll at a CCC during a
summer session. Existing law provides certain exemptions to
this process (as aforementioned in current law above). These
exemptions expired on January 1, 2014.
Purpose of this bill. The author states, "Gradually more
students are entering community colleges and some CSUs
[California State University] assessing below college-level.
Consequently, more courses are being offered on their respective
campuses to prepare students for college level coursework." The
author contends that, "This measure will increase the
accessibility of concurrent enrollment programs in order to
continue to achieve the goal of helping low achieving students
integrate into a college environment, increase the likelihood a
degree program will be completed, decrease the length of time to
complete a degree program, and stimulate interest in higher
education among high school students."
Analysis Prepared by:
Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
FN: 0002273