BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1112
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 1112
(Lopez) - As Amended March 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Adult education: consortia: parenting education:
family literacy education
SUMMARY: Authorizes adult programs, California Community
Colleges (CCC) noncredit courses and classes, and the adult
education regional consortia, established pursuant to Education
Code (EC) Section 84830, to provide family literacy education.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Expands parenting education provided by adult education
programs administered by school districts and CCC noncredit
courses to include family literacy education, which may
include support to children and schoolaged youth with limited
English proficiency backgrounds in the households of
participating adults.
2)Specifies that the grant funds provided to regional consortia
to create and implement adult education plans shall include
parenting education, including, but not necessarily limited
to, parent cooperative preschools and classes in child growth
and development and parent-child relations, and family
literacy education, which may include support to children and
schoolaged youth with limited English proficiency backgrounds
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in the households of participating adults.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes both the CCC and K-12 systems to offer and receive
state funding for adult education courses (EC Sections 41976
and 84757).
2)Authorizes the following classes and courses to be offered by
the school districts and county superintendent of schools for
apportionment purposes from the adult education fund and
prohibits state apportionment to be made for any course or
class not specified in law:
a) Adult programs in parenting, including parent
cooperative preschools, and classes in child growth and
development, parent-child relationships, and parenting;
b) Adult programs in elementary and secondary basic skills
and other courses and classes required for the high school
diploma;
c) Adult education programs in English as a second
language;
d) Adult education programs for immigrant eligible for
educational services in citizenship, English as a second
language, and workforce preparation classes in the basic
skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing,
mathematics, decisionmaking and problem solving skills, and
other classes required for preparation to participate in
job specific technical training;
e) Adult education programs for adults with disabilities;
f) Adult short-term career technical education programs
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with high employment potential;
g) Adult programs for older adults;
h) Adult education programs for apprentices;
i) Adult programs in home economics; and,
j) Adult programs in health and safety education (EC
Section 41976).
3)Prohibits the local governing board of a community college
district (CCD) maintaining a noncredit course from requiring
an adult enrolled in such a course to pay nonresident tuition
or any fee or charge of any kind for a class in English and
citizenship for foreigners, a class in an elementary subject,
a class designated as granting high school credit to an
individual without a high school diploma or other adult basic
education programs and courses, as specified (EC Section
76380).
4)Authorizes a school district governing board to require a fee
of an adult enrolled in a class for adults and prohibits the
total of the fees required and revenues derived from average
daily attendance from exceeding the estimated cost of
maintaining such classes. Current law also prohibits the
imposition of a charge of any kind for a class in English and
citizenship or a class in an elementary subject, nor for any
class which is designated as granting high school credit when
the class is taken by a person who does not hold a high school
diploma. To note: for a class in English and citizenship, a
fee may be charged only until July 1, 2015 (EC Section 52612).
5)Prohibits the CCC from requiring an adult enrolled in a
noncredit course to pay nonresident tuition or any fee or
charge of any kind for a class in English and citizenship for
foreigners, a class in an elementary subject, a class
designated by the governing board as a class for which high
school credit is granted when the class is taken by a person
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who does not hold a high school diploma, or any class offered
by a CCD pursuant to Sections 8531, 8532, 8533, or 8534 (EC
Section 76380).
6)Charges the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
(CCCCO) and the California Department of Education (CDE) to
jointly implement an adult education planning process;
authorizes the CCCCO and the CDE to distribute $25 million to
regional consortia to develop plans with the shared goal of
better serving the educational needs of California's adult
learners; and, specifies that the following five areas are to
be addressed in the plans:
a) Elementary and secondary basic skills, including classes
required for a high school diploma;
b) Classes and courses for immigrants in English as a
second language, citizenship, and workforce preparations;
c) Education programs for adults with disabilities;
d) Short-term career technical education programs with high
employment potential; and,
e) Programs for apprentices (EC Section 84830).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: This measure was heard and approved by a vote of 5-2
in the Assembly Education Committee relating to issues within
its jurisdiction on April 8, 2015.
Background. Adult education in California is part of a large,
complex, and diverse multi-provider system. It is a vital and
integral part of the larger educational system that provides
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adults with the skills and education that enable them to earn a
high school diploma or a general educational development (GED)
certificate, become American citizens, acquire specific job
skills, learn English, and/or become independent and productive
parents and members of their community.
Adult Education and Community College Noncredit. Adult
education instruction is offered primarily at adult schools and
community colleges. Some programs are also offered at community
based organizations, libraries, correctional facilities, and the
California Conservation Corps. California adult education
schools offer the following ten programs:
1)Adult Basic Education;
2)English as a Second Language;
3)High School Diploma or Adult Secondary Education, including
GED certification;
4)Citizenship Preparation;
5)Career Technical Education;
6)Adults with Disabilities;
7)Health and Safety;
8)Parent Education;
9)Home Economics; and,
10)Courses for Older Adults.
State apportionment. The majority of funding for adult
education and community college noncredit comes from state
apportionment. The state provides approximately 90 percent of
the total funding for adult education and community college
noncredit programs. State apportionment funds are distributed
to adult schools through average daily attendance. Funding for
community college noncredit is based upon a formula per Full
Time Equivalent Student (FTES). The remaining financing,
approximately 10 percent, is provided by federal funds.
AB 86 Regional Consortia. The Governor, in January 2013,
proposed in his 2013-2014 budget, shifting the coordination and
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administration of all adult education programs to the CCC. The
K-12 adult education program would be eliminated, but CCC could
contract with school districts to provide instruction. Due to
concerns about the timing and structure of the proposal, the
Governor's May 2013 revision of the budget withdrew the proposal
and instead maintained the current system for two years while
allocating $30 million for planning grants awarded to regional
consortia comprised of CCC and K-12 districts for the purpose of
creating plans to integrate existing programs and determine how
best to serve adult students within regions throughout the
state. The budget adopted by the Legislature reduced the
planning grants to $25 million and adopted trailer bill language
in AB 86 (Chapter 48, Statutes of 2013).
AB 86 specified that the plans developed by the regional
consortia shall only include the provision of the following
programs:
1)Elementary and secondary basic skills (GED);
2)Classes and courses for immigrants (citizenship, English as a
second language);
3)Education programs for adults with disabilities;
4)Short-term career technical education programs; and,
5)Programs for apprentices.
Excluded are four programs that are authorized to be offered
through adult schools and CCCs, including 1) parenting
education; 2) programs for older adults; 3) home economics; and
4) health and safety programs. The Governor's 2015-16 budget
proposes to allocate $500 million for the adult education block
grant, which will be used to fund the programs included in the
AB 86 regional consortia plans.
This measure adds parenting education to the courses to be
offered through the regional consortia plans and expands
parenting education to include family literacy education, with
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special focus on support for adults with children and schoolaged
youth with limited English proficiency. Additionally, this
measure also expands parenting education programs previously
offered through adult education categorical funds and noncredit
adult education courses offered by CCCs to include family
literacy education.
Committee considerations. As stated above, the budget language
refocused adult education on elementary and secondary basic
skills, classes and courses for immigrants, short-term career
technical education programs, and programs for apprentices. The
AB 86 Consortia submitted their final report to the Legislature
in March of this year (per AB 86) based on its plans for the
aforementioned categories. The Committee may wish to decide if
it is appropriate to add another category to the AB 86
Consortia, thus taking away from the very recent directive the
Legislature and Governor agreed upon.
The 2015-2016 budget trailer bill calls for $500 million for the
AB 86 Consortia to implement its programs, via an education
block grant. If the author's intent is to add parent education
and family literacy into the eligible programs funded by the AB
86 Consortia, instead of this measure, the author may wish to
explore adding parent education and family literacy through the
budget process.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
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Opposition
California EDGE Coalition
One Individual
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960