Amended in Assembly April 13, 2015

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)

begin insert

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Dababneh)

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February 24, 2015

An act to amend Section 87482.6 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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

(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 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 begin delete regulations, as provided, end delete begin insert regulations end insert 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 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 begin insert , and to support part-time faculty end insert . 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: yes. State-mandated local program: 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 begin delete 2013, end delete begin insert 2014, end insert 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) 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 84750.5 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 that have less than 75 percent of their hours of
credit instruction taught by full-time instructors shall 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 begin delete no end delete funds have begin insert not end insert been specifically designated to increase
the ratio of full-time faculty to part-time faculty begin insert , and to support
part-time faculty, end insert in programs begin delete including end delete begin insert , which may include end insert but
begin insert are end insert 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:

(A) Districts 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 this allocation
as necessary to reach the 75 percent standard. 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.

(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 begin delete equally end delete 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 begin delete office hours end delete
begin insert areas that contribute to student success, which may include office
hours, as determined locally end 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 begin delete no end delete funds have begin insert not end insert
been specifically designated to increase the ratio of full-time faculty
to part-time faculty begin insert , and to support part-time facult end insert begin insert y, end insert in programs
begin delete including end delete begin insert which may include, end insert but begin insert are end insert 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.

(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 the Student
Success and Support Program revenue allocated to each district,
or district matching funds, as applicable. This computation shall
be made by dividing the 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.

(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.

(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.