BILL NUMBER: AB 626 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Low
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Roger Hernández)
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Dababneh )
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 regulations, as provided,
regulations 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 , and to support part-time faculty
. 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 2013, 2014, 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
no funds have not been specifically
designated to increase the ratio of full-time faculty to part-time
faculty , and to support part-time faculty, in programs
including , which may include but
are 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 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 areas that contribute to student success, which
may include office hours, as determined locally .
(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
not been specifically designated to increase the ratio of
full-time faculty to part-time faculty , and to
support part-time facult y, in programs
including which may include, but are
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.