BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 889
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 889
(Chang) - As Amended April 13, 2015
SUBJECT: Concurrent enrollment in secondary school and
community college
SUMMARY: Authorizes the governing board of a school district to
authorize a pupil to attend a community college during any
session or term as a special part-time or full-time student to
undertake one or more science, technology, engineering or
mathematics (STEM) courses offered at the community college, if
said pupil has exhausted all other opportunities to enroll in an
equivalent course at the high school of attendance; and,
authorizes the governing board of a community college district
to enter into a formal partnership with a school district or
school districts located within its immediate service area to
allow high school pupils to enroll in a community college STEM
course if they have exhausted all opportunities to attend
elsewhere. Specifically, this bill:
1)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that this measure
provides a smoother transition from high school to college for
pupils by providing them with greater exposure to the
collegiate atmosphere and to maximize the educational
opportunities available to the state's high school pupils by
encouraging programs and partnerships between school districts
and community college districts.
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2)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to allow a
pupil, upon recommendation of the pupil's principal, and with
parental consent, to attend a community college during any
session or term as a special part-time or full-time student in
order to take one or more STEM courses offered at the
community college if that pupil has exhausted all
opportunities to enroll in an equivalent course at his/her
high school, or at an adult education program, continuation
school, regional occupational center or program, or any other
program offered by that school district.
3)Defines "STEM" to mean a course in science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics.
4)Specifies that the governing board of a community college
district may enter into a formal partnership with a school
district or districts located within its immediate service
area in order to provide high school pupils who have exhausted
all opportunities to enroll in an equivalent STEM course at
the high school of attendance, adult education program,
continuation school, regional occupational center or program,
or any other program offered by the school district, with the
opportunity to benefit from a STEM course.
5)Specifies that a high school pupil, upon notification from
his/her principal that he/she has exhausted all opportunities
to enroll in an equivalent course at the high school or
attendance, adult education program, continuation school,
regional occupational center or program, or any other program
offered by the school district, and with parental consent if
the pupil is under the age of 18, may attend a community
college during any session or term as a special part-time or
full-time student.
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6)Requires that a community college districting participating in
the partnership, shall adopt a partnership agreement with each
school district partner and that the agreement shall be
approved by the governing boards of the community college
district and the school district.
7)Specifies that prior to the governing boards of the community
college district and the school district formally adopting the
partnership agreement, both boards, at a regularly scheduled
open public hearing of their respective governing boards,
shall take public testimony and approve or disapprove the
proposed partnership agreement.
8)Stipulates that the partnership agreement shall outline the
terms of the partnership and may include, but not necessarily
be limited to, the scope, nature, and schedule of the STEM
courses offered, the academic readiness of pupils that is
necessary for them to benefit from the STEM courses offered,
and the ability of pupils to benefit from those courses; and,
specifies that the agreement may establish protocols for
information sharing and joint facilities use.
9)Stipulates that a copy of the agreement must be filed with the
California Department of Education (CDE) and the California
Community Colleges (CCC) Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) before
the start of a partnership program.
10)Specifies that a pupil shall receive credit for community
college courses that he/she completes at the level determined
to be appropriate by the governing boards of the school and
community college district, as specified.
11)Stipulates that a community college district shall not
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receive a state allowance or apportionment for an
instructional activity for which a school district has been,
or shall be, paid an allowance or apportionment; and, the
attendance of a pupil at a community college as a special
part-time or full-time student, as specified, is authorized
attendance for which the community college shall be credited
or reimbursed, as specified, provided that no school district
has received reimbursement for the same instructional
activity.
12)Specifies that credit courses completed shall be at the level
determined to be appropriate by the governing boards of the
community college and school districts, per the partnership
agreement.
13)Allows a special part-time student to enroll in up to, and
including, 11 units per semester, or the equivalent thereof,
at the community college he/she attends.
14)Specifies that the governing board of a community college
district may assign an enrollment priority to STEM partnership
pupils whom have been admitted as special part-time or
full-time students, provided that pupils admitted under this
provision do not displace regularly admitted community college
students.
15)Exempts community college districts and school districts that
enter into a STEM partnership from existing concurrent
enrollment parameters.
16)Requires that for each STEM partnership entered into, the
affected community college district and school district shall
report annually to the CCCCO and CDE all of the following
information:
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a) The total number of high school pupils enrolled in each
program, classified by the school district;
b) The total number of successful course completions of
high school pupils enrolled in each program, classified by
the school district; and,
c) The total number of successful course completions of
students in courses equivalent to those courses tracked, as
specified, in the general community college curriculum.
17)Requires that the STEM partnership program report submitted
to the CCCCO and CDE shall be submitted to all of the
following:
a) The Legislature;
b) State Superintendent of Public Instruction;
c) The governing board of each participating community
college district; and,
d) The governing board of each participating school
district.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the governing board of a school district, upon
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recommendation of the principal of a student's school of
attendance, and with parental consent, to authorize a student
who would benefit from advanced scholastic or vocational work
to attend a community college as a special part-time or
full-time student.
2)Requires the CCCCO to report to the Department of Finance and
Legislature annually on the amount of full-time equivalent
students (FTES) claimed by each CCC district for high school
pupils enrolled in non-credit, non-degree applicable, and
degree applicable courses; and provides that, for purposes of
receiving state apportionments, CCC districts may only include
high school students within the CCC district's report on FTES
if the students are enrolled in courses that are open to the
general public, as specified.
3)Requires the governing board of a CCC district to assign a low
enrollment priority to special part-time or full-time students
in order to ensure that these students do not displace
regularly admitted community college students (EC Sections
76001 and 76002).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Concurrent enrollment background. Concurrent
enrollment provides pupils the opportunity to enroll in college
courses and earn college credit while still enrolled in high
school. Currently, a pupil is allowed to concurrently enroll in
a CCC as a "special admit" while still attending high school, if
the pupil's school district determines that the pupil would
benefit from "advanced scholastic or vocational work."
Special-admit students have typically been advanced pupils
wanting to take more challenging coursework or pupils who come
from high schools where Advanced Placement or honors courses are
not widely available. Additionally, programs such as middle
college high schools and early college high schools use
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concurrent enrollment to offer instructional programs for
at-risk pupils that focus on college preparatory curricula.
These programs are developed through partnerships between a
school district and a CCC. During summer session at a CCC,
principals are limited to recommending no more than 5% of their
pupils in each grade level to enroll at a CCC during a summer
session. Existing law provides certain exemptions to this
process (as aforementioned in current law above). These
exemptions expired on January 1, 2014.
Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "Students
that pursue degrees in STEM often have the longest time to
graduation. Where a student studying history may graduate in
the traditional 4-years, a student studying to become an
engineer will often graduate in 5 or 6 years. Part of the delay
for graduation has been caused by a decrease in course
availability, specifically in what are known as "bottleneck"
courses; courses that many students require for their respective
majors but only a small portion can take at a time. Demand for
STEM related fields are increasing and are expected to grow by
19 percent over the next decade. The longer students are
waiting for impacted STEM courses in college, the longer it will
take to fill these jobs."
The author contends that the current limit placed on the number
of students allowed to concurrently attend a CCC while also
being enrolled in a public high school continues to create
obstacles for, "high achieving students that would otherwise be
able to create an opportunity for a smooth transition from high
school to college while simultaneously fulfilling requirements
for their undergraduate degree."
How many? According to the CCCCO's statutorily required report
on special admit enrollments: 26,604 special admit students
were claimed systemwide, in summer 2013 (the most recent data
available to date), with 22,432 of the students successfully
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completing and passing their courses. The summer 2013 numbers
have slightly increased when compared to the previous last
couple of years; however, the 2013 numbers remain significantly
lower when compared to summer 2007, when of the 68,708 special
admit students claimed systemwide, 53,387 successfully completed
and passed their courses.
Related Legislation. There have been many bills introduced in
the last several years that attempt to address concurrent
enrollment and the 5% cap, including, but not limited to the
following bills: AB 1451 (Holden), of 2014, which was held on
the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file, was similar
in nature to this measure. AB 1540 (Hagman), of 2014, which was
held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense file,
would, among other things, specify that the governing board of a
school district may authorize a pupil, at the recommendation of
a community college dean of a computer science department or
another appropriate community college computer science
administrator, and with parental consent, to attend a community
college during any session or term as a special part-time or
full-time student and to undertake one or more computer science
courses offered at the community college. AB 2352 (Chesbro), of
2014, which was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee
Suspense file would, among other things, remove early and middle
college high school students concurrently enrolled at a CCC from
receiving low priority admission status. AB 160 (Portantino),
of 2011, which was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee
Suspense file, removed certain restrictions on concurrent
enrollment and authorized school districts to enter into
partnerships with CCC districts to provide high school pupils
opportunities for advanced scholastic work, career technical or
other coursework at CCC campuses. AB 230 (Carter), Chapter 50,
Statutes of 2011, exempted a pupil attending a middle college
high school from the requirement that CCC governing boards
assign a low enrollment priority to concurrent enrollment
students if that pupil is seeking to enroll in a CCC course that
is required for the pupil's middle college high school program.
SB 1437 (Padilla), Chapter 718, Statutes of 2008, extended the
sunset date from January 1, 2009 until January 1, 2014 for which
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this bill seeks to further extend the sunset. SB 1303 (Runner),
Chapter 648, Statutes of 2006, exempted from the specified 5%
cap on CCC summer session enrollment, a pupil recommended by his
or her principal if the pupil met specified criteria. AB 288
(Holden) which is pending in the Assembly Education Committee
expands concurrent enrollment through partnerships entered into
between a CC district and a school district. AB 288 is not
restricted to STEM.
Arguments in support. Supporters argue that this bill will
increase opportunities for enrollment in STEM courses and help
ensure a sufficient supply of STEM-educated graduates.
Arguments in opposition. The California Federation of Teachers
opposes the bill unless it is amended to do the following:
Require consultation with teachers in the appropriate
discipline;
Require notification of the bargaining unit;
Specify that the partnership shall not violate the
collective bargaining agreement of either district; and
Limit concurrent enrollment to high school seniors.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Council of Engineering Companies
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
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California Chamber of Commerce
California STEM Learning Network
Computer Science Teachers Association
EdVoice
Rural County Representatives of California
Opposition
California Federation of Teachers
Analysis Prepared by:Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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