BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 770 (Irwin) - Community colleges: basic skills innovation
program.
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|Version: August 18, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 24, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill expands the duties of the California
Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) related to
implementation of the Community Colleges Basic Skills and
Student Outcomes Transformation Program established in the
Budget Act of 2015 trailer bill. These duties are related to
determining the level of funding to be awarded to a recipient
community college district and advising on the creation of a
team of technical assistance providers to assist in the
development of required community college plans, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
Costs likely in the hundreds of thousands to contract out for
technical assistance teams. These costs would likely be
covered by the $60 million appropriation provided in the
budget. This would translate to fewer grants for community
colleges. (Proposition 98)
AB 770 (Irwin) Page 1 of
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Background: Basic skills courses provide those foundational skills in
reading, writing, mathematics, and English as a Second Language,
as well as learning skills and study skills, which are necessary
for students to succeed in college-level work. According to a
survey by the CCCCO, about 85 percent of incoming community
college students arrive unprepared for college-level work in
math, and about 70 percent arrive unprepared for college-level
English. There has been a national movement to reform remedial
education.
SB 81 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 22,
Statutes of 2015) established a new program for the purpose of
adopting or expanding the use of evidence-based practices for
accelerating completion of basic skills courses. The Budget Act
provided $60 million for the program. According to the author's
office, AB 770 builds upon the recently adopted program by
providing further guidance to the CCCCO in administering the
program.
To receive a grant, the governing board of a community college
district must demonstrate in its application for funding, that
its participating community colleges will redesign their
curriculum, career pathways, assessment and placement
procedures, to implement, or significantly expand the use or
application of two or more of the following evidence-based
practices and principles:
1) Adopting placement tests or other student assessment
indicators and related policies, including grades in high
school;
2) Increasing the placement of students directly in gateway
English and mathematics courses that are transferable;
3) Aligning content in remedial courses with the student's
course of study to target students' actual needs and
increase relevance;
AB 770 (Irwin) Page 2 of
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4) Contextualizing remedial instruction in foundational
skills for the industry cluster of pathways in which the
student seeks to advance;
5) Providing proactive student support services that are
integrated with the instruction provided; and
6) Developing two- and three- course sequences, as
appropriate, for completion of a college-level English or
mathematics course for underprepared students by either by
using technology to enhance the adoption of the practices
above or other strategies so long as the college provides
evidence that the practice is effective.
Each community college is required to develop a plan based on
two or more of the above evidence-based practices that
demonstrate a clear strategy for ensuring that within a
five-year period, an increasing share of the students who enroll
at participating community colleges will complete a
college-level English or mathematics course within three or less
courses, or earn an industry-relevant college certificate or
degree within two years. The plan must include a baseline of
current practices, targets for interventions, and plans for
addressing related professional and technical needs.
The CCCCO is responsible for developing application criteria,
administrative guidelines, distributing and monitoring awards to
community college districts, and transmitting information
provided by community college districts regarding the progress
of the grant program so that the Legislative Analyst's Office
can aggregate, analyze, and report on the information.
Proposed Law:
This bill also adds to the duties of the CCCCO regarding
implementation of this program:
(1) Determining the level of funding to be awarded to a
recipient community college district based upon the scope
AB 770 (Irwin) Page 3 of
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and complexity of the work proposed in its plan, as
evidenced by the number of students to be served,
strategies to be employed, and projected results of the
plan's implementation; and
(2) Consulting with internal and external stakeholders to
advise on the creation of a team of technical assistance
providers to assist a community college in the development
and implementation of its plan. This bill provides that
the CCCCO may contract out for this activity.
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