Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 626

Introduced by Assembly Member Low

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Roger Hernández)

February 24, 2015

An act to amend Section begin delete 87482.7 end delete begin insert 87482.6 end insert of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 626, as amended, Low. Community colleges: employees.

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Existing

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begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts, which provide instruction to students at campuses throughout the state.

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Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations that establish minimum standards regarding the percentage of hours of credit instruction to be taught by full-time instructors.

end delete begin insert

Existing law provides that, until specified statutory provisions are implemented regarding program-based funding, community college districts that have less than 75% of their hours of credit instruction taught by full-time instructors shall apply a portion of their program improvement allocations toward reaching that 75% standard, as specified. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations, as provided, for the effective administration of the law concerning the appropriate percentage of hours of credit instruction taught by full-time instructors. Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to compute the number of full-time faculty required to be secured using program improvement allocations, as specified, to determine the extent to which each community college district has hired that number of full-time faculty, and, to the extent that the cumulative number of full-time faculty have not been retained, to reduce the district’s base budget for 1991-92 and subsequent fiscal years in accordance with a certain formula.

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This bill begin delete would make nonsubstantive changes to that requirement. end delete begin insert would repeal the requirement to expend a portion of the program improvement allocation to increase the ratio of full-time to part-time faculty and end insert begin insert , with respect to community college districts that have not reached the 75% standard referenced above, would require similar expenditures of Student Success and Support Program funds to increase that ratio. The bill would specify purposes for which allocations of these funds could be made by community college districts that had not reached the 75% standard. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. end insert

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The bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the board of governors work together with the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges and other relevant entities to develop goals for the full-time to part-time faculty ratio in noncredit education.

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(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(a) In 1988, the Education Code was amended to read that “the
Legislature wishes to recognize and make efforts to address
longstanding policy of the board of governors that at least 75
percent of the hours of credit instruction in the California
Community Colleges, as a system, should be taught by full-time
instructors.”

end insert begin insert

(b) The expectations for full-time faculty go beyond classroom
instruction to include, among other full-service activities, all of
the following: developing and evaluating academic programs;
holding office hours and participating in meetings after classes;
student advising; participation in institutional governance; and
accreditation-related responsibilities such as the assessment of
departmental and student learning outcomes, curriculum
development, and preparing institutional self-studies.

end insert begin insert

(c) In 2013, the percentage of credit courses taught by full-time
faculty in the system was only 56.14 percent.

end insert begin insert

(d) The Legislature acknowledged the commitment of the Board
of Governors of the California Community Colleges, through its
regular budget process, to evaluate resource needs and seek
funding for essential educational priorities that contribute to
student success. These priorities include, but are not necessarily
limited to, the hiring of more full-time faculty and increasing
support for part-time faculty.

end insert begin insert

(e) In the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, the
Legislature acknowledged the importance of counselors, who,
along with librarians, are considered to be faculty for purposes
of the 75-percent goal.

end insert begin insert

(f) Students enrolled in noncredit education are most often
deprived of the benefit of working with full-time faculty, as
statewide goals relating to the ratio of full-time to part-time faculty
have yet to be developed with respect to noncredit courses.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. end insert begin insert 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 87482.6 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

87482.6.  

(a)  begin delete Until end delete begin insert It has long been the intent of the Legislature
to improve the equity and predictability of community college
funding in order to enhance the ability of both the full-time and
part-time faculty of the California Community Colleges to provide
high-quality instructional services. end insert

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Notwithstanding any other law, until end insert the provisions of
Section begin delete 84750 end delete begin insert 84750.5 end insert regarding program-based funding are
implemented by a standard adopted by the board of governors that
establishes the appropriate percentage of hours of credit instruction
that should be taught by full-time instructors, the Legislature wishes
to recognize and make efforts to address longstanding policy of
the board of governors that at least 75 percent of the hours of credit
instruction in the California Community Colleges, as a system,
should be taught by full-time instructors. To this end, community
college districts begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert have less than 75 percent of their hours
of credit instruction taught by full-time instructors shall begin delete apply a
portion of the program improvement allocation received pursuant
to Section 84755 as follows: end delete begin insert be subject to both of the following end insert begin insert : end insert

begin insert

(1) In a fiscal year when funds are specifically appropriated
for purposes of the Student Success and Support Program under
Article 1 (commencing with Section 78210) of Chapter 2 of Part
48, and in which no funds have been specifically designated to
increase the ratio of full-time faculty to part-time faculty in
programs including but not necessarily limited to, the Community
College Part-Time Faculty Office Hours Program established by
Article 10 (commencing with Section 87880), one-half of the
amount of the district match requirement under subdivision (b) of
Section 78216 shall be allocated in the following manner:

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(1)

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begin insert (A) end insert  Districts begin delete which, end delete begin insert that, end insert in the prior fiscal year, had between
67 percent and 75 percent of their hours of credit instruction taught
by full-time instructors shall apply up to 33 percent of begin delete their
program improvement end delete begin insert this end insert allocation as necessary to reach the 75
percent standard. begin delete If a district in this category chooses instead not
to improve its percentage, the board of governors shall withhold
33 percent of the district’s program improvement allocation. end delete
begin insert Districts that, in the prior fiscal year, had less than 67 percent of
their hours of credit instruction taught by full-time instructors
shall apply up to 40 percent of this allocation as necessary to reach
the 75 percent standard. end insert

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(2) Districts which, in the prior fiscal year, had less than 67
percent of their hours of credit instruction taught by full-time
instructors shall apply up to 40 percent of their program
improvement allocation as necessary to reach the 75 percent
standard. If a district in this category chooses instead not to
improve its percentage, the board of governors shall withhold 40
percent of the district’s program improvement allocation.

end delete begin delete

Districts which maintain 75 percent or more of their hours of
credit instruction taught by full-time instructors shall otherwise
be free to use their program improvement allocation for any of the
purposes specified in Section 84755.

end delete begin insert

(B) The funds remaining after allocations are made pursuant
to subparagraph (A) shall, to the extent feasible, and in a manner
consistent with an applicable collective bargaining agreement, be
divided equally between expenditures in support of functions
performed by full-time faculty and expenditures in support of
functions performed by part-time faculty, with the allocations for
part-time faculty support used, to the extent feasible, for the funding
of the participation of part-time faculty in office hours.

end insert begin insert

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), in a fiscal year when funds
are specifically appropriated for purposes of the Student Success
and Support Program under Article 1 (commencing with Section
78210) of Chapter 2 of Part 48, and in which no funds have been
specifically designated to increase the ratio of full-time faculty to
part-time faculty in programs including but not necessarily limited
to, the Community College Part-time Faculty Office Hours
Program established by Article 10 (commencing with Section
87880), but in which, notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section
78216, there is no district matching requirement, one-half of the
Student Success and Support Program funds received by the district
shall be allocated as indicated in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (1).

end insert begin insert

(3) Once a district has achieved the goal of at least 75 percent
of credit instruction hours being taught by full-time faculty, with
part-time faculty being fully supported for those activities that
contribute to student success as determined locally, the district
may use the funds referenced in paragraphs (1) and (2) for other
purposes that are consistent with the Student Success and Support
Program.

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(b)

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begin insert (c) end insert  The board of governors shall adopt regulations for the
effective administration of this section. Unless and until amended
by the board of governors, the regulations shall provide as follows:

(1) In computing the percentage of hours of credit instruction
taught by full-time instructors, the hours of overload teaching by
full-time instructors shall be excluded from both the total hours
of credit instruction taught by full-time and part-time instructors
and the total hours of instruction taught by full-time instructors.

(2) A full-time instructor shall be defined as any regular and
contract faculty member teaching credit instruction.

(3) The chancellor shall compute and report to each community
college district the number of full-time faculty (FTF) which are to
be secured through the use of the prescribed portion of begin delete program
improvement end delete begin insert the Student Success and Support Program end insert revenue
allocated to each begin delete district. end delete begin insert district, or district matching funds, as
applicable. end insert This computation shall be made by dividing the
begin delete applicable portion of program improvement revenue (0 percent,
33 percent, or 40 percent of the program improvement allocation), end delete
begin insert revenue required to be expended pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2)
of subdivision (b) end insert by the statewide average “replacement cost” (a
figure which represents the statewide average faculty salary plus
benefits, minus the statewide average hourly rate of compensation
for part-time instructors times the statewide average full-time
teaching load). If the quotient is not a whole number, then the
quotient shall be rounded down to the nearest whole number. If
this quotient, once applied, will result in the district exceeding the
75 percent standard, the chancellor shall further reduce the quotient
to a whole number that will leave the district as close as possible
to, but in excess of, the 75 percent standard.

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By March 15th

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begin insert (4) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert By March 15 end insert of each year, the chancellor shall report to each
district an estimate of the number of FTF to be secured based upon
the appropriation of revenues contained in the annual Budget Bill
begin insert and the district match requirement end insert .

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(4)

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begin insert ( end insert begin insert 5) end insert  On or before December 31, 1991, the chancellor shall
determine the extent to which each district, by September 30, 1991,
has hired the number of FTF determined pursuant to paragraph
(3) for the 1989-90 and 1990-91 fiscal years. To the extent that
the cumulative number of FTF have not been retained, the
chancellor shall reduce the district’s base budget for 1991-92 and
subsequent fiscal years by an amount equivalent to the average
replacement cost times the deficiency in the number of FTF.

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(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the board of governors
work together with the Academic Senate for California Community
Colleges and other relevant entities to develop goals for the
full-time to part-time faculty ratio in noncredit education.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert begin insert

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 87482.7 of the Education Code is
amended to read:

87482.7.  

(a) The board of governors shall, pursuant to
paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 70901, adopt regulations
to establish minimum standards regarding the percentage of hours
of credit instruction that shall be taught by full-time instructors.

(b) Upon notification by the board of governors, the Department
of Finance shall transfer any amount of money deducted from
district apportionments pursuant to the regulations adopted under
this section. This money shall be transferred to the Employment
Opportunity Fund pursuant to Section 87107.

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