BILL NUMBER: AB 626 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Low
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Roger Hernández)
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section 87482.7 87482.6
of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 626, as amended, Low. Community colleges: employees.
Existing
(1) Existing 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.
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.
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.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that
requirement. 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 , 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.
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.
(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.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(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."
(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.
(c) In 2013, the percentage of credit courses taught by full-time
faculty in the system was only 56.14 percent.
(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.
(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.
(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.
SEC. 2. Section 87482.6 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
87482.6. (a) Until 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.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law,
until the provisions of Section 84750
84750.5 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
which that have less than 75 percent of
their hours of credit instruction taught by full-time instructors
shall apply a portion of the program improvement allocation
received pursuant to Section 84755 as follows: be
subject to both of the following :
(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:
(1)
(A) Districts which, that,
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 their program improvement
this 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 33 percent of the district's program improvement allocation.
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.
(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.
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.
(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.
(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).
(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.
(b)
(c) 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
program improvement the Student Success and Support
Program revenue allocated to each district.
district, or district matching funds, as applicable. This
computation shall be made by dividing the applicable portion
of program improvement revenue (0 percent, 33 percent, or 40 percent
of the program improvement allocation), revenue
required to be expended pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (b) 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.
By March 15th
(4) By March 15 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 and the district match
requirement .
(4)
( 5) 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.
(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.
SEC. 3. 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.
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.