Amended in Senate August 2, 2016

Amended in Senate June 22, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 27, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 14, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 15, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1741

Introduced by Assembly Members Rodriguez and O'Donnell

(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Medina and Santiago)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chiu and Low)

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(Coauthor: Senator Hancock)

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February 1, 2016

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Part begin delete 54.1 end delete begin insert 54.7 end insert (commencing with Section 88900) begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1741, as amended, Rodriguez. California College Promise Innovation Grant Program.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The board appoints a chief executive officer known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Under existing law, community college districts are authorized, among other things, to maintain and operate campuses, employ faculty and other employees, and provide instruction to students.

This bill would establish the California College Promise Innovation Grant Program, under the administration of the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, which would require the chancellor’s office to distribute grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the governing boards of community college districts, who meet certain requirements, to support the establishment of regional programs with the goals of increasing college preparation, college access, and college success. begin insert These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2021. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Part begin delete 54.1 end delete begin insert 54.7 end insert (commencing with Section 88900)
is added to Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

 

PART  begin delete 54.1. end delete begin insert 54.7. end insert   California College Promise
Innovation Grant Program

 

88900.  

This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California College Promise Innovation Grant Program.

88901.  

(a) The California College Promise Innovation Grant
Program is hereby established, to be administered by the
chancellor’s office. The chancellor’s office shall distribute grants,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the governing boards of
community college districts pursuant to applications that satisfy
the requirements of this part.

(b) For purposes of this part, “chancellor’s office” means the
Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

88902.  

The goals of the California College Promise Innovation
Grant Program awards are to support community college districts
in establishing or expanding regional California College Promise
programs in partnership with school districts and public
postsecondary universities in California to accomplish all of the
following:

(a) Increase the number and percentage of high school students
within the region who are prepared for and attend college directly
from high school.

(b) Increase the percentage of high school graduates within the
region who are placed in college-level math and English at a public
postsecondary university in California.

(c) Increase the percentage of students from the region who earn
associate degrees or career technical education certificates.

(d) Increase the percentage of students from the region who
successfully transfer from a community college to a public
postsecondary university in California.

(e) Increase the percentage of students from the region who
graduate with a bachelor’s degree.

(f) Reduce and eliminate achievement gaps for students from
groups that are underrepresented in postsecondary education, such
as underrepresented minority students, low-income students,
students who are current or former foster youth, students with
disabilities, and students who are veterans.

(g) Leverage existing sources of local and state funding to better
align efforts to improve student success.

88903.  

(a) In order to receive a grant, the governing board of
a community college district shall demonstrate in its application
for funding that the community college will partner with one or
more school districts and one or more California State University
or University of California campuses, if appropriate, to establish
or expand a California College Promise program that includes all
of the following practices and principles:

(1) Partnering with one or more school districts to establish an
Early Commitment to College Program that is consistent with the
intent of Article 6.3 (commencing with Section 54710) of Chapter
9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2 to provide K-12 students and
families assistance that includes, but is not limited to, learning
about college opportunities, visiting campuses, taking and
completing college preparatory courses, and applying for college
and financial aid.

(2) Partnering with one or more school districts to support and
improve high school student preparation for college and reduce
postsecondary remediation through practices that may include, but
are not limited to, small learning communities, concurrent
enrollment, and other evidence-based practices.

(3) Utilizing evidence-based placement and student assessment
indicators at the community college district that include multiple
measures of student performance, including grades in high school
courses, overall grade point averages, results from common
assessments, and input from counselors.

(4) Providing students who are enrolled at the community
college district with access to courses, including, but not limited
to, priority registration, and allowing them to register for a full
academic year of courses at once, in order to keep them on track
to graduate, transfer to a public postsecondary university, or earn
a career technical education certificate in California.

(5) Providing outreach to students who are enrolled at a
community college within the community college district regarding
the Associate Degrees for Transfer and the California Community
College Transfer Entitlement Cal Grant program.

(b) (1) The chancellor’s office in its application criteria shall
encourage the governing board of a community college district
applying to receive a California College Promise Innovation Grant
Program award to identify local public and private sources of
funding to develop sustainable California College Promise
programs within the community college district.

(2) The chancellor’s office in its application criteria shall
encourage the governing board of a community college district
applying to receive a California College Promise Innovation Grant
Program award to leverage new or existing sources of local and
state funding to better align efforts to improve student success.

(c) The chancellor’s office shall post on its Internet Web site,
for ease of access, all applications that receive funding under the
grant begin delete program end delete begin insert program, end insert and shall encourage each community
college district that does not receive a grant to identify local public
and private sources of funding to develop sustainable California
College Promise programs within the district.

(d) (1) The chancellor’s office shall be responsible for
developing application criteria, administrative guidelines, and
other requirements for purposes of administering the grant program.

(2) An application that demonstrates one or both of the following
shall receive first priority:

(A) Identifies local public and private sources of funding to
develop sustainable California College Promise programs within
the community college district.

(B) Leverages new or existing sources of local and state funding
to better align efforts to improve student success.

(3) An application that demonstrates one or more of the
following shall receive secondary priority:

(A) Develops partnerships pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) with school districts located begin delete predominately end delete
begin insert predominantly end insert within the community college district’s residential
boundaries.

(B) Provides services to a greater proportion of students.

(C) Develops at least one partnership with a California State
University campus with the goal of guaranteeing admission and
seamless transfer to the California State University campus for the
district’s students who have successfully completed transfer
requirements.

88904.  

(a) The Legislature encourages school districts, the
University of California, the California State University, the
Student Aid Commission, independent colleges and universities,
local and regional government agencies, and nonprofit, business,
or other community organizations to provide support services as
needed in coordination with community college districts for
purposes of this part.

(b) The Legislature further encourages the chancellor’s office
to coordinate implementation of this part with other funded college
readiness and pathways programs.

88905.  

The governing board of a community college district
that receives a grant is encouraged to enter into a memorandum
of understanding with a partnering school district or public
postsecondary university to coordinate the programs and activities
proposed in the district’s application in order to meet the goals of
this part.

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begin insert 88906. end insert   

This part shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that
date.

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